Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 1.
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7 page BUSINESS the European Championships in Ireland. The special guest for the evening was Derby County head coach Steve McClaren, who talked about his career to host Colin Hazelden, of BBC East Midlands Today. McClaren recalled his early days at Derby, under Jim Smith, before his move to Manchester United where he was introduced to the chairman as ‘Steve McClaridge’. After moving into management, including spells with Middlesborough, England and Nottingham Forest, he returned to Derby late in 2013. McClaren guided The Rams to the Championship play-off final last season and they are again enjoying a good season, but McClaren was quick to praise his predecessor Nigel Clough for putting together what has now been shaped into one of the Championship’s leading
Adam Peaty was named as the University of Derby Sportsperson Of The Year at the 2014 Derbyshire Sports Awards. The 19 year old City of Derby swimmer capped a wonderful year when he collected the award, from University of Derby deputy chief executive Hari Punchihewa, and last year’s winner athlete Yasmin Miller, at the annual ceremony at The Roundhouse in Derby. Peaty hit the headlines winning two Commonwealth gold medals in Glasgow in the 100m breaststroke and the 4 x 100m medley relay, together with silver in the 50m breaststroke. Peaty’s success continued at the European Championships in Berlin, where he won four more gold medals in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and 4x100m medley and mixed medley relays, setting a new world record of 26.62 seconds in the 50m breaststroke. He also became the first British swimmer to beat 59 seconds for the 100m breaststroke whilst taking the British titles in the 50m and 100m breaststroke. Adam’s award came in the face of very stiff competition,
after a fantastic Commonwealth Games for Derbyshire. The other nominees were Chesterfield’s table tennis star Liam Pitchford, Matlock’s Caroline Povey, a bronze medal winner in the Women’s Olympic Trap shooting event, and Sawley athlete Will Sharman who collected silver medals in the 110m hurdles in the Commonwealth Games and European Championships. Adam Peaty’s City of Derby coach, Mel Marshall, won the award for Matrix Fitness Performance Coach Of The Year after her success with Adam and disabled teenager Lewis White. Melanie was also recently honoured by British Swimming with the title of Coach Of The Year, the first woman to receive that award. Mel was unable to be at the Roundhouse, so swimmers Adam Peaty, Lewis White and Danielle Lowe collected her Derbyshire Sports award on her behalf. Lewis White (14) from Swadlincote, was named Origination Junior Disabled Sportsperson Of The Year for the second year. The 14-year-old City of Derby swimmer has set a
string of personal best times in the British Paraswimming International Championships, British Gas International Swimming Championships and DSE National Long Course S9 events, winning bronze for England at the UK School Games. The University of Derby Disabled Sportsperson Of The Year was Max Foord from Swadlincote. The 18 year old set a new Teen 75kg Raw Bench Press
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powerlifting world record and was also crowned World, European and British champion in the same category. His next target is
sides. McClaren then presented the Derby County FC Team Of The Year Award to Derby Trailblaz-
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ers Basketball Club First Team. They won immediate promotion back to England Basketball Division One by winning the Division Two title and also securing victory in the play-offs. There was an award for one of McClaren’s Rams stars, Jake Buxton, who received the Morley Hayes Professional Sportsperson Of The Year award. The other award winners were: Harvey Martin (Amber Valley, sailing) and Bradley Moore (Derby, golf) joint winners Huub Design Junior Sportsman Of The Year; Abbie Wood (High Peak, swimming) Derby City Council Junior Sportswoman Of The Year; Glossop North End AFC Juniors (High Peak, football) PKF Cooper Parry Club Of The Year; Richard Ball (High Peak, cricket) Derby College Community Coach Of The Year; Robert Martin (Bolsover, ju jitsu, kobudo, barjutsu and athletics) Derbyshire County Council Young Sports Leader/Young Coach Of The Year; Rosie Port (South Derbyshire, netball) Derby Telegraph Service To Sport Award and Cadtek Systems (High Peak) Moore Large Active Workplace Award.
Page 2. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian.
WASTING FOOD - IT’S BANANAS
Did you know around 20,000 bananas are thrown away in Derbyshire every day?
And that’s not all. Nearly 20% of food brought into the home ends up into the bin costing households up to £700 a year and a further £6.3 million a year in landfill costs for Derbyshire council tax-payers. Derbyshire County Council is highlighting the cost of binning food to encourage households to waste less. Councillor Dean Collins, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said: “No one likes to think they’re throwing money down the drain, but on average households waste the equivalent of one in every five bags of food bought – not to mention the additional cost of sending food to landfill. “The county council needs to cut £157 million from its budget by 2018 and money spent on sending around 63,000 tonnes of food to landfill every year could be better spent on other services. “That’s why we’re helping people to get the most out of their groceries, cut their shopping bill and reduce the cost of landfill.” Practical steps people can take to reduce food waste include: • Plan Meals - It’s one of the most effective ways you can cut waste and food bills. Check your fridge, freezer and cupboards, then write a list so you don’t
buy things you already have.
• Savvy Storage - Keep your food in the correct place to keep it at its best: o Bread - bread bin or cupboard in the original packaging. o Potatoes and onions - in a cool dark place. o Fruit and vegetables (except potatoes, onions, bananas and whole pineapple) – in the fridge in their original packaging. • Dates - ‘Use-by’ means food must be eaten by this date, or frozen to keep things for longer. ‘Best before’ is for quality only so food is still safe to eat after this date. Eggs can be eaten a day or two after their ‘best before’ date if they’re cooked thoroughly. • Portion control - Every day we serve up basics like bread, rice, potatoes and pasta but cook too much which means large amounts end up going straight in the bin. Check out the portion calculator at lovefoodhatewaste.com or download the free app. • Use leftovers - With a bit of thought you can create some delicious surprises from your leftovers – they don’t have to mean second best.
Children in Hayfield learn all about road safety from their local policing team
Visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/savemore for more useful tips and advice on how to make food go further or to enter our competition to win £60 in shopping vouchers. Just upload your recipe idea for using leftovers together with a photo of the dish you’ve created to be in wish a chance of winning. Advice is also available at a series of roadshows being held across the county during November and December. Chef Clover Hutson will be on hand to demonstrate some of her tasty tips for using up leftovers at: • New Mills Co-op – 14th November 2014, 10am – 5pm • Chesterfield Market Christmas light switch-on – 23 November 2014, 12-6pm • Swadlincote Christmas Market – 12 December 2014, 9am-2pm Food Facts Food most commonly thrown away includes bread, potatoes, fruit and veg. Every day in Derbyshire we throw away around: • 340,500 slices of bread • 82,000 potatoes • 25,100 slices of ham • 20,000 bananas • 19,800 tomatoes • 19,800 sausages • 15,600 eggs
Children at a Hayfield nursery have been learning all about the importance of road safety following a visit from their local policing team. PCSO’s Lee Baker and Jack Barlow from the New Mills and Hayfield Safer Neighbourhood Team headed into the Blue Grass Purple Cow Nursery as part of Children’s road safety class topic. The officers attended the nursery on Chapel Street, Hayfield, during the day on Thursday, October 30. PCSO Lee Baker form the local policing team said: “Visits into local schools and nurseries are a great way for the children to get to know their local policing team, the work that we do to help keep their community safe, and where they can come for help. “During our visit we spoke to the children about the importance of staying safe while out near the roads, and they were able to practice this using the pelican crossing play equipment at the nursery.” Manager at Blue Grass Purple Cow Nursery, Gemma, added: “We love visitors to our nursery and the children were especially excited when PCSO Lee Baker and PCSO Jack Barlow came to talk to us about road safety. “They gave us all great advice about keeping safe near roads during dark nights and they gained so much from it as part of our road safety week.” To speak to the New Mills and Hayfield Safer Neighbourhood Team call 101, the non-emergency number for Derbyshire police.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 3.
Blind Derbyshire WWII ex-soldier thinks of lost comrades during Remembrance Sunday march with Blind Veterans UK A registered blind 95-yearold World War II veteran from Higham says he was thinking of friends he lost in World War II during his march past the Cenotaph in London, representing Blind Veterans UK. Bill Braund, originally from the Rhonda Valley and now living in Higham, Derbyshire, joined more than 100 other veterans as part of a contingent from Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision impaired ex-Service men and women. Despite being blinded in one eye after an accident as a child, Bill served in the Welsh Regiment for the entirety of World War II and rose to the rank of Sergeant Major. Bill says “The Army was hardgoing, especially the training, but it was one of those things that we just took in our stride – there was
Britain’s most hated habits revealed
NOT giving up your seat to a pregnant or elderly person and using a disabled parking space when you don’t have a blue badge are Britain’s most hated habits. Research by the Charities Aid Foundation found that barging in at the front of a queue or walking past someone carrying a pushchair up some steps were also in the top five loathed kinds of behaviour. The findings come less than a week before #GivingTuesday on 2nd December, a global day of giving which encourages people to donate their time, money or support to good causes. Coming just after the pre-Christmas consumer hype of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is a call to action to perform an act of kindness and redress the balance by keeping bad habits at bay. The poll of 2,070 people in the UK found that other hated foibles include playing music so loudly that everyone can hear it through your headphones and using a family parking space at the super-
market when you don’t have children in the car. Pressing the buttons to make the lift doors close before other people can enter and eating someone else’s food from the fridge rated high on the bad behaviour chart. Putting bags on a train or bus seat next to you so that people have to ask to sit down and talking on your mobile at a checkout till make it into the top ten. Other bugbears are not holding a door open for someone and not letting other drivers out at junctions. Putting an empty milk carton back in the fridge and leaving the toilet seat up also drive some of us to distraction. Yet despite our hatred of bad manners, 74 per cent admit to being guilty of at least one of the bad habits. #GivingTuesday takes place for the first time in the UK on 2nd December and the campaign is quickly gathering momentum with more than 600 businesses and charities signed up to take part.
a war on, so we had to serve.”
During his time in the Army, Bill served in Sudan, Malawi and Burma, spending five years in the King’s African Rifles. Bill says “We didn’t see much action in Africa, but Burma was very difficult. We arrived in monsoon season, and it would take us a week to travel 26 miles because the roads were impassable. As a Welshman, I thought I’d seen a lot of rain, but that was nothing compared to Burma.” Bill was discharged from the Army in 1946 and returned to the Rhonda Valley, where he played as a goalkeeper for Cardiff City FC as well as being a tram driver in the city. Six decades after leaving the Army, Bill noticed that he was struggling with the sight in his
The movement is being led by the Charities Aid Foundation working closely with software provider Blackbaud alongside 42 founding partners including the RSPCA, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Breast Cancer Care, Facebook and RBS. Hannah Terrey, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the Charities Aid Foundation, said: ‘’#GivingTuesday is all about giving something back and we hope we can get the whole nation thinking about charity and being charitable at the start of the festive season. ’It is fantastic to see so much enthusiasm for the #GivingTuesday movement from people across the country including some brilliant charities and businesses. “We are delighted by the support we have received so far and want to encourage as many businesses, charities and individuals to take up #GivingTuesday and really run with it.”Populus interviewed 2,070 UK adults online between the 31st October and 2nd November. Data were weighted to be representative of all UK adults aged 18+. BEHAVING BADLY: BRITAIN’S MOST HATED HABITS 1 - Using a disabled parking space when you’re not eligible to do so (91%)
good eye. Bill was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration in his remaining eye and was registered blind in 2008. Bill, who has now lived in Derbyshire for 16 years, is now receiving free and comprehensive support from Blind Veterans UK to help him live independently with sight loss. Bill says “Blind Veterans UK has brought me back into the world. I used to be very negative about my sight loss, but meeting other veterans in a similar situation has really helped me find the positives. Blind Veterans UK has also given me various gadgets to help me make the most of the sight I still have.” Bill was one of thousands of veterans who took part in the national Remembrance Sunday march in London. Bill, who was marching for the fifth time, completed the march with Blind Veterans UK in a wheelchair.
· The people of Derby are the sleepiest in the UK, getting an average of just 6.2 hours on weeknights – less than any other city · 76% of people in Derby feel they have to compromise sleep to get everything done and 73% rise early to check emails and get ready for the day ahead indicating an increasingly aggressive workplace · Signs of widespread ‘competitive tiredness’ uncovered with 22% of people discussing how little sleep they got the night before, with colleagues · The British working population get around 4 billion hours less sleep each year than they did 10 years ago · That’s 141 hours (17.5 nights) less sleep a year per person A new study from Premier Inn has found that the people of Derby are
some of the sleepiest in the UK after revealing that they survive on an average of just 6.2 hours on weeknights – the lowest figure of any city in the UK.
a fifth (22%) of people in the city admit to competing with colleagues about lack of sleep with women being the more competitive sex.
This widespread lack of sleep is caused by what appears to be an increasingly strained work-life balance for many people and the ‘always on’ culture caused by ubiquitous technology. The majority (76%) of people in Derby feel they have to compromise sleep to get everything achieved in a day, a further 73% of people wake up early to check emails and get prepared for the working day.
The research uncovered that although 51% of people in the city believe you need at least eight hours of sleep per night, 26% of people are getting less than five hours on weeknights. But instead of being cause for concern we now feel jealous of people who wake up earlier than us with 14% of people in admitting that it makes them feel ‘lazy’.
Increased pressure at work and a lack of sleep at home has also given birth to a widespread trend of ‘competitive tiredness’. We now take pride in how little sleep we get using it as a badge of honour rather than a cause for concern. Over
Across the UK, it appears that Brits are sleeping significantly less than they were ten years ago. The research uncovered that working Brits sleep 4 billion hours less annually than we did in 2004, meaning
Blind Veterans UK’s campaign No One Alone aims to reach out to more veterans like Bill. More than 68,000 other veterans could be eligible for free help and support without realising it. If you know someone who served in the Armed Forces or National Service who now suffers with sight loss from any reason visit www. noonealone.org.uk or call 0800 389 7979. For more information about Blind Veterans UK’s work, please visit www.blindveterans.org.uk
Bill says “Remembrance Sunday
2 - Not giving up your train or bus seat for a pregnant or elderly person (90%) 3 - Pushing in at the front of a queue or at a busy bar (87%) 4 - Walking past someone struggling with a pushchair to go up or down stairs (83%) 5 - Playing music so loud that everyone can hear it through your headphones (76%) 6 - Using a family parking space at the supermarket when you don’t have kids (75%) 7 - Pressing the buttons to make the lift doors close before people can enter (73%) 8 - Eating someone else’s food from the fridge (73%) 9 - Putting bags on the train or bus seat next to you so people have to ask to sit down (70%) 10 - Talking on your mobile phone whilst at a checkout till (70%) 11 - Not holding a door open for someone (67%) 12 - Not letting other drivers out at junctions (62%) 13 - Putting an empty milk carton/bottle back in the fridge (40%) 14 - Leaving the toilet seat up (26%)
Derby Uncovered as the Sleepiest City in the UK
New study finds that the people of Derby are getting less sleep than anyone else in the UK
means a lot to me personally, particularly when I think of the friends I lost in World War II. I had one very good friend who drowned in Burma when we were crossing a rope bridge. He was swept away by the current and his body was never found. I was thinking about him, and all those who’ve died in service, during the two minutes’ silence.”
that we are losing out on 17 and a half nights sleep every year. A Premier Inn spokesperson said: “The professional world has most certainly got more competitive over the past ten years and this study shows that most Brits are foregoing sleep to keep up in an increasingly demanding careers. What’s interesting is that our way of coping with considerably less sleep is to compete about it with our colleagues. Our tiredness has now become something we relish in ‘winning’ at. “Given the majority of people feel they must compromise their sleep to fit everything in it’s crucial that the sleep they do achieve is of a high quality. That’s why at Premier Inn we offer all our guests a Good Night Guarantee and provide luxurious Hypnos beds and a choice of pillows to ensure a peaceful slumber.”
RATE YOUR LOCAL HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRE
People across the county are being asked to rate their local household waste recycling centre. Residents can fill in a short survey online at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/recycling2014 to highlight what they like and what they think needs improving at the Derbyshire County Council sites in: • Ashbourne • Bolsover • Chesterfield • Glossop • Ilkeston • Loscoe • Newhall (Bretby) • Northwood (Darley Dale) • Buxton (Waterswallows) Councillor Dean Collins, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said: “The county council is facing difficult financial times and needs to save £157 million by 2018. “Last year sending waste to landfill cost the county council £19 million. “If we all reduce, reuse and recycle more, less will be sent to landfill which will help to make some of the financial savings needed. “That’s why the county council is looking for ways to help improve our recycling centres and talk to people about what we can do to help them recycle more.” For more information about household waste recycling centres in Derbyshire visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/recycling
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Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 5.
Dolly Char Derby
NEW STUDY SHOWS PUBLIC BACKING FOR MORE SOCIAL HOUSING
Hi, my name is Pauline Doherty, and I manage Dolly Char in the Derby area. During my last 2 years with the company my main focus has been to create a really great team of caring cleaners, mostly ladies with a mature outlook who understand the needs of our clients.
visit all clients and cleaner/carers in their own homes. All of our cleaner/carers must have at least two recent verifiable references and be able to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of their ability to do a job that will ensure our clients satisfaction.
Before I took this demanding job on, I was myself a carer and cleaner for over 15 years, being lastly a cleaning lady for Dolly Char, and have found this experience extremely valuable in my choice of cleaners and carers.
I am very pleased and proud to state that since becoming manager of Dolly Char Derby, we have gone from 35 clientsto over 140 clients in 2 years. It has been very hard work, but I have enjoyed every minute of it. Of course in that time there have been problems to solve as in any business, but that is one of the main functions of the job, to smooth out problems. If you are looking for some help around your house, be it cleaning, ironing, laundry or shopping, or know of a friend or relative who could use a little help, please feel free to call me on my FREEPHONE number for a friendly chat Freephone 0800 028 1657
We try to understand what a client needs, weather it is plain efficient cleaning, ironing, shopping help or sometimes a friendly help around the house, including daily call- ins. This philosophy has ensured many of our clients and cleaners have been together over long periods of time, due to a culture of trust and mutual respect. We consider the personnel touch a very important aspect, and with this in mind, I
LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU, PAULINE.
As the country’s housing shortage grows, the majority of British people would support more council and housing association homes being built in their local area, new research reveals today. Currently only half the number of homes needed to keep up with demand are being built every year and there is already a backlog of undersupply. As the shortage of affordable homes grows, the new research suggests that there is public support for building the homes that are needed. The research by Ipsos MORI, launched today to mark national #HousingDay, shows that: · Over half (58 per cent) of the British public support more social housing being built in their local area. · 80 per cent of British people say social housing should be available for people who can’t afford the cost of private renting as well as being a safety net for the most vulnerable. · More than two out of three British people (67 per cent) say that social housing plays an important role in tackling poverty in Britain. As social housing, which is set at lower rents, continues to be in short supply more people are now living in more expensive private lets at the same time as
wages are flatlining. However, the research findings show that an overwhelming majority of people don’t want social housing to become only a safety net for the most vulnerable, but to remain an option for anyone on lower incomes who can’t afford private rents. The National Housing Federation, which is backing #HousingDay, highlights that housing associations provide affordable homes for five million people in England and have the capability to provide homes for one in five people by 2033. Gill Payne, director of policy and external affairs at the National Housing Federation, said: “Everyone needs a decent home they can afford to live in and we should be proud of our country’s social housing that provides just that for millions of people across the country. “But sadly, after decades of governments failing to build the affordable homes we need, we’re now faced with a housing crisis that can only be solved by having the right homes in the right places at a price that people can actually afford. “We’ve previously found that eight out of 10 people1 don’t believe any of the main political parties would effectively deal with
housing but we think they have an opportunity to change that and prove people wrong. We’re calling on all political parties to invest in more affordable homes and to commit to end the housing crisis within a generation.” #Housing Day is a national online event to celebrate the positive impact of social housing on thousands of people across the UK. To find out more and get involved follow #HousingDay on twitter.
Fireworks World Ltd.
Planning a New Year’s Eve Party this year? Why not visit one of Fireworks World’s stores, located in Bulwell, Burton and Derby city centre. All stores offer a huge range of fireworks in store as well as discount fireworks and professional displays for any special occasion. There will be a promotion day across all three stores that will be taking place on the 27th of December and should not be missed out on. With plenty of offers available to all, there will be something to suit any taste.
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Slashing VAT on tourism would create over 7,500 jobs in the East Midlands
HOSPITAL REDUCES OVERNIGHT PARKING CHARGES
Royal Derby Hospital have introduced a new, lower, overnight parking rate of £2 for staff working through the night and other visitors to the hospital between the hours of 5pm and 8am. The decision to introduce the new rate came after consultations with staff and their concerns about safety during the hours of darkness. Car park manager Melanie Ray said: “There are hundreds of people who work here through the night and it’s important that they can park safe-
ly. The message has come back loud and clear from our car park teams who’ve been out on the wards talking to staff to find out how we can help them go about their jobs caring for patients.” Derby Hospitals associate director of facilities Paul Brooks said: “Staff have had concerns about where to safely park their car overnight. We’ve heard what’s been said and we’ve come up with a solution.” The new overnight rate is in addition to the existing £1 rate for evening visitors using
car parks at the hospital between 5pm and 9pm. This rate was introduced in April to encourage visitors to come in the evening rather than in the daytime, as demand for parking during the day often exceeds the 1,000 spaces available. The daily rate begins at £2 for one hour, with discounts and concessions on longer stays. Derby Hospitals have 8,500 staff treating over one 600,000 patients each year.
Cutting VAT on accommodation and attractions from 20 percent to five percent would create over 7,500 jobs in East Midlands, and boost the East Midlands economy by over £230 million, new figures released today reveal.
one reduced VAT rate for tourism. Lithuania will reduce the level of VAT on tourism in 2015. The high VAT rate makes British tourism businesses uncompetitive, and incentivises people to travel abroad for their holidays.
The Cut Tourism VAT campaign, which has cross-party support from nearly 100 MPs, is calling on the Chancellor to announce a VAT cut in the Autumn Statement and give hard-pressed regions outside of London a much-needed leg-up.
Graham Wason, chairman of the Cut Tourism VAT campaign, said:
Many of the new jobs created by cutting VAT on accommodation and attractions would go to young people – 44 percent of people currently employed in hospitality and tourism are under 30, compared to the national average of 24 percent. Research from the campaign shows promising to reduce VAT for the sector would have an immediate positive impact on the economy, as companies factor a reduction into their spending plans and begin the process of hiring and reinvesting. Even though lowering the rate of tourism VAT would require no extra legislation on the part of the UK government, ministers have so far refused to engage with the idea, despite the economic benefits. Across the whole of Britain, a VAT cut would create 120,000 jobs, boost GDP by £4 billion each year, and increase the Treasury’s revenues by £4 billion over 10 years. Lower VAT would further help consumers, by resulting in fairer prices, and also lift British exports. Tourism is Britain’s 6th largest export, bringing in £24 billion annually, but it is the only one subject to VAT. Of the 28 EU member states, only Denmark, Lithuania, the UK and Slovakia do not have at least
“George Osborne has a fantastic opportunity in the Autumn Statement to unveil a tax cut that would create thousands of jobs, inject millions of pounds into regional economies outside of London, and even a result in a fiscal surplus for the Treasury. What’s more, many of the benefits would be felt as soon as a cut is announced. The Chancellor should listen to MPs, including the dozens in his own party, who are calling for change.” David Bridgford, strategy director at Merlin Entertainments, said: “The Chancellor should do the right thing and cut tourism VAT to the same level as other European nations. The current rate of 20 percent makes Britain uncompetitive internationally, punishes Britain’s tourism sector, which is losing market share to rivals, and penalises Britons who want to holiday at home by making it more expensive than going abroad. A cut to five percent would create 120,000 jobs, boost GDP, attract more international visitors, and give Brits a greater incentive to holiday in the UK.” Dermot King, managing director of Butlins, said: “British tourism is weighed down by a cripplingly high VAT rate that discourages growth and incentivises people to take a trip abroad for their holiday. If the Chancellor wants a winning policy for this Autumn Statement, he should cut VAT from 20 percent to five percent, and help a great British industry.”
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Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 7. “When David arrived he had his own readymade personality. He was resilient, frustrated and needing constant reassurance. “But as time has passed he has settled into the family and has been welcomed and loved by everyone, just like any other child.” There are around 630 children in care in Derbyshire and they all need loving, happy homes, whether permanently through adoption or by being fostered. Natalie says: “I think it is important that more people come forward to adopt because every children deserves to know that they are loved. “They don’t chose to be born into the circumstances that they are but they should have the chance to have the best possible future. “It makes no difference to me whether or not I have given birth to David - I feel the same about him as I do about my daughter.
MORE ADOPTIVE HOMES NEEDED FOR CHILDREN IN CARE
Christmas is a time for gathering together with loved ones but sadly that isn’t the case for a lot of children in Derbyshire. There’s around 630 children in care in Derbyshire and many of them are looking for a permanent, loving family to call their own. That’s where adoption comes in – could you open your heart and your home to a child? Every child deserves to know that they are loved - that’s the opinion of Derbyshire couple Natalie and Rob*. They know all about the rewards of opening their home to
a child in need as they decided to adopt with Derbyshire County Council. While the process is intensive, the end results are life changing for everyone involved and they welcomed 16 month-old son David* into their family in 2012. The couple also have a birth daughter and admit that it’s not all been plain sailing - just like any other family with a new child there’s been sibling rivalry and a period of adjustment. Natalie, 43, said: “It took them a while to establish a relationship as he saw her as a rival for our affection. Now however they’re just like any other brother and
sister and she is so proud to have a little brother. “He is so funny and bright - he’s an absolute pleasure.” The process of becoming an adoptive parent can take upto six months and there are several stages to go through including a medical assessment, training and personal references being taken. You’ll be asked information about you, your background, your family and your support networks. Natalie says: “You take a leap of faith when you adopt - but then that is exactly the same as with having any child.
“I think you just have to go out there with an open mind and explore the possibilities of adoption. There will be a child that is right for you.” *Names have been changed
Adoptive parents need to be: • Aged over 21 • Legally resident in the UK for at least 12 months • Fit, healthy and energetic enough to provide a child with a home for their childhood and beyond • Able to provide love, commitment, empathy and understanding • Be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of a child who may have experienced significant trauma. There are lots of myths around adopting that may have stopped
you from taking the first step but Derbyshire County Council welcomes adoptive parents from every background, relationship status and culture. • There is no upper age limit • You can be single or married, in a same sex relationship or in a civil partnership • You may or may not be employed • You may be on a low income • You may be a home owner or live in rented property • You may have some form of disability • You may have your own children still living at home You can start your adoption process online at www.derbyshire. gov.uk/applytoadopt Or for more information call Derbyshire on 0800 083 7744 or visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/adoptionandfostering
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VULCAN XH558 HANGAR TOURS Not many people know that one of Britain’s most popular Cold War icons is open to the public at its home in Doncaster, Yorkshire. Visitors of all ages can visit the last airworthy Avro Vulcan, XH558, in the modernised World War II hangar from which she operated during much of the Cold War. Guests can marvel at the sheer size of her delta wings, stand below the open bomb bay doors and even peer up the crew ladder into the cockpit. Vulcan XH558 is owned by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, a charity that depends on public support to maintain her and to fly her at air shows across the UK. XH558 returned to the air in 2007 following one of the world’s most challenging restoration programmes and has become an air show phenomenon. In order to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to admire Vulcan XH558 in the flesh, guests can now visit the world’s only flying Vulcan at her operational hangar for a fascinating tour that will take all visitors back to the nail-biting tension of the Cold War. To mark the fall of the Berlin Wall and the anniversary of the Cold War, Vulcan XH558 and her crew organised a tour of ten of the most prominent former RAF V-Force stations, dipping her delta wings to salute the unsung heroes of the Cold War. The Vulcan to
the Sky Trust also celebrated the many Falklands Conflict. The tours are host- giant delta profile. The tour guides will flying a paper Vulcan and many other British engineers whose successes ed by the Trust’s knowledgeable tour also explain the growing collection of proven techniques for reinforcing learnincluded putting the Vulcan prototype guides, providing a direct and personal Vulcan and Cold War artefacts, which ing in a memorable and stimulating enin the air just eleven years include original Falklands vironment. after the first flight of her preConflict planning documents decessor the Avro Lancaster, and equipment used by Vul- The History commemorated earlier in the can officers to monitor enemy The Avro Vulcan’s original design brief season by the famous “Three naval activity. was issued by the Ministry of Defence Avro Sisters” flight over the in 1947 and the aircraft flew for the first planned International Bomber Guests can also join XH558 time on August 30th 1952, just eleven Command Centre. for technical visits, which years after the first flight of its predecombine the privileged ac- cessor, the Avro Lancaster. The Vulcan When she’s not gracing the cess of the VIP Tours with the was labelled the Cold War peacekeepskies, XH558 has received detailed insight and experi- er until the aircraft flew into combat more visitors in 2014 than ence of one of the charity’s during the Falklands Conflict in 1982. in any previous year; so far, two most senior technical During a marathon 8,000 mile flight almost 15,000 guests have managers. Visitors can ask supported by eleven Victor tankers, visited XH558 and children questions about their expe- Squadron Leader Martin Withers and of all ages left her hangar rience helping to maintain his crew released the bombs over Port inspired by the excitement of Vulcans in service, about Stanley Airport that prevented Argentiengineering and aviation. The the remarkable challenges na operating its Mirage III fighters from winter is always a fascinatthat they overcame during the island and initiated the campaign ing time in the hangar, where the return-to-flight and, more that recaptured the Falklands. Just the aircraft is prepared for recently, during the wing two years later, the remaining Vulcans service with inspection panmodification that successfully were withdrawn from service. els and major systems being extended her flying life. Eduremoved and then returned cation is at the heart of the You can keep up-to-date with the latest after Christmas. There are 13 Vulcan to the Sky Trust’s ob- news from the Vulcan to the Sky Trust tour options available, with jectives and to help inspire a by visiting Facebook at facebook/com/ something special for all levnew generation of engineers, VulcanXH558 and Twitter at @XH558. els of knowledge. insight into the aircraft’s incredible his- the Trust provides tailored visits to To choose your tour, please visit vulGuests are invited to enter the hangar tory. Those who choose a VIP Tour ex- meet the specific educational require- cantothesky.org. in which XH558 is maintained, where perience, with a group of no more than ments of all educational groups. Pupils the tour will begin with a presentation six people, will receive a higher level of and students can tour the aircraft beon the Avro Vulcan and both its design access, climbing the stairs to the engi- fore participating in a range of activities and role within the Cold War and the neering office to look down on XH558’s that may include quizzes, building and
Light up a Life A hospice which cares for children and young people with life-limiting and terminal illnesses from Derbyshire is asking people to support its Christmas appeal.
The Light up a Life appeal, ran by Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, invites people to celebrate the memory of a loved one who has sadly passed away, or to acknowledge a treasured person by dedicating a light on the special Tree of Lights at the hospice. Each dedication will be acknowledged with a commemorative Christmas card and Rainbows adds the name of loved ones to its Book of Remembrance, which is on display at the hospice during the festive period. Rainbows will also send people a special Light up a Life pin badge. Katie Baxter, events and community manager at Rainbows, said: “Christmas is a time to think about those people we love and we invite you to dedicate a light on our special Tree of Lights at the hospice that will shine brightly during the festive period for them. Your light can be to celebrate the memory of a loved one, to acknowledge a special person in your life or as a special Christmas gift. At Rainbows, we care for more than 309 children and young people. We also support 278 bereaved families and 522 siblings and all the money raised will go towards supporting them.” A donation of £10 could help to fund two days’ worth of oxygen for a child, £25 could help fund one hour of physiotherapy and £50 could go towards one day of care for a child or young person. There is no minimum donation for a light and all money raised will go to support the work of Rainbows. For more information, visit www.rainbows.co.uk/lightupalife or contact 01509 638000.
EAST MIDLANDS SEES DEPOSIT VALUE DROP The latest Q3 Tenancy Deposits Digest from my|deposits has revealed a decrease of £63 (9.3%) in the average deposit value the East Midlands, the biggest deposit drop between Q2 and Q3 this year.
living in London.
However, the average tenancy deposit is now £613 in the East Midlands which is a £54 (9.3%) increase from this time last year.
“The deposit value is usually tagged to the rental cost of the property - typically between four to six weeks’ worth of rent - so the only real way to relieve some of the pressures on the rental market is to tackle the huge issue of undersupply of housing in the UK at present.
Eddie Hooker, CEO of mydeposits, said:
“Since the start of Tenancy Deposit Protection in 2007 the cost The region along with the North of the average deposit has risen by East (-£24) are the only regions to around 40%, and much like the have seen a quarterly drop in Eng- cost of rents, deposits continue to land and Wales. rise year on year.
The average tenancy deposit protected across England and Wales by my|deposits now stands at £1210 – up £121 (11.1%) from this time last year and up one per cent (£12) from Q2 2014. The figures also show a difference of £1266 between the average cost of deposits in the most expensive (London) and cheapest (Yorkshire and The Humber) regions in England and Wales.
“It will be one of the biggest challenges for the next elected government, so it’s concerning to see that not all political parties have ironed out the details of their housing manifesto pledges in build-up to next May’s General Election”.
Despite deposits in the East Midlands growing at a similar rate to To download the latest digest, visit London over the last 12 months, http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/ the average value of deposits is deposits-digest-issue2 three times more in the capital reflecting the higher overall cost of
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Men in the Midlands put the cost of Christmas on credit cards
Women in the Midlands are coming up top with saving money during the festive season. A study by TopCashback. co.uk, released today, reveals that 19 per cent of men in the Midlands admit to putting the cost of Christmas on credit cards, compared to just 13 per cent of women. Women are even better at budgeting for Christmas than men. More than three-quarters of women in the Midlands say they make their own gifts and regift unwanted presents to save money.
More than half of residents in the Midlands have set themselves a budget for Christmas this year. On average, residents in the East Midlands plan to spend £213 in total, compared to £266 for those in the West. Both aim to buy between 6-10 presents at £20 each. Other key findings reveal that: 19 per cent of women in the Midlands pay for Christmas with their final pay check in November
More than three-quarters of men in the Midlands have only bought gifts for immediate family to save money at Christmas More than half of women in the Midlands have a budget for Christmas More than a quarter of women in the Midlands buy gifts throughout the year to spread the cost of Christmas The full set of statistics for the East and West Midlands is displayed in the infographic above:
THYME TO SPICE UP DINNER TIME, BRITAIN Research reveals Brits waste over £240 million of unused herbs and spices Despite Britain being considered a culinary melting pot, research launched today reveals Brits have £240m worth of unused herbs and spices going to waste in their cupboards, as they shy away from experimenting with more adventurous world dishes when cooking at home. The research, commissioned by leading kitchen appliance brand, Kenwood, marks the launch of its ‘Around the World in 80 Plates’ e-booklet – a definitive list of the world’s best dishes, as decided by a panel of global food experts.
The poll of 2,000 adults reveals that, although foreign cuisines rank ahead of traditional British fare when it comes to our favourite foods, we only ever cook an average of four foreign dishes – typically Spaghetti Bolognese, Indian Curry, Chinese Stir Fry, and Risotto. And as many as one in six Brits (17%) can only cook one international dish. Over a quarter of
respondents (27%) resort to ready-made sauces when cooking global cuisines, rather than starting from scratch, and one in four (25%) rely on takeaways or restaurants to get their foreign food fix.
herbs and spices are now being left unused at the back of the cupboard, with 13% of the nation hoarding spices that are more than four years old, and 6% keeping spices for more than six years – long past their shelf life.
Top 10 foreign dishes Brits are most likely to make at home: Top 10 most used herbs and spices in Britain: 1. Spaghetti Bolognese (70%) 2. Indian Curry (62%) 1. Basil (44%) 3. Chinese Stir Fry (60%) 2. Chilli (41%) 4. Risotto (40%) 3. Oregano (30%) 5. Mexican Chilli (39%) 4. Coriander (30%) 5. Ginger (29%) 6. BBQ Ribs (32%) 7. Thai Curry (30%) 6. Rosemary (28%) 7. Paprika (22%) 8. Caesar salad (28%) 8. Parsley (19%) 9. Paella (25%) 10. Lamb tagine (18%) 9. Cinnamon (19%) 10. Thyme (17%) Despite spices historically being considered a highly prized commodity, and far A lack of global gastronomic knowledge too valuable to waste, half of Britain’s also shone through in the research, with
over half of us (62%) having cooked an Indian curry at home, yet very few making use of the traditional Indian spices – 15% have added turmeric to their dishes, 10% mustard seeds, and a mere 2% have tried cooking with cardamom. Astonishingly, the research revealed 60% of Brits don’t know that gazpacho comes from Spain, and 30% aren’t sure what a falafel is, with 7% confusing it with baklava, a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo, chopped nuts and honey, and a further 7% believing it is an unleavened flatbread.
Seren Evans-Charrington, Food Historian, comments: “The British palette is one that has continually embraced new flavours and cuisines throughout the ages, but perhaps we are more open to tasting and experiencing ‘new’ dishes than cooking them. In the home kitchen,
when a family needs to be fed, it can be easy to stick to a repertoire of tried and tested recipes.” Seb Goff, Kenwood Trade Marketing Manager, adds: “We were staggered to find out how many millions of pounds worth of herbs and spices are going to waste. We know Brits continually embrace new flavours and cuisines, but it seems that we’re not confident enough to experiment with them in our own homes. This is why we have teamed up with a team of six leading global chefs to create ‘Around the World in 80 Plates’. The e-booklet, which can be downloaded for free from http://www.kenwoodworld.com/ uk, is designed to encourage people to try creating delicious, foreign dishes from scratch with step-by-step recipes from everything from sushi and baklava, to chakalaka and kelewele ”.
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LOCAL WINNER LEAVES THEIR MARK ON LOVE HEARTS Local competition winner, Paula Jewkes has been chosen by British sweet makers Swizzels as one of the winners of its once in a lifetime competition to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its most iconic sweets, Love Hearts. Paula, from Belper entered the unique competition that saw thousands of hopefuls create and submit their own Love Hearts message to be in with a chance of seeing their own Love Hearts in production at the Derbyshire based Swizzels factory. Paula’s
CHARITY SEES RECORD RISE IN CALLS FROM PEOPLE ON THE BRINK OF HOMELESSNESS IN THE EAST MIDLANDS Shelter calls for support to help stop families losing their homes this Christmas season Housing and homelessness charity Shelter is urgently appealing for support for its helpline this winter, after seeing a surge from callers at serious risk of losing their home in the East Midlands. Over the last year, the helpline’s advisers spoke to more than 3,000 callers on the brink of homelessness – a staggering surge of almost 10% from 2012. Overall, the number of callers from the East Midlands to the helpline – which is in part funded by Marks & Spencer (M&S) – rose to a record high of more than 9,000 over the same period. As England’s shortage of affordable homes continues to push housing costs sky high, the charity is expecting even more families to be in desperate need of its help this Christmas. Recent Shelter analysis of government statistics revealed that 43 households in the East Midlands are at risk of losing their home every day. Shelter helpline adviser Nadeem Khan said: “It’s so heartbreaking to hear from families struggling to keep a roof over their heads, especially around this time of year. “Hearing the panic in a parent’s voice when they’ve just been evicted or had their home repossessed never gets any easier. Sadly, every year we get more and more of these calls over the holidays, and this Christmas will be no different. “That’s why the support we get from Marks & Spencer customers is so important to our work. As
demand for our help goes up, the money raised through the Food On The Move Range helps us be there for families when they need us most.” Case study: Sasha called the Shelter helpline after she and her young son were evicted from their property and had nowhere else to turn: “Shelter was there when I was at my lowest. By failing to provide basic accommodation for my child, I felt I had failed him and there was no hope. “The Shelter advisor showed me that there was a way out of the situation and was there to offer support and advice to help me get back on my feet. “Thankfully we’re now moving into a new home in time for Christmas - if I hadn’t made that phone call I don’t know where we’d be.” Marks & Spencer’s Director of Plan A, Mike Barry, said: “This is our ninth year of supporting Shelter at Christmas and helping homeless families at a time when they need it most. We are proud to be associated with a charity that does such amazing work. “With donations to the Shelter helpline coming through our Food On The Move range and coffee sales, every time a customer comes into store for lunch they are helping to ensure no call for help goes unanswered this Christmas.” Shelter is asking shoppers to buy their lunch from M&S’ Food on the Move range this winter to help ensure they can be there for families struggling to keep their home this Christmas. To date, the retailer has raised over £7.5 million for Shelter.
winning entry was “TAKE A SELFIE” because everyone is taking selfies at the moment and she thought it was a very modern phrase to put on a Love Heart. Other winning messages include modern and current phrases such as, ‘SKYPE ME’, ‘TWEET ME’, ‘SWIPE RIGHT’, ‘TOTES HILAR’ and ‘YOLO’ an abbreviation of ‘you only live once’. There was also winning regional messages such as ‘ALEET PET’ and ‘CWTCH ME’ which is the well
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 13. know welsh phrase for ‘Hug me’. One romantic winner selected ‘MARRY ME?’ message to encourage more Love Heart based proposals. The 14 new messages are now in production at the Love Hearts factory and are currently being sold in stores around the UK. Swizzels also provided the winners with a VIP tour of the factory in Derbyshire, where they saw their very own unique messages printed onto Love Hearts. Swizzels has been making Love Hearts for 60 years and produce 1.75 billion Love Heart sweets every year. The brand is famous for featuring a selection of over 150 traditional romantic messages – the 14 new additions will be making Love Hearts history! Jeremy Dee, Managing Director at Swizzels said: “We had thousands of great en-
tries and it was really tough narrowing them down to just 14! We had lots of fun reading through all the entries and would like to thank everyone who entered. It is very rare for us to change the messages on the Love Hearts but we felt that this was a great way to mark the special occasion. We had a great day welcoming Paula and the rest of the winners to the factory and getting their Love Hearts into production.” Swizzels is the UK’s largest family-owned independent sugar confectionery business and one of the few confectionery companies to still manufacture sweets in the UK. The company makes a range of well-known products including Love Hearts, New Refreshers, Drumstick Lollies, Rainbow Drops, Double Lollies and Fruity Pops. http://www.swizzels.com/
The cattle are lowing at a custom-fit bovine jumper created by Send a Cow to help fight poverty in Africa Wild, wacky and of questionable taste, bright jumpers have become synonymous with the festive period, but this Christmas even the cows have joined the fashion herd thanks to UK charity Send a Cow. Today the charity’s ambassador Gloria the cow models an amoosing Christmas jumper to help raise awareness of Send a Cow’s aim of selling 20,000 festive gifts that will make a difference to poverty-stricken African families.
Replacing the traditional jumper pattern of snowmen or crackers, this udderly stylish Christmas jumper has been created to showcase the charity’s latest altruistic Christmas gifts catalogue, and was custom-knit with maximum comfort and fit in mind for the fashion-conscious cow.
Gloria the cow, a purebred Jersey from Devon, didn’t bat an eyelid at being fitted with the jumper, which fits with Velcro straps and is based on one of her existing comfortable coats. Send a Cow’s Christmas catalogue contains gifts that make a difference to povertystricken families in seven African countries. Gifts range from ‘Local Cow’ (£205), which provides a farming family with milk and manure; ‘Little Donkey’ (£9) which helps families take good care of their four-legged friends who transport farm produce to market; and ‘Tip Tap’ (£10), a bestseller which improves hygiene levels in areas where soap and water are luxuries. Simon Barnes, CEO of Send a Cow said; “This year we’ve taken the idea of the
quirky Christmas jumper one step further, to encourage people to think differently about the gifts they buy this Christmas. Instead of buying chocolate for a friend, why not buy something unusual - for as little as £5 you will greatly improve the lives of poverty-stricken families in Africa. This is our 13th year of the Christmas catalogue and over the years we’ve raised over eight million pounds to help poor families. We really hope that you will support us this year by buying a gift, to help us change even more lives this Christmas and beyond.”
Send a Cow’s Christmas catalogue is available in print and online – for more information go to www.sendacowgifts.org.uk or call 01225 874222.
House price momentum in the UK continued to slow according to the latest RICS Residential Market Survey. Nationally, new buyer demand slipped for the fourth consecutive month with London bearing the brunt of the decline. In the East Midlands demand also remained low, with 8% more surveyors reporting a fall in new buyer demand.
balance of 4%) but remains low, continuing the trend which has been in place for much of the past year. Much anecdotal evidence from surveyors points to an ongoing challenge in securing adequate new instructions.
As a result of the weaker trend in buyer interest, sales expectations are now lower than the beginning of the year (a net balance of 26%) and the picture regarding near term price expectations is not dissimilar.
In the lettings market, tenant demand in the East Midlands remains steady (a net balance of 12%). Rent expectations also remain almost unchanged as we move into autumn, with respondents’ anticipating an increase of around 1.4% over the next twelve months in the region.
Meanwhile, in the East Midlands stock coming onto the market rose slightly in October (a net
Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief mand will result in very much of a decline in house prices. Economist, said: “The flatter trend in the market is partly a reflection of potential buyers becoming a little more cautious about making a purchase as more stringent lending criteria has made it harder to access mortgage finance. An increasing awareness of the approaching general election also appears to be contributing to the softer market if the responses to the latest survey are anything to go by. However, with new instructions still flat at a headline level as has been the case for most of the last year it seems implausible that the dip in de-
Meanwhile, demand to rent property is growing as the sales market slows and this, coupled with a drop in supply of new stock to let, is helping to underpin the rental outlook for landlords pretty much across the whole of the country.” David Hawke FRICS of David Hawke & Co. in Worksop, commented: “General activity has reduced again – there seems to be a general slowdown in the state of the market, which is disappointing.”
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Alessandro’s Italian Deli Alessandro’s Italian Deli in Derby’s historical Markethall area is the Italian to visit away from Italy, with their passion for Italian food and drink, look no further to receive the best Italian food in the Derbyshire area. Alessandro’s pride themselves in selling only the best quality products for their customers, with fresh bread being baked on a daily basis from their local Italian bakery, look no further for a better Italian Deli. Alessandro’s especially love the food and drink from Abruzzo, which they often travel to, so do their best in order to as-
semble the best produce for their customers to have the ultimate Italian experience. Alessandro’s luxury hampers are the perfect gift for any friend or loved one this Christmas, their hampers include some of the best Italian products on the market and with products starting from, just £14.95, it’s definitely not an offer to miss out on. As well as choosing from the lovely designs that Alessandro’s put together for you such as the ‘Taste of Italian Basket’, you can also create your own hamper, and with a wide selection of goods in store there will be plenty to
suit your taste in Italian food. This year Alessandro’s are offering free gift wrapping of your purchase, a 5% discount with this advertisement and will also deliver your purchase for free to those in a 10 mile radius of the Derby area and to those in 10 mile radius of Junction 25 off the M1 and can arrange national delivery for you as well, to relieve some Christmas stress, this is definitely not a deal to miss out on this year.
YULE HAVE A BANG WITH THE CHEESIEST CHRISTMAS CRACKER THE WORLD’S cheesiest Christmas crackers – each containing a real mini cube of cheese – have been launched just in time for the festive season. The gold and black crackers contain a selection of different flavoured cheeses plus mini crackers to eat them on, as well as a cheesy joke and of course a Christmas hat that we love to hate. The mini cheeses, selected from the Pilgrims Choice Pick N Mix range, are randomly distributed in the pack of five, meaning you still have the flavour surprise when pulling each cracker. Research shows 36,000 tons of cheese is sold in the run up to Christmas in the UK*. Brits spending a whopping £106 million on cheese during the festive season** so Pilgrims Choice is creating a more enjoyable way to enjoy cheese. Linda Appel, head chef and product developer at Pilgrims Choice said: “Everyone goes crazy for cheese at Christmas and the nation loves nothing more than
pulling a cracker at the festive dinner table, so we wanted to combine these two loves in a fun and seasonal play on the traditional cheese and crackers. “We wanted to give the nation something different to present their guests and everyone loves a good cheesy joke. “Christmas crackers are notoriously cheesy– and we’ve just invented the ultimate cheesy cracker for the Christmas table.” The brand new cheesy Pilgrims Choice Christmas crackers from Pilgrims Choice are set to go out with a bang at the dinner table this festive season and are filled with selection of delicious cheeses from the following Pick N Mix flavours; Vintage Cheddar, Smokey Cheddar, Wensleydale and Cranberry, Indian Spice, Fire Cracker, and Apple and Wensleydale. Samples of the Pilgrims Choice Cheese & Crackers are limited and available only directly from Pilgrims Choice on an individual basis.
Have something that you would like to advertise? Give the sales team a call on: 01332 650239 for a free quote
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Caring For Your Cat
Winter Flea Warning
Fleas just love the winter ! With all our fires lit, and the central heating turned on to keep us warm, fleas think that it’s summer all over again. These pesky critters are a serious health problem for our cats and – no matter how spotlessly clean your home is – they can become a major anxiety to you and your family and friends. Don’t forget that fleas can suck so much blood from your cat that he or she can be-
come anaemic, and this can kill kittens and frail adult cats. There are a multitude of flea products on the market. Some are very effective, but some are not - and this can be extremely confusing when trying to choose the right one. To better understand the danger of fleas, and how to deal with them, go to www.feline-friends.org. uk/feline-fleas.htm On no account use spot-on flea treatments intended for dogs. There has been a spate of cat deaths in the UK due to owners mistakenly using dog flea treatments on their cats.
Worms It may be distressing to be told that, at some time during your cat’s life, he or she will almost certainly be affected by worms. Neverthe-less, this is an unfortunate fact of feline life, and it is vital – for your own health as well as that of your cat – that you introduce regular worming treatment into your ‘Cat Care’ regime. There are some 8 different types of intestinal worms that infect your cat, and some can be spread between cats and people. A good ‘spot-on’ worm treat-
ment can also control fleas at the same time, but certain other types of worms will still need to be treated separately. For information on how to help protect your cat and yourself from the dangers of worms, go to www.felinefriends.org.uk/feline-worms. htm
Is Your Cat a Healthy Weight ? It is an unfortunate fact that far too many cat owners do not realise that their cats are overweight, and are therefore in serious danger of developing major health problem as a direct result. Obesity is the most common of all nutritional disorders in cats, and is reaching epidemic proportions in the UK. Obesity-associated insulin resistance is the
most common cause of Diabetes in cats, and as many 200 cats in every 10,000 develop this disease. Heart Disease and Arthritis are seen more commonly as the number of overweight cats increase. Obese cats are also at risk of developing some cancers, urinary system disorders, liver disease, and many other disorders. Is your cat cute and cuddly – or in danger ? To find out, go to www.feline-friends.org.uk/ feline-obesity.html
There is so much we need to know about the care of our cats. Feline-Friends is a registered charity which is funded by our Trustees, and does not take donations from the public. Our website attempts to help cat owners better understand how to care for our cats, and we also sponsor scientific research into feline welfare. www.feline-friends.org.uk.
Redshaws Butchers Redshaws Butchers of Repton is a family butchers run by Mr. Redshaw who himself has been butchering since 16, pride themselves in offering fresh quality meat and a quality, friendly service.
Redshaws Butchers pride themselves in giving the friendliest service to all their customers and offer the very best local produce
that Repton has to offer at great prices, why not pop down and taste the difference for yourself?
best quality meat and fresh vegetables, all you need to do it pop them in the oven for 30 minutes and enjoy.
They also supply a great range of their own fresh meals that are prepared daily for pure excellence. They have a great selection to try out from Special Garlic Chicken, Chili Beef to Peppered Pork and Peppers. These are all made with the
In the lead up to Christmas Redshaw are now offering 10% their produce as well as free delivery to Repton, Milton, Willington, Newton Solney, Findern and Bretby. So don’t miss out on the best quality meat in the lead up to your Christmas.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 17.
What better to acknowledge out- Canvas Stretching standing acts or achievements? We can stretch or re-stretch your Be it acts of extreme bravery, team canvas over a range of stretcher triumph, a personal achievement bar mouldings of various sizes. or a school award, medals, badges We can either take the image and other items are awarded to around the edge for a contemporightly recognize such efforts, so rary finish, or leave the image on why shut them away in a drawer or the front only, then frame or hang cupboard? as it is. See Framing Art on CanWe can frame medals and vas for information on framing art awards with accompanying pho- on canvas. tos, titles, or other memorabilia if desired to display them with pride Acrylic or oil, stretched or unand make the recipient even more stretched, we can frame your enriched of their achievements. canvas-based artwork For war medals, we can mount them on the clasp or loose, and Original art in acrylic or oil on cancan even source new ribbons if re- vas makes a striking display to any quired; we can also provide a lac- room. quering service to prevent discolorArt on canvas needs to be ing of the medals. stretched over a stretcher frame before hanging (see Canvas StretchWhatever your sport, a framed ing), but once stretched can be shirt from your team makes a left unframed for the minimal conspectacular centerpiece. temporary look, or framed to really compliment the image. Sports shirts and memorabilia From gilt frames to contemporary have become very popular items to frames, we can assist and advise frame however, if done badly they with all aspects of canvas framing. will not last the test of time. We take time over framing sports Dry Mounting shirts to avoid this and hand stitch them over a board to give them This is a procedure that is used to shape and rigidity. We never use ensure that unsightly “cockling”, ripany tapes or glues to fix shirts, and pling or buckling of a print or photouse only acid free mounting mate- graph does not occur. rials, as specified by the Fine Art Cockling is a perfectly normal Trade Guild occurrence and is the result of huWe can include team photos, midity and the change of the seatext, programs, or any other related sons affecting the paper. Generally memorabilia if required, and have a speaking the thinner the paper the wide range of colourful mouldings more severe the cockle is likely to and mounts in order to match your be. team’s colours. Dry mounting is a special methFinishing with UV filtering glass od of bonding a thin subject e.g. a prevents the signatures from fad- print or photograph onto a variety ing, and you have the perfect gift for of different thicker surfaces without passionate sports fan in your family. the use of messy liquid adhesives.
Instead, heat activated dry mount tissue and a heated press is used. The result is a perfectly flat print, which will stay looking that way forever - unaffected by the change of the seasons. Although originals and limited edition prints can often benefit from being dry mounted it is not normally done as the future monetary value of the subject could possibly be affected, as they will no longer be in the same condition as when originally painted or printed. Very often people have to decide whether to have it dry mounted and looking good forever or to let it cockle if it wants to, but safe in the knowledge that it’s possible future value will be unaffected. Picture Framing – Paper Art How do you turn a piece of paper into a piece of furniture? Add a frame. Art on paper can take may forms - Original watercolour painting, photographs, limited edition prints or mass-produced posters. To protect your artwork against the elements it should be framed behind glass. We stock a myriad of different types of glass to cover every requirement, and can order many more. With the addition of a mount for visual effect and to keep your artwork clear of the glass (in order to protect against condensation), and complete the finish with an acid-free water-resistant backing. Not only will your artwork look amazing, but having been framed using high quality conservation materials, it will last you a lifetime.
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Companionship – what older people really want for Christmas Aled Jones launches The Abbeyfield Society’s Coping at Christmas 2014 campaign which tackles isolation and loneliness in older people at Christmas.
Nearly half of older people say the company of others would be one of the best gifts they could receive this Christmas. The finding, from research commissioned by older people’s housing and care charity The Abbeyfield Society, brings home the reality of loneliness and isolation that so many older people face during what should be one of the happiest times of the year. As the countdown to Christmas gets under way in earnest, Abbeyfield is seeking to combat the isolation and loneliness felt by millions of older people through its annual Coping At Christmas campaign. Launching on Wednesday November 19, Coping at Christmas will see Abbeyfield houses across the nation open their doors to lonely older people, offering free Christmas meals, events and even overnight stays for those who don’t want
to wake up in an empty house on December 25. Aled Jones, whose angelic version of The Snowman theme Walking In The Air, will forever be synonymous with Christmas. Aled is lending his support as this year’s Coping at Christmas campaign ambassador to ensure older people remember this year’s festive season for all the right reasons. Said Aled: “Enjoying a funfilled Christmas surrounded by family and friends is something many of us take for granted. But it’s heartbreaking to think that for millions of older people across the UK, Christmas is a time of crushing loneliness and isolation. “With only the radio or television to keep them company, what so many older people simply want over Christmas is company and to be surrounded by friendly faces - which is what Abbeyfield’s Coping at Christmas campaign is all about. “I’m proud to be lending my support to Coping at Christmas and to helping bring joy to so many older people who will be welcomed at Abbeyfield’s hous-
es and homes up and down the UK for free festive meals and overnight stays. Please join me in supporting Abbeyfield’s Coping at Christmas campaign and help spread the word so that older people in our communities don’t dread the prospect of spending Christmas 2014 alone.” This time last year 63-yearold Ken Greatholder from Staffordshire was dealing with the combined difficulties of a cancer diagnosis and facing spending Christmas alone. Thanks to Abbeyfield’s Coping at Christmas, he spent Christmas Day surrounded by happy faces and laughter at an Abbeyfield house. Ken, whose cancer is now in remission, said: “It was a very hard time for me. I was dreading another Christmas by myself, just dreading it. The biggest thing is the loneliness. It’s terrible when you’ve got no one to talk to, especially at Christmas. “If I’d been at home on my own I wouldn’t even have had a Christmas dinner. It would have been a very lonely time.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 19. “That Christmas bucked me up so much. I dressed up in all my Christmas gear with my silly hat on and sang and danced with the residents and just enjoyed having some company. It kept my mind occupied and took my thoughts off the cancer. I made some great new friends who I still keep in touch with today and I’ve become an official volunteer for Abbeyfield.” 2014 is the fifth year that Abbeyfield has run its Coping at Christmas campaign. Abbeyfield chief executive, Natasha Singarayer, said: “Abbeyfield absolutely believes that older people should not have to spend Christmas alone. Christmas is supposed to be about joy and happiness yet for so many older people it can be one of the loneliest times of their life. “Coping at Christmas offers a lifeline of warmth and companionship to the millions of older people who would otherwise be facing the festive period alone. “If you or anyone you know is worried about being alone over Christmas, please get in touch with Abbeyfield and join in the many free Christmas events and celebrations we have taking place throughout the country right through the extended festive period.” • The Abbeyfield Society Coping at Christmas campaign applies to people who are over 55 and will be alone over Christmas. To find out about Coping at Christmas events near you contact Abbeyfield on 01727 734 066.
One in three will get frisky with a co-worker at the Christmas party! The office Christmas party season has arrived and a new study of over 1,500 workers conducted by leading married dating site, IllicitEncounters.com, has revealed a shocking 34% of workers have admitted to sleeping with a co-worker whilst attending their company’s Christmas party. The study also showed that over 60% had drunkenly kissed someone they work with, and nearly a quarter of people (25%) admitted to calling in sick the next day with a hangover. Possibly clouded by alcohol - 18% made a poor career move and used the Christmas party as an opportunity to tell their boss exactly what they thought of them, while 25% had decided it would be an appropriate time to chat them up, perhaps trying to secure a pay rise or bonus. Spokesperson for IllicitEncounters.com and relationship expert: Mike Taylor said: “When you work with someone day in and day out you can sometimes form close bonds - mix that with the Christmas party environment where alcohol is flowing freely and people become relaxed and uninhibited, that is when you are most likely to make compromising decisions and could do something you end up regretting, like chatting up your boss or even sleeping with a co-worker. People can forget that there can be long-term ramifications to having a romantic relationship within the work-place. In a recent survey of employers, over 80% admitted that having an office based romance would affect the career prospects of those involved.” Other activities staff confessed to doing at the Christmas party included 10% who had stripped off, 31% had confessed a secret to someone they wish they hadn’t, and 26% had engaged in some dodgy karaoke. Whilst over half of party goers revealed that they had done something embarrassing and made a fool out of themselves in front of their peers and superiors whilst getting carried away in the festivities.
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DERBYSHIRE POEM A MONTH WRITING COMPETITION Would-be writers are invited to have a go at poetry by Derbyshire County Council for an innovative competition. Anyone aged 16 or over, who lives, works or studies in the county can enter the Derbyshire Poem a Month competition. Twelve poems will be chosen and published on the blog each month and each one will have a different theme. Poems can be on any subject and in any style or form. They can be serious, funny, reflective, descriptive or narrative.
Derbyshire Poem a Month is a poetry blog which has been running since 2009. On the first day of each month a poem is published and emailed to over 200 followers. Over the last five years, around 60 poems from classic poets to the best contemporary writers from all over the world have been shared on the blog. The blog aims to bring poetry into people’s lives and highlights the many activities and events relating to poetry across the county
and in Derbyshire libraries. Derbyshire County Council Deputy Cabinet Member for Health and Communities Councillor Ellie Wilcox said: “The Derbyshire Poem a Month blog and competition is a great way of getting involved in writing poetry. I’m sure there’ll be many people out there with talents they never knew they had, and I hope it inspires people to give it a try. I’m really looking forward to reading the entries”. Entries can be made by completing an entry form which can be
picked up in any Derbyshire library or by visiting the Derbyshire Literature Festival website at derbyshire.gov.uk/festival The first phase of the competition closes on Friday 28 November. To find out more about the competition and to sign up to the Poem a Month blog visit: poemamonth.wordpress.com/author/derbyshirepoemamonth
Step out in the East Midlands for the Ramblers’ Festival of Winter Walks People in the East Midlands are being invited to step out with the Ramblers during its annual Festival of Winter Walks and leave footprints in the snow as they explore the area’s beautiful wintry landscapes. Ramblers groups will be leading hundreds of free walks from 20 December 2014 until 4 January 2015. From short festive strolls passing carol singers and Christmas markets to heartier rambles to walk off the mince pies and kick-start new year’s resolutions, there’s something for everyone in the East Midlands to enjoy. The Festival of Winter Walks also caters for anyone preferring to step out at their own leisure. People can download a walk from Ramblers Routes, an online library of Britain’s best walks, and head out for their own winter wander with family and friends. There are hundreds of routes throughout Great Britain for everyone to enjoy, and hundreds more for Ramblers members. Ramblers chief executive Benedict Southworth said: “Walking is great at any time of the year, we’re spoiled by our dramatic coastlines, rolling hills and stunning views, but there’s nothing quite like wrapping up warm and heading out with family and friends to explore Britain at its wintry best.
“Our walks during the festival are free, fun and open to everyone, so put on your hat and scarf and join us as we head out into the crisp, clear winter to enjoy the season the way we know best, on our feet.” Walking for Health, England’s largest network of health walk schemes, run by the Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support, will also be leading short, free walks across England during the festival. Step out with the Ramblers on one of the following free winter wanders in the East Midlands during the Festival of Winter Walks:
Distance: 5 miles Description: A leisurely morning meander through parts of Sunny Side, Moulton Park, Spinney Hill and Bradlaugh Fields. Starting point: Eastern Avenue South, Kingsthorpe, Northampton. There is ample onroad parking just south of junction (miniroundabout) with Kingland Avenue Group: Northampton
Moderately paced all day walk from Cropston Date: Sunday 4 January 2015 Start time: 10.20am Distance: 10 miles Description: This is a moderately paced allday walk with a stop for refreshments at a pub. Bring a packed lunch. Starting point: Causeway Lane, Cropston Group: Leicester
Frisby on the Wreake, Leics Date: Sunday 28 December 2014 Start time: 10am Distance: 6 miles Description: Enjoy this leisurely walk over Collingham, Notts field paths and across Priory Water Nature Date: Sunday 21 December 2014 Reserve to Kirby Bellars church, then up to Start time: 10am Asfordby and back. Distance: 11.5 miles Starting point: Main Street, near Church Description: A good level walk around the Street reserves and lagoons of this lovely part of the Group: Vale of Belvoir Trent Valley. Bring a picnic lunch with you. Starting point: Collingham Village Green Circular morning walk from Gaddesby Group: Vale of Belvoir Date: Tuesday 30 December 2014 Start time: 10am Pleasley and Radmanthwaite Distance: 6 miles Date: Sunday 21 December 2014 Description: Blow away the cobwebs with a Start time: 11am moderately paced circular walk with an opDistance: 4 miles tional lunch in a pub at the end. Description: A short walk along a disused Starting point: The Cheney Arms mineral line through Pleasley Vale before Group: Leicester heading towards Mansfield Woodhouse and across fields back to the start. There will be a New Year’s Eve walk short refreshment stop part way round. Date: Wednesday 31 December 2014 Starting point: The car park of the Nags Head, Start time: 10am Pleasley Village, NG19 7PA Distance: 11 miles Group: Mansfield & Sherwood Walking Description: Join the Derbyshire Dales RamGroup blers for this winter walk around Bonsall, Wensley and Winster. Boxing Day Breather Starting point: Bonsall Village Hall Date: Friday 26 December 2014 Nearest postcode: DE4 2AA Start time: 10am Group: Derbyshire Dales
If you’d prefer to walk at your own leisure, why not try the following routes: Aylestone Riverside Ramble Length: 3.2 miles Walking time: 1 hour 30 minutes Difficulty: Leisurely Starting point: Evesham Road, off Narborough Road, Leicester Description: Enjoy this surprisingly wildliferich wander in a flood plain of the River Soar. The route is never far from heavily built up areas but you will feel as though you are miles from anywhere. Dale Abbey to Stanton-by-Dale and Ockbrook Length: 9.2 miles Walking time: 4 hours 35 minutes Difficulty: Moderate Starting point: Lay-by near Dale Abbey Description: Tucked in between the industrial areas of Derby and the Erewash Valley, this undulating and varied route takes in three interesting and picturesque villages, and gives
far-reaching views all round. Derby, Derbyshire Length: 3.3 miles Walking time: 2 hours Difficulty: Easy Starting point: Market Place, Derby Description: This return walk gives you a real sense of Derby’s industrial past, as well as an insight into its surprising wealth of green spaces. Head upstream along the historic River Derwent from Derby city centre to Darley Abbey. Carvers Rocks, Derbyshire Length: 7.4 miles Walking time: 3 hours 42 minutes Difficulty: Moderate Starting point: Ticknall car park Description: An interesting circular walk from the lovely village of Ticknall to Carver’s Rocks, taking in Foremark Reservoir and the course of the old Ticknall Tramway, including its tunnels and the old limestone workings that the tramway served. For further information about the Festival of Winter Walks and to browse the festive walks or routes on offer, visit www.ramblers.org.uk/ winterwalks.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 21.
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Christmas at Derby LIVE LIVE festive entertainment every Sat
Christmas Arts & Craft Fair Fri 28 Nov - Mon 5 Jan £6.50 - £8.50
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Wed 3 - Sun 21 Dec FREE entry
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Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 23.
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The Comedy Club Derby At Derby County FC ipro Stadium – Saturday 31st January
The Official Comedy Club returns to the ipro Stadium Derby on Saturday 31st January. After a fantastic opening show back in November, The Comedy Club returns with a line – up of another 3 Top Comedians as seen on TV. With FREE membership at www.thecomedyclub.co.uk there has never been a better time to receive club discounts, win free tickets and get all the comedy gossip free each month.
Venue: Derby county FC, iPro Stadium, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8XL Tickets: £20 incl 2 Course Curry Meal | £12 Comedy Show Only Comedy Club Members: £17 incl 2 Course Curry Meal | £10 Comedy Show Only Time: Doors Open 7.00pm | Show Time 9.00 pm | Bar & Disco Bar ‘til 12.45am Box Office: 01332 202202 Enquiries and Bookings: www.iprostadium.net Web: www.thecomedyclub.co.uk – Line-ups & Free Membership
Host Comedian - James Redmond Coronation Street (ITV) Emmerdale (ITV) Hollyoaks (Ch4), Casualty (BBC1), Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2), Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire (ITV1), Soccor AM (Sky1) James Redmond is a dry, slick and subtle stand up who delivers unexpected twists and turns during his set as he deconstructs his art. He has a track record as a model and actor and is best known for seminal roles in ‘Hollyoaks’ (C4) and ‘Casualty’ (BBC 1) as well as having presented CD UK alongside Cat Deeley and appeared as a guest on ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ (BBC 2), Celebrity Who wants to be a Millionaire; (ITV 1) and ‘Soccer AM’ (Sky 1).James most recently appeared on Coronation Street as Michelle Connors new love interest Hamish.
Opening Comedian – Rob Rouse Dave’s One Night Stand (Dave), Celebrity
Juice (ITV2) 8 out of 10 Cats (C4)
Rob is an award winning comedian having won C4’s prestigious ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ Competition at the Edinburgh Fes tival, an award previously won by Phil Kay, Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, and Peter Kay. Rouse was one of the presenters of The Friday Night Project, now known as The Sunday Night Project, an entertainment show for Channel 4. His TV credits also includes Dave’s One Night Stand (Dave), Celebrity Juice ( ITV2,). Rouse is also a popular TV panelist and has made appearances on 8 out of 10 Cats.
‘Thomas Petit Glass’, is a range of hand blown/formed Studio Glass, made solely by Thomas Petit. Thomas has designed several ranges of glass bowls, stoppered bottles & vases, which are available to view on this site. He is also willing to undertake corporate & private commissions, as well as creating bespoke designs for clients.
Headline Comedian – Phil Butler Hotel Babylon (BBC1), Funny Business (BBC3), The Des O’Conner Show (ITV) Phil Butler has always been a popular act, even in the early days when he was serving his apprenticeship in holiday parks, Win a table end of the pier shows, pantos including m of 6 and cruise ships. Wanting to eal to explore other avenues and experience new challenges, in 2001 he joined the UK comedy circuit, where he is now found closing the show at all the major comedy Just send an email to competitio clubs. Phil has also had the : ns@derbys hiregu with the su great honour of performing for bject title ʻC ardian.co.uk omedy Clu our British troops in Iraq and more to be in wit bʼ h a chance to win recently Afghanistan. Dipping his toe into an acting career he had a cameo role in BBCs ‘Hotel Babylon’ and a TV advert for the AA.
The Come Club Der dy by
Page 26. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian. were present showing off their wide and varied capabilities. Robots always attract attention, and Derby University lecturer Tim Wilmshurst described one of the ‘Derbots’ (Derby robots) being demonstrated by his students. “The students design and make little robots which have to perform a certain task. Typically they run around the track, clear obstacles and complete the course. It’s a lot of fun, but the guys who do this work end up in really good jobs in industry because they are learning the skills that places like Jaguar, Land Rover and Rolls Royce really need.”
Derby Maker Faire
Martin Raynsford has turned his hobby into a business. “I was laser cutting stuff for about 3 years. I had a blog, I was posting stuff online and people were asking what laser cutters to buy.” Martin
There were plenty of visitors to the Bloodhound SSC tent.
Just Add Sharks demonstrated what can be made with their laser cutters.
The third Derby Maker Faire was held at the Silk Mill Museum, in October, the home of the first factory in Britain. The faire brought together makers of a wide and varied nature, from hi-tech electronics to the more traditional crafts of rug making and dress making. The two-day event had something for everyone, including a visit from the Bloodhound SSC land speed record contender, hoping to break the record in 2015.
nursery school making things and I have never looked back since. Whatever I wanted, I would always make for myself. This event is Derby’s way of recognising this movement at the site of the world’s very first factory. Here in Derby we have been making things for hundreds of years.”
In opening the faire Councillor Ranjit Banwait, leader of Derby City Council looked back on his own experience of making things. “I enjoyed my time at
Many exhibits at the faire would appeal to youngsters looking interested in science. Derby University and a number of independent electronic companies
now runs Just Add Sharks, importing and selling laser cutters. The Letterbox Company also have a small laser cutter, and engraver, for wood and plastic. It can be used to produce a variety of things including printed circuit boards. A novel use of electronics is an automated cocktail maker, demonstrated by Nottingham Hackspace. Ian Dickenson de-
Cllr Ranjit Banwait opens the faire. scribed the machine which was dropping plastic rabbits into a glass. “We can’t serve alcoholic drinks here today, but this is how it works. Put the glass on the platform, it detects the glass is present and it moves along. Then it drops the cherry (rabbit) into the drink. It doesn’t shake, so Mr Bond wouldn’t be happy, but there is a stirring mechanism.” Gwin Kerry, of Chesterfield, demonstrated a heat press to transfer designs onto copper, prior to acid etching. A former teacher, Gwin has turned her hobby into a full time business while for Hannah Howe, of Alfreton, dress making remains a spare time passion “I like projects which give me a challenge. I would love to make things all day but at the moment I am doing it for myself and having fun with it.” Amongst the dresses she had on display was a Snow White dress made for a Disneythemed ball. Derby’s Janet Kenworthy says rug-making has been in her fam-
ily for generations. “Oh yes, my parents used to make them. My husband and I made some when we got married, because we had no money, to go by the bed. Now I’ve got the children making them and it’s recycling, so it’s all up to date.” Pam Hallam of the Derby Makers Group, based at the Silk Mill, was offering tastes of home-made cakes, jams and chutneys. “We have jams and chutneys made by members of the group using produce that they have grown at home. There’s a range of things for people to try and taste and then we will put the recipes on our Derby Makers website.”
One aspect of the Bloodhound project has been the inclusion of schools, getting young people involved in science. The Joseph Whitaker School from Rainworth, Nottingham, have embraced the challenge. The school’s Young Engineers Club now holds the world speed record for a rocket powered model car and the pupils were on hand to talk about their achievement. Teacher Phil Worsley explained “The record was 96mph and we took it to 250mph. Someone else took the record to 287, which we thought could be a challenge, but we modified our cars and reached 533.1.” Student Kristyn Hudson said the carbon fibre model cars were guided by a 250 metre long steel cable. The record was set on the runway at Rolls Royce’s Hucknall site.
The star attraction was the Bloodhound Supersonic Car, scheduled for an attempt to break the land speed record in 2015 on the Hakskeen Pan lake bed in South Africa. Following a low speed run in Newquay, Bloodhound will attempt to raise the record to 800mph in the hands of Wing Commander Andy Green. Green set the current record of 763mph in Thrust SSC in 1997. Bloodhound will be powered by a rocket and an EJ200 Rolls Royce jet engine. A further attempt to pass Janet Kenworthy busy making the 1000mph another rug. barrier is planned for the following year.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 27.
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COSMETIC SURGERY
Cosmetic surgery is the general term for any surgery that is designed to modify or improve the physical appearance of the person undergoing the treatment. It is invasive, can be very expensive and, like all surgery, carries the risk that something will go wrong. Professor Simon Kay, consultant plastic surgeon and member of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) described it as surgery to change a person’s unwanted, normal appearance. Typical cosmetic surgical treatments can include reducing the size of someone’s nose, breast enlargement or enhancement, eyelid surgery, liposuction or facelifts.
According to the NHS Choices website: “A recent market research report found that fewer than 10% of cosmetic interventions were carried out primarily for health reasons. “Cosmetic surgery is not risk-free, and carries the same general risks as all surgery, including infection and blood clots, as well as risks associated with the specific procedure. “There’s also the risk of wound infection, bleeding and scarring, but these are rarely life-threatening or long-term. “After cosmetic surgery, there will be bruising and swelling, which can take weeks or months to go down, depending on the procedure. Some procedures – for example, anything involving an im-
Fat-busting beauty treatments which were once only available to the rich and famous, are now on offer right here in Derby. Derby Advanced Beauty is run by Emma Queralto who uses the very latest hi-tech, non-invasive procedures to transform the lives of her clients. The treatment she offers can see clients instantly lose two inches of fat in a procedure which is non-invasive,
totally safe, painless, stress-free and affordable. The treatment feels like a gentle massage and the Lipo Angel Machine uses ultrasound to break down fat with instant visible results and no recovery time. Emma, who has been working in the beauty industry since 2000, is such an expert at the technique that she regularly trains other business owners on how to use it. She said: “It is not so long ago that only celebrities could have access to this sort of treatment but advances in technology means it is now open to all. “With this amazing machine I can treat all of the face and body, targeted to the specific areas the client wants me to work on, and it really does work. “I have had people tell me that
plant – will require antibiotics.” In addition there have been many horror stories reported in the national press of people going to foreign countries for cut-price cosmetic surgery only to find that the procedures were carried out by under qualified surgeons with potentially disastrous or lifethreatening consequences. For these reasons a lot of people are looking for alternatives to invasive and often painful surgery when it comes to getting the body that they desire. Huge advances in medical science means that there are now a range of different treatments and therapies available with none of the risks associated with traditional cosmetic surgery. Not so long ago this sort of
the treatment really has changed their lives and made them to from being really self-conscious to feeling great about their body once more.” Emma is based at Derby City Centre’s popular Cathedral Quarter on the second floor of 49 Queen Street and she can also arrange mobile or home visits. Right now she is offering a special course of two treatments for £100 - a saving of more than £50 on the normal price of £77 per treatment.
non-invasive, painless cosmetic treatments were so expensive that only the superrich could afford them but those days are gone. Now treatments using lipo cavitation, radio frequency and red photon light therapy can remove fat and improve skin tone and texture painlessly and without the need for surgery. People are increasingly using this as an alternative to plastic surgery but also as an alternative to Botox, fillers or the temporary results gained from body wraps. For those who want to look good without undergoing the pain of surgery or the time needed to recover from the treatment then there have never been more options than there are available right now.
Emma can be contacted on 07968 942112 to book appointment or for more information about the range of treatments she offers. Also check out her Facebook page where you will also find exclusive special offer and the chance to win free treatments https://www.facebook.com/ derbyadvancedbeauty
Have something that you would like to advertise? Give the sales team a call on: 01332 650239 for a free quote
Caring for people with Dementia Matthew Whitfield - Nursing home manager. Matthew is a Dementia Care Mapper and qualified Mental Health Nurse (RMN).
WHEN people are faced with a diagnosis of dementia we often find that the family members, unless they have had previous experience or have conducted some in depth research, are unsure as to what to expect, I have found that staff members whether old or new also can be unsure. There are many theories and well used phrases that will have been said and heard such as “it’s like they’re back to their childhood” or “well the next stage is the plateau after the decline.” Without causing disrespect to those who have found some solace in these words, it is important that we know and learn and believe that every person’s journey through dementia and every family member’s experience will be unique so therefore it is not as important to look at the label/diagnosis as it is to look at the person.
At Barrowhill we have many people with many different diagnosed types of dementia. It is sometimes easy for staff and relatives to identify the person as that specific diagnosis. For relatives it is often the feeling of attachment and identification with a diagnosis that can help them feel a part of something, having something to research and learn about and almost a sense of security. This, whilst helping the family members, is not beneficial for staff or the person with dementia for that person is not just a set of symptoms. Things can change very quickly with dementia and the person you helped bathe yesterday may seem like a different person today, needing a different approach and/or different levels of support. The key thing that the staff have at Barrowhill Hall is their person centred approach, knowing as much as is possible about the person with dementia and tailoring their needs based on that knowledge and information gathered about the person with dementia. At Barrow-
hill Hall we offer truly person centred care, forming strong relationships with the relatives of those we care for and looking after their loved one as an individual, as a unique person with their own unique set of likes/dislikes, range of emotions and physical/emotional/ psychological needs. We find out by working with the families and friends of the person with dementia exactly who they are and how they were prior to being diagnosed. It is important that we remain positive but also realistic when we begin to see signs of what appears to be an improvement in the person with dementia, often signs of improvement means a change or modification of a set of behaviours some of which might be seen as challenging in some way. The staff know that if someone’s thirst or appetite improves or they will more readily accept assistance with personal hygiene/bathing needs or maybe they will participate more actively in an activity. While this can be seen as an improvement that has occurred with the person, sadly it can sometimes indicate a further progression of the dementia and the non-concordant type behaviour stopping is simply another ability that has been lost. Explaining this needs empathy and sincerity along with the support of knowing that you have formed a trusting and open relationship with the family members of the people living with dementia here at Barrowhill Hall. * Matthew Whitfield is the manager of Barrowhill Hall Nursing Home, an award-winning, privately owned home, situated in rolling countryside between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne. Barrowhill Hall provides specialist dementia residential, nursing, respite and day care and takes great pride in the exceptionally high standards of care offered by its highly trained and experienced care team.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 29.
Get on the road to weight loss! At LighterLife we’re passionate about helping with LighterLife you’re getting the best quality people – it’s what we’re all about. Because food replacements on the market. And did we LighterLife isn’t something dreamt up by a tell you they taste great, too? group of marketeers; it’s the result of real women’s experiences of overeating and obesity. Change your mindset, change your We started out over 20 years ago as a small family business, and founding directors Bar Hewlett and Jackie Cox still run the company today. From our first group meeting around a kitchen table in East London, we now have a nationwide network of trained LighterLife Counsellors in both the UK and Ireland, and we’re still true to our original values – helping people change their mindset and change their life.
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LighterLife is the only weight-loss programme that encourages you to discover the real reasons why you overeat and gives you the chance to change things for good – by changing how you look at life. It’s interesting to see how our ground-breaking psychological approach, including techniques and tools from cognitive behavioural therapy, has gained kudos over the years as the world has gradually woken up to what we’ve always known – that Your health and wellness is our successful weight management is as much to passion do with what’s going on in your head as it is with At LighterLife, we totally understand the risks of what’s going into your mouth. being overweight and obese. That’s why we’ve developed a programme that helps you get the Credentials you can trust weight off as quickly and effectively as possible, We’re committed to following national and interand then helps you keep it off, so you can enjoy national standards, guidelines and best practhe health benefits that sustainable weight loss tice for weight loss, weight management and brings – for good. behavioural change to ensure the LighterLife Programme is the best it can be to help you live Two decades of research your lighter life. We don’t just talk the talk, we We’ve been researching weight loss and walk the walk – so find out who we’re walking weight management for over 20 years, with our (and working) with! evidence regularly published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at major obesity con- People with a passion for weight ferences around the world, so you can be sure management and wellness we’re bringing you scientifically-proven health There’s a fantastic team at our Central Office and wellbeing benefits that really do change supporting our Counsellor network to deliver lives. our life-changing LighterLife Programme. We all live and breathe LighterLife – it’s not hard Nutritious plans to be so passionate when you know that, whatAll our plans – from weight loss to weight man- ever your role, you’re helping to make an amazagement – utilise our nutritious food-replace- ing difference to so many lives. We also make ment Foodpacks. They’re each full of essential sure we have the very best experts and talent in nutrients for good health, including 28 key vi- every department – ranging from highly qualitamins and minerals, as well as being high in fied scientists and nutrionists to IT bods with protein and a good source of fibre, and we’re decades of experience of turning computers on continually developing them to make sure that and off again!
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New research reveals over 200,000 pensioners living in the East Midlands struggle to cope with basic tasks Over two million older people living at home in England experience difficulties with key aspects of living independently, such as cooking, dressing or bathing. This includes more than 200,000 over-65s – over a quarter (27%) of the older population - living in the East Midlands. Meanwhile, almost half a million older carers in England provide round the clock care to a loved one, but over 80% do not receive any council services. That’s according to a new report from Independent Age and the Strategic Society Centre, which also estimates that, across England: · 70,000 of the most disabled pensioners do not get any form of paid or unpaid care at home. · Among those supported by care workers or families, 160,000 report inadequate support, saying it only sometimes or hardly ever meets their needs. · Older people in need are much more likely to get disability benefits than receive local authority support. The Bigger Picture report analyses data on the 65+ population in England from the Census, Department for Work and Pensions, the Health and Social Care Information Centre and the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (2011-2013). It provides a detailed picture of disability and care needs among England’s older population at a
local, regional and national level. The aim of the research is to help councils and care providers to get ready for the Care Act. The Care Act comes into effect in April 2015 and places new duties on local authorities to offer more help to older people and their carers. The research looks at levels of unmet need for social care, analys e s
publicly funded support to the over 65’s and considers levels of entitlement to care following the introduction of the Care Act. The new report is published a week after the National Audit Office warned that more than half of all councils are not well placed financially to provide the services they hope to within the next five
years, and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services expressed concern that further cuts in social care budgets look set to erode vital care and support services to disabled and older people. Simon Bottery, Director of Policy at Independent Age said: “The Care Act is intended to ensure that older people receive better care and support but this new research highlights alarming gaps even in existing levels of care. Councils need to be acting now if the promises of the Care Act are to be fulfilled but national government also has to ensure that there is enough funding to properly implement it. In particular, we need to properly fund preventative services which delay the moment when older people need more intensive care and support.” James Lloyd, Director of the Strategic Society Centre said: “This research shows the scale of the challenge facing local authorities and national policymakers, if aspirations to support older people with prevention and information contained in the Care Act are to be achieved. We will need a revolution in how councils, communities and families support older people who struggle with different aspects of living independently.”
‘I can’t do what you do, because I’m not creative’
These are the words that SallyAnne Marler hears all too often from people when she tells them about her business. Sally-Anne set up The Creative You as a coaching and therapeutic service that specialises in the creative arts. This is in order to help people achieve the goals that they aspire to in life; this could be through the expression of music, poetry or writing as well as artistic expression. Together, The Creative You intends to facilitate you to explore your feelings and potential supporting you to live with purpose. These feelings might be ones you didn’t even know existed that could be holding you back and through creative expression it can help you understand and deal with any problems that hinder you in achieving your ambitions in life. In turn, therapeutic art sessions can help to alleviate depression, stress, anxiety issues or helping make a decision if you’re at a cross roads in your life; as well as unlocking the creativity in you that you never thought existed. After achieving her degree in Creative Expressive Therapies at Derby University, Sally-Anne
had always wanted to run her own business and this is the first enterprise she has taken on in the field. A love for creativity and helping people has inspired Sally-Anne to put her degree into action along with her experience that she has gathered from over the years. ‘I’ve always had a love for helping people and being able to put my creative arts into that is a dream come true’. ‘It’s not about the end result, it’s about the process using creativity to discover yourself’ ‘It helps you to focus on your strengths and not your weaknesses’ The Creative You has had some fantastic results from people that have participated in their courses, it allows for people to express themselves in a safe and calming environment, where you can reconnect with yourself and leave the stress of home life or work behind. One of their most successful programmes is the ‘Well-Being Programme’, this is a 6 week course, with weekly sessions that is deigned to cover a new and engaging topic each week to relieve your anxieties and gain an insight into both your inner and outer worlds and explore their connec-
tions. Sally-Anne runs all of these sessions herself and has thoroughly researched well-being and combined with the creative arts in order to create the positive changes that you desire in your life. The next session will be taking place in January, and allows for the time to express the person you truly are, rather than the person that is expected of you. With sessions that attempt to cater for all needs, The Creative You is the ideal place for you to maximise your potential to facilitate transformational change, realigning you with your passions and achieve your goals in life.
TRAUMA In modern life most of us need to deal with stress to a greater or lesser degree and our ability to cope with that stress can fluctuate depending on our personal circumstances and what else is going on in our lives. Trauma can often come from being unable to cope with an overwhelming level of stress or with the high levels of emotions which come from the stressful or traumatic event that we have experienced. It is the sense of being overwhelmed that can be so terrifying for many people and the feeling of not being to cope or not knowing what to do makes one feel powerless. While trying to cope with a traumatic event in our lives, it can seem that the little things in life, things we might otherwise not even notice, are enough to sometimes tip us over the edge. According to Wikipedia there are many events which can trigger trauma but these have more than a few common aspects. The website says: “There is frequently a violation of the person’s familiar ideas about the world and of their human rights, putting the person in a state of extreme confusion and insecurity. “Psychologically traumatic experiences often involve physical trauma that threatens one’s survival and sense of security. “Long-term exposure to situations such as extreme poverty or milder forms of abuse, such as verbal abuse, exist independently of physical trauma but still generate psychological trauma.” However in any discussion of trauma it must be remembered that different individuals may react much differently to any given set of circumstances - thus what may prove traumatic for one person may just be mildly uncomfortable for another and vice versa. Maybe you were involved in a serious car crash for example, one where you were seriously hurt or where someone else lost their lives. It is likely that this is something which will stay with you for the rest of your life and you may have flashbacks - sometimes quite regularly - where you relive the experience over and over again. It could make you nervous every time you get into a car, or stop you doing so entirely or interrupt your sleep patterns, affect the way you deal with day-to-day tasks and also affect your mood. Getting treatment for the effects of trauma may help you understand the processes involved and allow you to use techniques to help you cope better and eventually get back to a normal life. Talking to a trained therapist who specialises in trauma may be the key to dealing with the effects of trauma such as the upsetting emotions, frightening memories, or a sense of constant danger you have to deal with.
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As part of our Black Friday promotions and continued commitment to our customers we are offering a FREE 12 Point Winter Service if you book in December. With increasing instances of extreme weather it is sensible to be safe and prepared for bad winter, especially if you drive regularly or are planning any long distance journeys.
Driving in Winter Safety Tips; * Leave at least twice the normal distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front, as the braking distances are greatly increased in wintry conditions. * Avoid sudden or abrupt manoeuvres - brake and accelerate slowly and carefully. * When driving up steep gradients drive in a high gear or for downward driving use low gears. * Practice slowing down and stopping by using your gears instead of the brakes of your car. Dropping down gears can be a very effective way of stopping your vehicle as opposed to braking and possibly skidding.
What is included in our 12 point service: • Carry out a battery and alternator test on your vehicle • Check all exterior lights • Check radiator anti-freeze level • Check tyre tread depth • Top-up tyre pressure to the correct level • Carry out a visual inspection for coolant leaks • Check fan belt • Check the condition of wiper blades • Check engine oil level • Check power steering fluid level • Check brake fluid level • Top-up washer bottle with the correct mix screen wash
* When driving over ice, if you feel your car is sliding or skidding, depress the pedals and do not brake as this will cause your wheels to lock. Steer gently into the direction you are skidding or sliding and allow the car to come to a gentle stop.
Simply use code WINTER when booking your Winter Service through our website for your 100% discount.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 33.
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Webs furniture Liam Marriott training Webs Training
NVQ Level 2 - Cabinet Making
Our College specialises in meeting the needs of students who are deaf, hearing impaired and those with communication difficulties including Autism and Aspergers. We believe coming to College is one of the most exciting times of your life and it is important to choose the right place and programme to suit your individual learning needs. We offer the opportunity for a great learning experience in a specialist communication environment that is designed to meet your future aspirations. Our individualised learning programmes also offer a unique approach to students who have specific language and communication difficulties. Our holistic approach seeks to recognise your needs, wants and aspirations by creating opportunities to develop your talents to the full in a highly supportive, total communication environment. At our College you will receive the support and guidance to help you learn new skills alongside your peers in a community where understanding and being understood is paramount. We offer a wide range of programmes for students who re-
quire specialist communication and who want to gain job and life-related qualifications and for those who need to gain independence and develop their social skills. We cater for all abilities and learning styles, offering pathways to suit every ambition. Our vocational pathways provide a distinctive, industry-focused learning environment for students who aim to enter employment and or further education whilst our Life Skills and Personal and Social Development pathways are created to maximise your individual potential. We have many years’ experience of successfully delivering specialist vocational and independence training programmes, which remain at the forefront of specialist provision in the UK, and we are extremely proud of the achievements of our students. In recent years our performance and reputation as a National Specialist Provider has strengthened. This has been reflected in our ‘OUTSTANDING’ Social Care Ofsted inspection in 2012 and is largely due to the dedication and commitment of our staff teams. We set high standards for our
students making the experience as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. We pride ourselves in our communication strategies taking a holistic approach using the latest technology, in a highly skilled and knowledgeable environment. Our learning community has a rich cultural diversity where you will receive a warm welcome and enjoy a friendly, safe learning environment. We also believe your personal and social development is an integral part of being at College. We provide outstanding enrichment opportunities for our students, both on the College sites and in the local and extended community. We warmly invite you to join us at our Open Days on 15th October 2014 and 4th February 2015 to find out more about our extensive facilities and the exciting range of day and residential provision. For further information on the course offered at Communication Specialist College – Doncaster please visit www.cscprospectus.co.uk or call 01302 386720 and ask to speak to one of the Pathway Managers.
Trainee cabinet maker Liam Marriott wants to go as far as possible with his career…to the other side of the world in fact. Liam, 17, from East Leake near Loughborough, is currently half way through a Level 2 NVQ course in cabinet making at Webs Training Ltd. When he left school in summer last year he walked straight into an apprenticeship and loves every minute of his work and training. He does one full day a week at Webs Training, based at Beeston, Nottingham, and the rest of the week he works at Eat Sleep Live in Nottingham where he is learning all aspects of the business. Liam started working as an apprentice for another company but switched apprenticeships at the end of his initial three month probationary period because he wanted to work with real wood and not the cheaper MDF alternative. Eat Sleep Live specialise in producing high quality furniture handmade from reclaimed wood and the staff at Webs Training helped him secure an apprenticeship there when he told them he would like to move. Liam said: “I guess I am really lucky to walk out of school and into a job and then when the initial apprenticeship didn’t work out for me to be able to find another straight away. “My first apprenticeship involved working with MDF a lot and I didn’t really like it because it is just not the same as working with real wood where you can produce much better quality products. “Everyone at Webs Training is so friendly and they want to help you get the training which is most suited to you and ensure you really get the best possible start in life. “They made the transition from one apprenticeship to another as smooth as possible - I think it was all arranged over the course of a couple of days. “Classes are smaller here and there is a real focus to everything we do - it couldn’t be any more different from school which is why I enjoy it so much.” Liam was still at school when he would start making things out of wood at his father’s garage at home and he knew then that this was the career he wanted for himself. He added: “I used to find bits of scrap wood and make things from it and my dad encouraged me to do so. “We lived on a farm at the time and the first thing I made was a gun rack for air rifles and shotguns and I got a great sense of pride and accomplishment from seeing what I had created. Now I want to improve my skills so I keep getting better and better.” Eventually Liam would like to get to a stage where he is able to set up in business for himself and has his sights set on moving to the USA, Canada or New Zealand. He added: “I don’t think I will be moving away any time soon but it is good to have a long-term
Webs Training Limited has been one of the regions leading training providers delivering quality furniture manufacturing training for nearly 50 years. As a quality provider of apprenticeship and work based training, we work with local, regional and national employers to secure apprenticeship opportunities for young people aged 16-23. As employees, apprentices earn a wage from day one and work along-side experienced staff to gain job specific skills. With our new purpose built, state of the art workshops and classrooms and dedicated staff, we aim to support our learners to fulfil their full potential. All apprentices are funded by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and there is no charge to the apprentice for the course. For employers with up to 1000 employees, and looking to recruit a 16-23 year old, you may qualify for a Government grant of £1500* (*conditions apply). For young people aged 16-18 who are not quite ready to go into an apprenticeship, we offer the Ambitions Study Programme which will help to prepare young people for the world of work. The programme will provide learners with an opportunity to develop work related skills in the furniture industry, whilst working towards nationally recognised qualifications. The course runs over 3 days a week for 30 weeks and is supported by the Education Funding Agency (EFA)
WEBS Training Ltd The Poplars Wollaton Rd Beeston Nottingham. NG9 2PD Email: info@webstraining.com Telephone: 0115 9677771 Fax: 0115 9677772
goal and some dream to live for. My ultimate goal is to set up my own business in New Zealand where there is a huge demand for high quality products made from real wood. “Obviously I still have a very long way before I could get there but that is what I am working towards.” If you are interested in finding out more about the courses offered by Webs Training Ltd then call them on 0115 9677771 or send an email to info@ webstraining.com
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 35.
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Education at Loughborough Endowed Schools is truly ‘Preparation for Life’ in every way.
The schools are situated on a large impressive tree-lined campus on the edge of Loughborough. Pupils enjoy a firstrate provision for all aspects of education, including sport, drama and music, in a learning environment with attractive modern facilities. The family of schools welcomes children from the age of four where they are presented with a broad and balanced education, appropriate to their needs. Children at the senior schools benefit from single-sex teaching environments from ages 1016 at the Grammar School, and 11-16 at the High School. They also enjoy many of the advantages of co-education by sharing a campus and with the inclusion of joint lessons and activities in the Sixth Form. Pupils enjoy a wide range of sports, with individual pupils and teams enjoying significant sporting success locally, nationally and internationally. The outstanding Music School encourages pupils to develop their talents, with musicians
regularly performing at venues across the country. Numerous clubs, societies, outdoor pursuits and the Combined Cadet Force cater for a wide range of
inter-
ests.
Fairfield offers younger pupils a rich and diverse educational experience. It is a school full of opportunities, challenges and excitement where children learn in a caring and positive atmosphere which combines traditional and family values within an enlightened and ever-challenging curriculum. Continuous
care is available from 7.45 a.m. until 6.00 p.m. Loughborough Endowed Schools is renowned for its ongoing programme of improvements to its campus. Significant investment has been made in state-of-the-art science facilities, a dedicated Music School and at Fairfield, an £8m development is underway to build an exciting new school, including a Kindergarten for children age 3+.
An extensive transport system is provided for children. Two new bus routes from Derby and east of Nottingham, complementing existing routes, will be available from September 2015. Parents and children are invited to visit the schools during term time to meet the Heads, staff and pupils – please telephone 01509 283700 to make an appointment. www.endowedschools.org
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 37.
“More than just a school” Set in beautiful and historic surroundings on the borders of Derbyshire, Mount St Mary’s College provides the perfect environment for learning. Today the college, which was founded by the Society of Jesuit and dates back to 1842, enjoys an enviable reputation as a first class Catholic co-educational
boarding and day school for pupils aged between 11 and 18. The school grew around a 16th century manor house and the historic character of the buildings and the acres of beautiful gardens surrounding them provides a unique environment. While there is a long tradition of educating children in the Catholic faith, the school caters for children of all denominations. The emphasis is placed on nurturing each person as an individual, encouraging them to develop, not just academically, but spiritually and emotionally. The focus on the individual, coupled with small class sizes, means that pupils are given every chance to develop their strengths. Whether their interests are in music, arts, drama or sports, they are offered all the support they need to develop their talents and prepare for their future. Mount St Mary’s College is well located. Its beautiful setting in the Derbyshire countryside belies the fact it is just two minutes from Junction 30 of the M1 and only 20 minutes from Chesterfield railway station. The mini bus service that the college provides is an added bonus. Despite being non-academically selective the college achieves increasingly impressive results with pupils at the Mount leaving
for top universities each year. In 2014 the Mount continued to increase its performance at A level. A number of departments achieved 100% pass rate A* to C including gography and physical education. The art (photography) department built on last year’s exceptional results achieving 100% A* to B. Among the high achievers are pupils with aspirations to read mathematics, law, languages, b u s i n e s s , engineering, art and design. Gagan Shiralagi, from Walton, Chesterfield achieved his dream of gaining a place at Christ’s College, Cambridge to read mathematics. Gagan achieved three A*s in mathematics, further mathematics and physics. His performance in mathematics and further
mathematics was outstanding gaining 99% (mathematics) and 97% (further mathematics). He also gained grade 1 in both of his Cambridge, Sixth Term Examination Papers (STEP). At GCSE, in the core subjects of English and Mathematics the A-C grades were 86% and 82% respectively. The college places great emphasis on extra-curricular pursuits and pupils are encouraged to take part in a wide programme of organised after school activities. The college has a strong reputation for its music, arts,
drama and sport departments and pupils are able to benefit from the top quality facilities even after the last bell of the day has rung. The amenities include a 400 seater theatre, drama and music studios, an international standard floodlit all-weather athletic track, floodlit all weather hockey and football pitches, indoor heated swimming pool, fencing area and rifle range. As a boarding school as well as day school, Mount St Mary’s attracts pupils from all over the country as well as overseas. Boarding offers an invaluable and unique experience for pupils and gives them the chance to get more out of their time at school. The boarding accommodation with en-suite facilities helps students to gain a greater independence, focus on their studies and enjoy socialising with pupils from a variety of nationalities. Under the care of a team of resident house staff, boarders enjoy their own space but with all the advantages of living in close proximity of their friends. They quickly become part of a friendly community where they are able to make the most of all the superb facilities on campus, enjoy regular organised outings and activities and benefit from supervised study. There are different boarding options too to suit individual family needs. These range from full time and weekly boarding to flexi boarding, which is becoming more popular as a precursor to going to university and college. Mount St Mary’s College is currently gearing up for its entrance and scholarship exams,
which take place in January. The sports scholarship assessments take place on Thursday 22nd January and the music scholarship assessments take place on Friday 23rd January. The entrance exam for Years 7 and 9 take place on Saturday 24th January and the academic scholarship exams for Years 7, 9 and Sixth From take
place on 31st January. With so much happening within the school community, it marks out Mount St Mary’s as a very special place and is so much more than just a school. Why not join us for a tour of our school, explore its beautiful historic surroundings and get a flavour of what life is like at
Mount St Mary’s? The school welcomes potential students and parents to come along and meet the Headmaster, Dr Nicholas Cuddihy, and have a tour of the school. To find out more please contact the Admissions Office on 01246 439317 or email admissions@msmcollege.com.
MSM 175, sharing and celebrating the tradition of Jesuit Education
A seamless education from Nursery to Sixth form
&
ENTRANCE SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATIONS 2015 MOUNT ST MARY’S COLLEGE Ages 11-18 Registrations are now being accepted for: Sports Scholarship Day Thursday 22nd January Music Scholarship Auditions Friday 23rd January Entrance Examination (Yr7 & Yr9) Saturday 24th January 9.00am to 12.15 noon Academic Scholarship Examination Saturday 31st January (Yr7, Yr9 and Sixth Form) 9.00 to 11.15 am College Road, Spinkhill, Derbyshire S21 3YL T: 01246 432872 W: www.msmcollege.com
@MountSpinkhill
Mount St Mary’s College and Barlborough Hall are independent co-educational 3-18 schools. Both enjoy enviable reputations as first class Catholic schools, welcoming children of all denominations. The schools are set in beautiful surroundings on the Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire borders close to Junction 30 of the M1. Mini bus is available to all local areas. Before and after school care, holiday provision and early years funding accepted at Barlborough Hall.
MSM Westside FP 031114.indd 1
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S. Anselm’s has announced that it will educate children up to GCSE from September 2015. Why the change? To answer parental desire to continue to see their children educated in a wonderful rural school with a proven record of delivering excellent examination results and education. S. Anselm’s has an unrivalled reputation in Derbyshire and indeed nationally. It has prepared children for the finest public schools in the country. However parents’ wishes to keep their children and families together and, in this complex world, the desire to keep children young for as long as possible is achieved at S. Anselm’s. The school stands at the crest of a hill in the Peak District, an area of outstanding natural beauty and a peaceful setting. The school is a beacon for academic excellence, superb pastoral carea dn allowing children to develop and be themselves. S. Anselm’s pupils
are confident, hardworking and polite. Traditional manners, courtesy, kindness and consideration for others are key factors in ensuring this very special community thrirves and that our pupils contribute
to and succeed in the wider world. So often parents have wanted their children to remain at S. Anselm’s, now they are able to up to the age of 16. It is a wonderful opportunity for pupils to study hard in preparation for their GCSEs in a small environment.
A safe place where they can be themselves, grow and learn with confidence, in the full knowledge that great individual support and care will be provided.
The curriculum will be rich and textured with a constant drive towards the world at large without losing tradition. To complement the curriculum and excellent music, art and drama, additional challenges including charity work in India, expeditions to the Pyrenees, Scuba diving, Duke of Edinburgh Awards and much more will be on the agenda. Many potential parents may see independent education as something beyond their reach and
only for the few. However the proposed fee level is competitive and structured to ensure that a wonderful individual
S. Anselm’s School Preparatory School
education is a realistic proposition. Entry to S. Anselm’s College will be through interview and assessment and the school looks forward to welcoming families who really want to become part of the wider school community. Interested families who wish to change the lives of their children should contact the school for an individual tour and chat with the Headmaster.
Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1DP Telephone - 01629 812734 Email - headmaster@anselms.co.uk
www.sanselms.co.uk
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 39.
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Effective Email Marketing As you turn your computer on first thing in the morning, are you dreading how many emails you’re going to have to sort through? Do you start checking your emails on your smart phone before you’ve even left the house for work to try and get a head start on clearing out your inbox? How many emails do you just delete without even opening them? As we can now access our emails across a wide variety of devices it is more crucial than ever before for your message to break through all of the clutter and ‘noise’ that is bombarding people on a daily basis. The timing of your email is key. Research shows that Mondays
and Fridays are the worst time to send out an email marketing campaign as people’s inboxes are overflowing with legacy emails from the previous week and as they scroll through their inbox, first thing Monday morning and last thing on Friday, they are more likely to delete any superfluous messages.
It is essential that your subject line and the first line of your email marketing campaign grab the reader’s attention and stand out from the other emails in their inbox. At a glance, your customer should be able to grasp what the email is about. A quick way to do this is to put something of interest to your customer in the subject line. Statistics show that if the reader
is not interested within the first 10 seconds they will delete the email. Moreover, the language and techniques you use for your subject line and the first line of the email should vary for different target audiences and businesses (rather than a onesize-fits-all approach). By doing this, it is much more likely that your email will resonate with your target customer and will be opened and read.
to a large number of recipients very cost effectively.
The main body of the email needs to be kept short and sweet. If it is too long it increases the likelihood that the reader will be put off and will delete the email. Programs such as Microsoft Outlook and Mail Chimp allow businesses to send bulk emails
If used wisely, email marketing can be an incredibly effective marketing tool. However, if you abuse it your brand and reputation as a business may suffer irreparable damage.
Finally, make sure you use a credible business email address which consists of the businesses name rather than a gmail or hotmail account to avoid your email falling into the spam folder and being completely unseen or your email address being blocked by your intended recipient.
Have something you would like to advertise? Give the sales team a call on: 01332 650239 for a free quote
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 41.
Preventing outsiders frying your chips Self Assessment (Personal Tax Returns) Welcome to latest article and for this one I thought with the fast approaching personal tax return deadline I would focus on self assessment and give you a basic overview including some of the key dates.
Overview If you’re registered for Self Assessment, you’ll usually get a letter in April or May from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) telling you to send a tax return. You should complete your tax return, even if you don’t have any tax to pay.
Who must send a Tax Return You can send your tax return online or using paper forms but you must be registered for Self Assessment. You must always send a tax return if you’re: • a self-employed sole trader • a partner in a business partnership • a company director (unless it’s for a non-profit organisation, eg a charity, and you don’t get any pay or benefits, like travel expenses or a company car) • receiving rental property income in excess of £10,000 or your profit is in excess of £2,500 (if you receive rental income and profit below these levels you still need to advise HMRC by letter). Check with your accountant or contact HMRC Self Assessment helpline 0300 200 3310 if you need to send a Tax Return as there are other circumstances when you may need to complete a Tax Return.
Deadlines for filing your tax return The 2013 to 2014 tax year ended 5 April 2014. The main deadlines are: • paper tax returns - midnight 31 October 2014 • online tax returns - midnight 31 January 2015 • final payment of any tax due midnight 31 January 2015 If you miss the paper deadline, send your return online instead to avoid a penalty.
Penalties
You should send your tax return, even if you don’t have any tax to pay or you’ve already paid it. You’ll get a penalty of £100 if your tax return is up to 3 months late. You’ll have to pay more if it’s later than this, or you pay late. You can pay your Self Assessment tax bill in different ways, including Direct Debit and internet banking.
Tax due payment dates The deadlines for paying your tax bill are: • 31 January for any tax you owe for the previous tax year (known as a ‘balancing payment’) and your first payment on account • 31 July for your second payment on account If you prefer to pay regularly throughout the year, you can use a budget payment plan.
Payments on account ‘Payments on account’ are advance payments towards the tax bill you’ll owe for that tax year. You need to make one if your bill is more than £1,000, unless you’ve already paid more than 80% of it. You might have paid this through your PAYE tax code or it might have been deducted from any additional income you have, eg the interest on your savings. If the payments on account you’ve made are higher than your tax bill, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will refund you the difference. This article is for information only and it provides only an overview of the regulations in force at the date of publication. Personal tax rules and regulations are very complex and I would recommend that you take advice before you make any decisions to see what is best for you and your circumstances. Should you wish to discuss the above or any other accounting matters further please contact Ian Johnson at Ashgates on 01332 380691 or ijohnson@ashgates. co.uk
Someone, somewhere, is determined to fry your chips. Trojans and viruses are developed daily to make your computer sick. If they get through, by the time you find out it will be too late already to do anything about them. The one thing for certain is that they are not trying to break through your defences for the good of your systems. And if that were not bad enough, phishers are constantly looking for new hooks into your data so that they can use it for personal gain. Phishing is the practice of finding out as much as possible about you to get access to, for example, your bank account to steal money. But they could be aiming for
complete identity theft. You might not even be aware that your personal details are being cloned through what you do online. That email you opened, the one telling you you’d won a competition you didn’t remember entering, which was empty and which you deleted without a second thought, could have planted a clever little command on your system to copy to a remote computer every key you press – giving a crook somewhere access to all your bank accounts, for example. According to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, many small and medium-sized businesses ignore or underestimate the threat online fraud poses to their profitability, cashflow and rep-
utation. Launching a new initiative to stamp out cyber crime in October, Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and Digital Economy, said: “Small businesses are driving economic growth here in the UK but remain particularly vulnerable to cyber security breaches that can result in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage. “That is why Government and industry partners are working to make the UK one of the safest places to do business online through our National Cyber Security Programme.” But many firms are reluctant to report cyber attacks, preferring to suffer the loss of being hacked rather than have their reputations ruined by admitting someone broke through
their security. Andy Watterson, the East Midlands Chamber’s lead on business crime, said: “Agencies attempting to combat cyber crime must first determine the scale of the problem.” The Chamber’s eBusiness Club provides advice and support to firms looking to safely exploit the digital world. Andy Morley, Managing Director of Chamber member The Web Design Group, said: “Having a web presence is essential for businesses today. “A carefully-crafted and professionally-built website is far more likely to have all the necessary protection in place than one built using, for example, one of the low-cost, DIY site builder services available.”
Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are known to be the backbone of Britain, leading the UK out of recession and into economic recovery. This recovery however is constantly put in jeopardy by the thousands of attacks that are taking place daily against individuals, businesses, and local and national Government. Today, nearly every business has an online presence. It may be just a website advertising the business, or a more sophisticated web presence with an online shop, accessing email or even more complex supply chain activities. Whichever it is, it is easier to count those SMEs that are not online than those which are. The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), along with accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), each year publishes the results of the Information Security Breaches Survey. (https://www.gov.uk/governm e nt / pu b l i c at i on s / i n f or m a tion-security-breaches-survey2013-technical-report). Whilst the information covers breaches in the previous year, it does show the trends relating to information security in the UK business sector. A small business is classified as having up to 50 staff, a medium business as having between 50 and 250 staff and large businesses as having over 250 staff. What the report shows is that last year 87% of small business had a security breach, a figure that was up from 76% in the previous year. The average cost of these security breaches is between £35,000 and £65,000 with the overall costs to UK Plc in the order of a billion Pounds per annum, a figure that has roughly tripled over the last
year. What these reports do, is to raise awareness of what the threats and the dangers are and, to some extent, how to mitigate them. For SMEs, however, it is always a tradeoff between the risk of a compromise and the cost of implementing an overarching security regime, which, if done badly, can be more expensive than the cost of the compromise. BIS has gone some way to help by providing guidance documents such as the “Small businesses: What you need to know about cyber security” (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ attachment_data/file/197177/ bis-13-780-small-business-cybersecurity-guidance.pdf), “Cyber security guidance for business” - a set of three documents outlining 10 steps to cyber security (https:// www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-risk-management-aboard-level-responsibility) and the “HMG Cyber Essentials Scheme” - 3 documents that outline a new Government-backed, industrysupported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks. The problem is that an SME whose business is manufacturing, very rarely has the skills internally to understand and implement the guidance provided, let alone understand the requirements associated with the Payment Card Industry standards and other statutory governance requirements associated with National and EU law. These requirements coupled with the national skills shortage for cyber security often means that obtaining advice can be difficult. With more and more SMEs outsourcing their information op-
erations to cloud- based service providers they may be fooled into thinking that they have also outsourced the responsibility for cyber security. Indeed many service providers make this claim. What the SME has to understand is that it cannot outsource the responsibility for its data. If the organisation, to which information is outsourced, is compromised and the SME’s data is exposed, it is still the SME’s business that is at risk. The increased use of social media by business also brings with it challenges that can trap the unwary. Whether using social media in order to get messages out regarding new products or updates, or using social media to monitor the comments regarding the products and services they are offering, the identification of what data may or may not be put online is essential if data breaches are to not occur. Now, what about “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD)? Many organisations have to deal with the fact that individuals are using their personal devices to interact with the organisation’s own email systems and corporate data. Unless the organisation has very clear guidelines on what is and what is not allowed the business stands a very good chance of having sensitive corporate data being stored on
personal laptops and home office systems. Lastly, should the unthinkable happen; how do you respond when an attack or compromise has been identified? Minimising the damage, mitigating the losses and managing the communications are all part of responding to an event. Ensuring that your customers do not lose the trust that you have established in your brand is essential. So how do SMEs deal with the cyber security problem for their business? Well, they could hope that their hosting provider is taking care of business, ask the security product vendors to help, or they can look for someone who can provide impartial advice and guidance on how to secure their business. Information Assurance Strategies Ltd. was established in the early 1990’s and has been providing independent cyber security advice and guidance to both Governmental and industry organisations ever since. Based in the East Midlands, IAS is a local company with an international reputation. If you need advice and guidance on your Cyber Security you can contact us via the website at www. iasltd.biz or send an email to enquiries@iasltd.biz.
Cyber Security & the SME
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They usually hold a specific expertise and can take that speciality from firm to firm, confidentiality assured at all times if they want to keep working. From a business perspective, it means smaller companies don’t need to employ staff to look after one part of their affairs. For example, accountants tend to work in a consultancy-type capacity. They are not on the firm’s payroll but are paid on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly retained rate. Many firms retain public relations and advertising consultants on the same basis. Although consultancy fees may seem dear compared with full time employment, the employer doesn’t have to worry about holiday cover, national insurance contributions, income tax, sick pay, maternity pay or any of the other on-costs normally associated with employment. If, for example, a small or
Consultants play a valuable part in modern business.
medium-sized company wanted to investigate and adopt low carbon sustainability initiatives – DNCC has a conference on this very topic scheduled for 10 October, keep watching www. dncc.co.uk for details – they could employ a consultancy to undertake the work for them. The consultants would either have knowledge of or investigate the best ‘green’ initiatives for the size of the company, bearing in mind growth plans, suggest a course of action, identify the long term savings to the business, oversee adoption of the initiatives and then leave the firm with no sacking or redundancy or final payoff unless one was included in the contract at the beginning. The contract would normally be specific to that one task and on completion, the consultancy costs end. It clean, it’s simple, it’s flexible and it’s tax deductable. If you want to bring that
down to everyday life, think about food shopping. You can either take time out of your day to drive to the supermarket, walk round choosing what you want, queue at the checkout, pack your bags, pay, load the car, drive home, unload the car, carry your bags into the house and put everything away, or you can press repeat order on your smart device, pay, and at a prescribed time your shopping is delivered, leaving you time to, well, go clothes shopping, perhaps. That, in essence is how consultancy works. It frees up your time to focus on more important things, like running your business. Andy Hibberd Communications and New Media Officer Deputy Editor In Business Tel: 01246 207207 Ext: 2738 Mobile: 07980 986492 http://www.dncc.co.uk
ARUP welcomes a new wave of Graduates and Apprentices to the East Midlands
Arup’s East Midlands Office, based in Nottingham, has recently welcomed 5 new graduates and 3 apprentices to the firm. Nationally, the firm has taken on 238 graduates after receiving over 6000 applications for its 2014 graduate scheme. The graduates and apprentices have joined placements across the firm’s Buildings, Infrastructure and Consulting practices. Robin Lee, East Midlands Leader, commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming the new recruits to Arup. Experience has shown they
will be the future of the company, helping to deliver fantastic projects with their fresh ideas, creativity and expertise. The demand for graduate and apprentice places has been exceptional this year, and I look forward to working with them all in the future.” Gemma Broughton has joined as an apprentice within the Buildings Group, “I joined Arup because I was very interested in engineering and I knew they would help me develop a good career in the industry, offering support throughout. I liked the fact
the office is in the centre of a vibrant city with plenty of amenities close to hand.” Daniel Bryan is now a graduate Civil Engineer within the Infrastructure and Planning team, “Throughout University, lectures talked very highly of Arup and the outstanding reputation the company obtains within the construction industry. This early insight into the company combined with Arup’s existing project portfolio inspired me to be a part of this worldwide organisation.”
Derby firm helping the David’s of today become the Goliaths of tomorrow
Written by Marcus Harrison
Dynamic husband and wife team Andrew and Sonia Gale could see that the knowledge and experience they had developed could benefit business owners in the SME sector and in 2012 formed the ASG Group. They are driven by their unshakable commitment to conducting business ethically and helping new and growing businesses achieve their potential. To this end, one of the programmes that really excited them in their quest was the Governmentbacked GrowthAccelerator programme. MD Andrew Gale says “GrowthAccelerator helps businesses to get to the heart of the barriers that are holding them back. We can help businesses in a number of ways, from developing a growth strategy for the future, building investment strategies, finding new sources of finance or simply by picking up the skills to become better business people.” “One of the key areas we like to focus on at ASG is leadership and management and honing the business skills and acumen of business owners. Many business owners set up in business for 3 main reasons; firstly they have a skill set they know they are good at; secondly they believe they can do a bet-
ter job than their current employer and thirdly they want to create a better life for themselves. However, this drive and ambition alone does not necessarily mean that these entrepreneurs are accomplished business people and can get the customers their skills deserve. Working with a GrowthAccelerator coach helps deliver many key skills essential to becoming a successful business and helps business owners achieve a rewarding life balance that would never have been possible in employment” ASG are also passionate about sales and marketing. Andrew continues “Getting the right message out to the right target audience is the lifeblood of any expanding business and is often overlooked due to the day to day demands of your business. Time needs to be put aside to not only develop a sales and marketing strategy but also to execute the plans and measure the outcome of the marketing activity. We can help you identify a range of Key Performance Indicators that help take the idea of the entrepreneur and turn it into a reality. An important aspect of being a successful business is opening up new markets and opportunities. Many new and growing businesses do not achieve the levels necessary to be sustainable because they cannot access the markets and customers that would use their products and services. Our assistance has helped our clients open up new market opportunities which they have said has been invaluable to their business and has massively exceeded their expectations of their previous sales forecasts. Currently our clients are growing four times faster than the average SME” Andrew summarises “Essentially ASG Group carry
out three core functions; we help you Identify your growth needs by reviewing your business, identifying your barriers to growth and devising solutions of how to overcome these barriers and grow; we help devise and implement a growth strategy through business planning, helping you access our network of experts when necessary and regular 1-2-1 coaching; and we work with you to help you hit your growth targets, whether this is by identifying a skills shortage to address by training in our master classes and workshops or by looking for access to finance to help take your business to the next level.” So whether you are an existing business that wants to grow, or a new business that wants to launch, contact the ASG Group. They will help you turn your ideas into profit, build a confident leadership team and wok with you throughout your growth cycle. In order to be eligible for GrowthAccelerator, your business must be registered in the UK, based in England, have fewer than 250 employees and have a turnover of less than £40m. It is important to stress that not every eligible business will be suitable. ASG exclusively targets high
growth businesses who want to enter their next growth phase and have the potential and determination to get there. If you think this might be a fit for your business, or simply want a further chat, please contact ASG via email customer.service@asggroup. org.uk or call (01332) 419708.
Why RD? Individuality and culture, flexibility and methodology
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 43.
platform, provides us with a global reach and is complemented by our on-going domestic expansion with new offices opened in Exeter, Nottingham and Reading so far in 2014, as well as numerous individual hires in existing locations. David Archer heads up the newly opened office in Nottingham and brings over 26 years’ experience in Wealth Management having previously worked at Barclays and Standard Life.
Welcome to this, the first in a series of three articles by David Archer on Rowan Dartington: who we are and what we do’ Many of you will know of us as a result of frequent national press coverage – Tim Cockerill, our Investment Director, makes regular contributions to The Times and Daily Mail, as well as industry press with lower circulation. But for those of you who don’t already know; we are a multi-awardwinning Wealth Manager and Stockbroker based in Bristol, with a branch network that stretches from Exeter, to London and, of course, Nottingham. But what sets us apart from the rest of the competition? At Rowan Dartington we
embrace technology and see it as a transformational discipline – as such we are forward thinking and always looking at ways to innovate and increase efficiency to enhance the service we deliver, be that in portfolio performance or administrative terms. Our entrepreneurial approach has resulted in the conceptualisation, production and ongoing development
of our own unique portfolio management system and it is this that enables us to deliver our Defaqto five-star rated investment management to thousands of our clients. In addition, the management buyout in 2011 enabled staff to purchase equity in the company (an offer which was heavily oversubscribed)
Rubyson Banking Once again we are approaching a difficult time of year for many families and businesses alike, money is particularly tight as there are many factors that want a piece of your wallets and purses. We all tend to spend what we earn and more besides when pressed to do so. This is a hard time to budget and be frugal as well, many of you reading this will have received your last salary before Christmas paid at the end of November. This means you have the normal bills, Christmas and the holidays to pay for which can stretch the best of budgets. Unfortunately there are more people paying for Christmas on credit, the knock on effect being that the bills land in the New Year leaving Decembers salary short as well, its not until the Spring that many families start to see the light. But for a vast majority the worry is all year round and is leading to a great deal of stress and sleepless nights. In my experience over the years unsecured debt does not disappear quickly without a great deal of discipline. It tends to be the area that families forego in preference for paying the household bills and putting food on the table, rightly so many would say but still the effects of leaving unpaid debts can very quickly spiral out of control and become a burden. If this is you then don’t let the situation spoil what should be a great time of year to spend with the family and relax, get in touch
and share the load. The position is very similar for many Companies and tradesmen, as often there is a shut down for 2 weeks over the holidays to resume in the New Year. The problem though, they do not get paid for the December invoices until February too late for the January tax payment and VAT. The December receipts reflect work in October again a short month due to half term, so as you can see there are factors that can affect the cashflow of even the sturdiest of businesses. The planners amongst you will have this covered by retaining profits throughout the year, but not everyone can do that. There are snags that happen, jobs that don’t get delivered on time and issues beyond the best of planning. If this happens where do you go? A few choices may be available, stretch your creditors and risk being on stop, go to the Bank and request extended facilities or factor your debtors and release cash that way, or more dramatically defer the wages! Either of the middle two may help but again time is not on your side given that most requests will take a month to complete especially if over £25k, so prepare well and ensure that all the relevant information is to hand to support your request. Approaching your bank can be very daunting especially if delivering not so good news, but often it is how you ask for the financial support that is crucial. The right
application can typically be approved within 48 hours, although will take longer to complete as mentioned above if additional security is required. The shopping basket of information will normally include - Last 2 years accounts - Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet for the current trading year - Aged Debtors - Aged Creditors - Assets and Liabilities for all Partners/Directors - Income & Expenditure - Cash Flow projection - In some cases a Business Plan as well. The important point to remember is even if you are turned down you have a right of appeal, the majority of appeals are overturned and the finance is forthcoming. The Banks have an obligation to also provide you with alternative sources of finances as part of the Banking Code, perseverance is the key. So if you haven’t looked ahead over the next 2 months be sure to do so soon, as from experience I know this is a busy time of year for the lenders partly due to the above and partly as it is also the final few weeks before Year End. Again if you or your clients want a second opinion as to what to do then contact me info@rubyson. co.uk or 07891 685905. All that remains is for me to wish everyone a great December and I look forward to helping more people in the New Year.
thereby aligning our objectives with those of our clients, and committing to the future of the firm. These separate factors combine to form a dynamic company with high-calibre,
committed staff, backed up by solid infrastructure and ambitious yet realistic expansion plans. Indeed, the recent acquisition of Acordias, the Isle of Man-based Wealth
Please contact David Archer on 0115 896 9996 to book an appointment to discuss your requirements confidentially and learn about working together
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Spinning Plates Running a small business is like spinning plates – the more you spin the harder it gets. When performed on stage, the audience sees all the plates clearly and can guide the spinner to which poles need agitating. During rehearsals, the spinner might successfully have 20 plates spinning but never achieve 21. If translated to a business scenario, where the owner/manager of an SME is the plate-spinner, the audience could be described as a business coach, encouraging him or her to spin more plates and identifying those most likely to fall. A business coach is an outsider, someone not directly involved in the business but who can look at each part and make sure it is spinning properly. Business coaching takes many forms but is ultimately an extra pair of eyes and ears which can spot opportunities and dead ends while the owner/manager copes with the daily chores of running
the business. Some coaches offer personal support and feedback, others combine practical and structured planning with disciplined accountability. Whichever approach is adopted, business coaching is as much about driving profit as it is about mentoring and developing the person. East Midlands Chamber last year secured European Regional Development Funding to provide business coaching in Derby. “Called Coaching for Success, the programme seeks to support businesses in the city to help them improve their performance and create new jobs,” said a spokesman. Routes to growth include information and advice, one-to-one incompany coaching, free growth masterclasses and business surgeries. Funding for between 50 and 75 per cent of the cost - up to £1,500 - of specific one-to-one
counselling from qualified business growth coaches is available through the scheme. “The coaching can cover everything from marketing and web design to financial matters or human resource issues. It is geared towards helping businesses develop comprehensive growth action plans which can then be used as maps to future success,” the spokesman added. Derby Coaching for Success also offers a series of day-long masterclasses on a variety of topics to support business growth. They include planning to grow, finance fro growth, growing your customer base, collaborating for growth, effective tendering and leading and managing a growing team. And free informal business surgeries bring together experts on manufacturing, international trade, business growth and a range of other topics. Derby Coaching for Success is being run by the Chamber in partnership with East Midlands Business and the University of Derby, funded by ERDF and Derby City Council.
Business Coaching Steve Goodman
The views and opinions about what business coaching actually is are many and diverse and it can be difficult for a business person to judge the value of having a coach. In principle using a business coach should be of benefit. After all, anyone aspiring to be a top sports person, or even just to make a significant improvement on their golf handicap would seek out a coach to help them. But in business it’s more difficult to even work out what you might use a coach for, as well as how do you find the right coach. This why Achievement Coaching International developed Business Breakthrough Coaching. We don’t give advice, this is what consultants and business advisors are for. We help business people, business teams and whole businesses find their own answers to those problems and challenges that can make a big difference for them, their teams and their businesses. They learn how to make the “breakthroughs” they need to
think different, act different and achieve different results that make a big difference - fast. Business Coaching is essentially be about change, especially when doing what you have always done is no longer delivering the results you now need. Business Breakthrough empowers and equips people to find and implement their own solutions improving the capabilities and changing the attitudes of all the people involved. Business Breakthrough combines coaching with a unique set of tools, processes and applications developed from our work with people in change over the last 17 years. This works for any business problem or challenge, in any size or type of business with individuals, teams or the whole organisation. Business Breakthrough is a real and practical alternative to management consultants, business advisors and mentors, training and conventional coaching.
Derbyshire Dales is attracting a new Credit Union Erewash Credit Union (ECU) has announced that from Easter next year they will be opening in Matlock with three additional locations, probably in Ashbourne, Wirksworth and Bakewell to open by November 2015. Credit Unions are non-profit financial cooperatives which operate like a community bank. They offer simple current accounts, loans and savings products in a socially responsible manner. Sara Dinsdale, General Manager of ECU says: ‘Erewash Credit Union, working in
partnership with Derbyshire Dales CVS is delighted to be the very first credit union to offer affordable banking services to the people of Derbyshire Dales. Now that we offer on-line banking services we are free to help people that live or work anywhere in the county and our move into Derbyshire Dales, which follows a similar move a few years ago in Amber Valley is just one more step on this exiting journey. Please take a look at our website http://www.erewashcreditunion.org.uk/ and consider joining the fastest growing and most ethical finan-
cial movement and in doing so help your local community and local economy”. Staff and volunteers from ECU will be on hand to give information about ECU products, help customers access services online and signpost people needing specific financial advice to other agencies such as a local Citizens Advice Bureau. The details of exactly where ECU will be operating and opening hours will be published in the New Year. This project is supported by a wide range of local bodies and funded by Derbyshire County Council.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 45.
LOVE A TRAMP WITH SOUL As the Derbyshire Guardian designer of the year I am pleased to be able to use this blog column, to both entertain, enlighten and inform you on graphic design, myself Linda Wild and my business Wild Ideas.
www.lindawildideas.co.uk
I doubt anyone would be surprised to hear that as a nation, we are not saving enough for our retirement. That is now a wellknown, if little-understood, phenomenon. The reason I say little-understood, is that we have the benefit of time and certainty on our side when it comes to retirement. In fact we have more time now than ever to prepare as the retirement age begins to creep up. We also have certainty that if we do not prepare for our later years by setting money aside, we will suffer an impoverished retirement with the state increasingly unlikely to be in a position to fill the gap. Why then, in those circumstances, do so many people fail to prepare adequately? Pension pots to run dry after just five years The gap between retirement aspiration and reality is revealed as our latest ‘Tackling the Savings Gap’ research shows that funding a comfortable retirement would leave millions of pension pots empty after just five years. Our year-long investigation into Britain’s savings and debt habits, involving more than 8,000 people, has revealed that
Britons are putting aside only a quarter of the amount needed for a comfortable retirement. This means a clear choice is emerging – to radically change their saving habits or to work longer and accept a ‘minimum wage’ retirement. We launched our ‘Tackling the Savings Gap’ campaign in August 2013 to examine the true state of Britain’s personal savings and debt habits, as well as the preparations that individuals are making for their retirements. One of the key aims was to identify the standard of retirement that savers are on course to enjoy and just how far away they are from the retirement that many dream of. Savers have responded by stating that in order to enjoy a comfortable retirement, they would require approximately £23,000 per year as an income from their savings and pension. That target would need a total fund of £469,140 from which savers could draw down 5 per cent over 20 years. Based on current savings levels however, Brits are only on course to build a retirement fund worth £120,213, meaning that it could only support the desired annual
income for five years before becoming exhausted. We believe that Britain urgently needs to rediscover its appetite for saving and investing if those aspirations are to be met. Commenting on the findings, our Managing Partner David Harrison, said: “These figures show the size of the problem we face as a nation. Britain is sleepwalking towards an impoverished retirement and the reality for many in society today is that they will simply be unable ever to retire.” Richard Silverwood Partner True Potential Wealth Management (Derby)
Tel: 01332 382429 | Mob: 07968852463 | Email: richardsilverwood@tpllp.com | Web: richardsilverwood.tpllp.co.uk
Retirement Planning Many people look forward to this and welcome retirement as a chance to do the things they have been dreaming about and a rest after a long career. For some it may have come a bit early due to age restrictions at your place of work or ill health. For everyone there is likely to be a mixture of feelings and thoughts as you start on this new venture into uncharted territory. As with any new stage, planning often helps a smooth transition from the old to the new. There are many areas of pre-retirement to consider. It is necessary to prepare both personally and practically. Preparing ourselves properly for anything new takes a bit of effort, and commitment. Spending a little time on planning now will set you up for a fun retirement with lots of gains. Without planning, you may well fall into old traps and have to use more
energy to get back into control at a later date. Take a moment; cast yourself back to when you started work. · What did you think about retirement? · Was it something that happened to ‘old people’ and not to someone like you? · Did you see a small, frail, uncertain person who sits in front of the TV until bed before ten? · Or did you see someone still full of energy, generally fit and with many aspirations? Many of us retain out-dated and stereotypical images based on our childhood views and find it a shock to realise that we are now at that stage; we certainly don’t feel how we imagined we would. Most of us feel 18 and full of energy inside even if it doesn’t quite fit with
what we see in the mirror. Feeling good about yourself and your achievements and your ability to manage new challenges is essential if you are going to make the most of this phase. If you have a negative view take a look at yourself and your friends and decide if it really fits. Think of all the people in the media, well into their sixties, with very active lives. Not just celebrities, however: there have been cases of a 92 year old who entered the Guinness World Records book as the oldest person to abseil and an 88 year old who finished a degree. It is useful to discard any out-dated views as these will lead to you feeling bad about yourself and stop you setting out into this new phase of life positively and successfully.
Last year, my cousin Dennis at DBN web design contacted me to see if I was interested in working in collaboration with his company. The agreement with their graphic designer was coming to an end, as he was diversifying into other projects, so they were looking for a new design partner. If you are a regular reader to this blog then you will be aware of the projects we have worked on together, and the latest website to be completed has been another enjoyable project. Just coz I like to be a bit random, for the heck of it, then here are a couple of clues to the project I am talking about. Depending on your age you will be familiar with this adorable tramp from your childhood, and if you prefer something a bit more current (if somewhat controversial) then remember earlier in the year this little number rising from the ashes. Anyway, aside from references to the name, this website project has nothing to do with dogs or Eurovision, but the website is called Phoenix tramp . . . . And refers to Phoenix trampoline club, in Kirk Hallam to be exact. This particular project came via Dennis, and he asked me to contact the Client Mrs M, to discuss what we could achieve with her budget. The club has been running a number of years and they have a logo, and club colours which are used for their competition leotard uniforms. Mrs M had written lots of useful information about the club and the history of trampolining that I was able to interpret, categorise and design within the web site pages they wanted for the site. We had a brilliant chat, and Mrs M. was extremely co-operative, open to my ideas and suggestions, and adding in some of her own. It does not matter if you don’t have too much of an idea on design, that’s my job, so don’t worry. Mrs M had a photographer friend who took some blindingly good pictures for the gallery page on the website, and some superb shots of the club members in action at the gym. It was a dream to work on, as everything I asked for was supplied. Mrs M couldn’t have been more helpful, managing to get back to me, very quickly, in her busy schedule. Photos, info and even a video for the home page to show the tramps in action!
(the thing you should not forget, with these clubs is that they are run voluntarily, and the leaders do it for the enjoyment, for FREE in their own spare time. . . . . . . .they all have day jobs, and families of their own too, to fit around) So getting ingredients to me for the website cake, is just another thing to add to the list. (yes I did say ingredients for the cake) I have used this analogy before to help explain the benefits of a custom designed site, as opposed to “trying to fit your stuff into a template and wondering why it just does not look very good” So, supplied with real actual information, with actual amount of words, headers, and images and logos that needed to be included, the Wild Ideas blender went to work . . . . . . . .mix it all up, sort it all out, lay it onto the pages in a logical and interesting way, play about till it looks good enough to pass the Wild Ideas approval . . . . . . . . pass it to Dennis at DBN, for web codability and responsive-ability approval, and then to Mrs M and her team for their comments. The finished result went live just under a fortnight ago and you can have a look here. But what about the soul ? (I hear you ask?) Well the Soul has nothing to do with the Tramp, and refers to one of the Wild Ideas and DBN FREE website offers. Rewind a couple of weeks, remember the logo mojo blog Client 2: A young employed entrepreneur just testing the water, with some freelance work. likes his mates logo, and wants something similar, rock bottom budget, so happy to go for the basic design price. . . . A. Client submits a mock up of something he did himself B. I replicate this and do some of my own original ideas C . I do a design based on the style of his mates logo. D. He chooses a Wild Ideas original. Well, the site is not ready yet as he is still working on the copy and images, but the logo is here if you fancy a look. Thanks for reading x
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Practical qualifications better for ‘employability’ than some traditional degrees, say parents in the East Midlands
Parents in the East Midlands say that obtaining a plumbing or IT qualification will make someone more employable than if they opt for a History, English or Foreign Languages degree.
(55%) of respondents rated a young person with a plumbing qualification or apprenticeship as being ‘very employable’ – higher than both a law degree (48%) and a science degree (49%).
In a national survey of just over 3500 parents, commissioned by the Edge Foundation and the City & Guilds Group, only 5% of parents in the East Midlands feel that studying for a history degree at university would make a graduate ‘very employable’ in the current job market.
Other vocational qualifications rated highly by parents in the East Midlands for employability in the current job market include: IT (45%), accountancy (38%), automotive engineering (39%) and construction (39%). However, despite this support for more practical and vocational qualifications, the research – which has been launched to mark The Skills Show* – also reveals that just 20% of parents in the East Midlands hope their child will complete an apprenticeship, or have done in the past.
Less than a quarter (20%) of parents in the East Midlands said that an English degree would put a young person in the ‘very employable’ category, with less than a third (32%) saying the same about a foreign language degree. In comparison, well over half
Additionally, only 8% of parents in the East Midlands were keen
Leadership and Management What exactly do we mean by Leadership and Management? At Neish Consultancy we believe that: • Leadership is about engaging people behind a cause, and steering the direction of the business. • Management is about the administration of the business including the measurement and control of progress. Which one should you be using in your Organisation? It is likely that the higher up you go in an organisation you will do less management, and more leadership particularly in large organisations where Management is typically undertaken at a lower level in the organisation. In these organisations it could be argued if senior management are getting involved in “management” then they are miss-using their own time, and interfering in other people’s accountabilities. Two Hats? However in smaller organisations it is often left up to one individual to do both of these roles. In Neish Consultancy I will often spend chunks of time ensuring that we have the people and material resources required to deliver Training therefore carrying out a Management task. I also often spend time engaging the team with the vision of the Business and steering us towards potential new clients therefore carrying out a Leadership role. We make the differentiation of “working in the business” as Management and “working on the business”
as Leadership. What definition(s) would work in your Organisation?
Five Tips for Gaining Credibility Management 1. If you have technical experience in the area let people know 2. Always take responsibility for the Teams performance. The buck stops with you 3. Don’t blame others or circumstances – work out how to do it better next time 4. Get out of your office and meet people and build effective relationships up and down the organisation 5. Help your employees understand their role and what is required from them Leadership 1. Acknowledge that you are not the expert in everything and let others lead 2. Let people know that you are there to support them not to tell them how to do their job and then prove it 3. Help others develop by delegating challenging tasks 4. Learn from others around you • Good example – how can I introduce that to my practice? • Bad example – how would I have done that differently? 5. Get yourself a Coach or Mentor to continue your learning Watch out for our next article on Personal Skills Training. We’d Love to hear your views To discuss any of the above or for your free consultation with us call on 01332 751441 or email Shona@neishconsultancy.co.uk . You can also visit us at www.neishconsultancy.co.uk
on their child gaining a level 2 vocational qualification and 11% for a level 3 qualification. However, less than two-fifths say they know ‘a lot’ or a ‘fair amount’ about these types of achievements (35% and 37% respectively).
Jan Hodges, CEO of the Edge Foundation, which champions technical, practical and vocational learning, says: “It’s very encouraging to see parents making the connection between high-quality vocational training and employability. At the Edge Foundation we understand that there are many paths to success and believe young people need to be aware of all the options available to them when making choices about their education and careers. “Parents know far more about
We work in partnership with employers, education and organisations to support young people and adults with autism and learning disabili-ties in their chosen quality life outcomes. Our main focus is to sup-port people in to successful employment outcomes. This is with an employer or may be self employed. Although a new company, we have over 20 years of experience. Fol-lowing person cen-
academic qualifications such as GCSEs and A-Levels, so it is not surprising that these are the ones they hope their children will achieve. This is despite the fact that parents are well aware that practical skills are often the key to getting a job.
“There is a disconnect between what parents know about employability and what they feel is the best for their children in terms of academic achievement. We need to continue in our mission to champion technical, practical and vocational learning, opening up the many options to our young people.” Chris Jones, Chief Executive of the City & Guilds Group, a global leader in skills development, said: “Time and time again, parents are shown to have the most influence on young people. But parents just don’t know enough about all the
tred values and a view that everyone is capable of achieving their aspirations and it is our role to support them to achieve this successfully. What do we do? • We carry out a full profile of each person discovering their abilities, skills and interests. • Finding and working with the right opportunity matching the person’s profile, we are trained to their requirements, includ-
different career options available. That’s why it’s not surprising that so many of them want their children to go to university; for too long, it was portrayed as the best and only route to success. “Young people need the opportunity to explore their options and discover exactly what route is right for them – whether it’s an apprenticeship, going straight into employment or pursuing a degree. “That’s why The Skills Show is such an important event. It gives young people – and parents – the chance to experience a whole range of different careers. I urge parents to come to the event and see for themselves the opportunities that vocational qualifications and apprenticeships can offer.” Amy Treasure, a mum of three and author of the ‘Mr and Mrs plus Three’ blog about family life said:
ing health & safety to provide us with the information to best support the person successfully. • We then train the person on site following our very successful faded support techniques. • We also provide a free after care advice and support. What does this mean for an employer? • A free and supported service that offers accurate matching and professional advice • A positive step towards promoting equal opportunities. • Access to a conscientious work force – research shows that people with a learning disability take less time off work and are likely to stay with one
“I will definitely be taking my children along to The Skills Show so that they can see for themselves the many opportunities available to them. I’m not equipped to give them all the information they need when it comes to making choices about their future career and that’s why The Skills Show is such an excellent resource. I trust my children to choose the path that is right for them, whether it’s an academic or a vocational one. I just want them to be aware of all their options and able to make an informed decision.” The research has been released ahead of The Skills Show (www. theskillsshow.com), which takes place from 13 - 15 November. As the UK’s largest skills and careers event, it’s an opportunity for young people to meet employers and discover career opportunities.
employer for a long period of time. • Staff development opportunities, by raising awareness of people with learning disabilities and national recognised support techniques with training offered free. • A different approach to recruitment. Our services are individualised, person centred and deliver successful outcomes. If you are interested in being part of our part-nership then please do not hesitate to contact us on: Email: infor@its-milife.co.uk Mobile: 07786912247
Stepping up to the world wide web The world is changing fast, and getting smaller by the day in business terms. Companies large and small can trade in global markets thanks to the internet. The ‘web’ is a huge shop window and there are many ways firms can use it. LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Google+ are all very quick, easy, and basically free, to set up. In most cases, all that is needed is an email account. Once set up they can be used to announce new products, display pictures, talk about recruitment or just to ‘chat’ to existing and potential clients. But that is as far as they go. To get the correct message ‘out there’, businesses need to invest in a website and then in a proven online marketing campaign. Building a website is quick and easy these days, but turning it from just a window on your business into a valuable marketing tool is a skill for which owner/managers will either need tuition, to employ someone with
the skills or call in professional help to do. Search Engine Optimisation or SEO may be a familiar phrase but understanding what it is, how it works and how to use it are three very large steps. What is a Google A d w o r d s campaign, what are Bing Ads and how do they drive traffic to one particular website rather than a rival? What is pay-per-click (PPC) and what does it cost? How can a shop window become the complete package, offering customers full product options and the ability to pay at the touch of a few buttons?
“The cost of setting up a very basic website these days is quite low, it should take no more than a few hours and is not really any more complicated than setting up a Facebook page or designing an advert for a local paper,” said a spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce f o r
Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. “But in this day and age every business should be looking at the internet as a means of trading globally with full commerce
functionality,” he added. The Chamber’s eBusiness Club offers basic and advanced training courses covering all aspects of getting on to and making the most of the internet. Andy Morley, Managing Director of Chamber member The Web Design Company, said: “Many small businesses don’t see their online presence as important, but quite often this is the first port of call for potential new customers and clients. “Simply having a webpage doesn’t automatically mean their company will be found in the search engine results, it takes more. “A carefully crafted and professionally-built website stands a much greater chance at performing in the search engines than one from some of the lower cost, DIY site builder services available.” For more information visit www. ebiz.net or www.twdg.co.uk.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 47.
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Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 49.
Lost City Adventure Golf!
Ever wanted to be a real life Indiana Jones? Here’s your chance! The Lost City is a fun, interactive adventure for everyone and challenges you to ‘putt’ your skills to the test in the Inca-themed rainforest.
As one of the East Midlands newest venues, it’s the ideal location for nights out with friends, family time, date nights, birthday parties, corporate events and team building– to name just a few! Challenge your team to play amid a thunder and lightning storm on our “carpeted” greens, avoid the crush of our venomous 23 foot animatronic snake, risk the jaws of our snap happy alligator, and witness talking idols and rumbling walls. Both courses have been designed to be wheelchair user friendly so all adventurers can play! Plus, if you can keep a steady nerve to the end and satisfy our Sacred Skull or
Temple - much Gold come way......
God Inca will your
Perfect for budding explorers and adventurers of all ages, The Lost City is situated in the Cornerhouse and houses two separate 18 hole indoor adventure golf courses.
With light refreshments available on the mezzanine floor overlooking the courses, and party packages available to suit all ages and requirements, The Lost City has something for everyone! For more information and all the latest news and offers visit www.lostcityadventuregolf.com, like www.facebook.com/ lostcitynotts or follow @lostcitynotts on Twitter.
Page 50. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 51.
RECRUITMENT PAPER BOYS & GIRLS REQUIRED! The Derbyshire Guardian are looking to recruit Boys and Girls in areas in the Derby/Derbyshire and Staffordshire regions to deliver a free newspaper. This position only involves a few hours of work per month. Please call Paul on: 01332 650239 Or Email Paul@derbyshireguardian.co.uk
Derbyshire Guardian Sales Staff required:
01332 650239
Page 52. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian.
Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Heritage Driving Experience. ‘Peter swept into the aerodrome, nodded to the sentry on the gate and drove the Lagonda along the perimeter track, heading straight to the control tower. Appearing fragile in the morning mist, the diffused light barely picked out the evocative shape ahead of him. The D Type - one of the most dramatically beautiful sports racing cars ever made - looked, if anything, like the incarnation of a Renaissance genius’s phantasy of speed. He drew alongside, pulled on the handbrake and athletically leapt out of the seat, landing on the tarmac with all the grace of a lightweight jockey - a grace which belied a substantial muscular frame: the body of a powerful athlete. “She’s ready to go Sir” said the white-overalled mechanic. “Glad to hear it” he replied curtly but approvingly. He knew that he could trust Wickens to have everything ‘on the button’. He hummed a tune. Wickens eyebrows raised in surprise. He’d never before
heard Mitchell giving vent to melody. He couldn’t resist asking in the most deferential manner whether ‘sir’ wasn’t unnaturally happy that morning.......’ ...Motoring heaven comes in all shapes and sizes but for me no paradise is complete without the straight six cylinder growl of a leaping Jaguar. A sound fit to make Wagner quit composing and become an engine tuner instead. For the British motorist, there are few sights and sounds more evocative than those produced by classic Jaguars representative of the heyday of the companys success - and so an opportunity to indulge in all things Jaguar is one no sensible adventurer could resist. The phantasy remained intact.There were ghosts everywhere that November morning in Warwickshire -Hawthorn, Flockhart, Sanderson, Rolt, men I know only in two dimensions - standing by their cars with a pressing date with the 24 Heures du Mans. And then there was the greatest of them
Motorists urged to get ready for winter Be prepared for bad weather – that’s the message Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership is sending to motorists this winter. Mike Ashworth, chairman of the partnership’s managing group, said: “Road users are at greater risk at this time of year – commuters are more likely to be travelling in the dark and frosty conditions make journeys more difficult. When snow is forecast, motorists should avoid unnec-
essary trips and consider using public transport where possible.” “Planning ahead is vital at this time of year. We’ve produced a useful checklist for people who need to travel when weather conditions are poor.” Road safety partnership winter driving checklist: Check and, if necessary, replace the anti-freeze in your
This Months Car Reviews By Syd Taylor.
all - Clark in the Ecurie Ecosse D Type. Thankfully Jaguar clearly regards its provenance as something more than a few photographs in the company archives so it’s heartening to be able to enjoy driving their
radiator Make sure your lights are clean and check the bulbs Ensure your windscreen is clean Replace your battery if it’s not reliable Ensure your tyres are correctly inflated and replace them if the tread has reached the legal minimum Check the weather forecast – one of the ways you can do this is by visiting the Met Office website (www.metoffice.gov.uk) Check what the traffic is like before you set off – one of the ways you can do this by visiting the Highways Agency website (www.highways.gov.uk or m.highways.gov.uk if using a mobile device) or calling their
classics. We’re talking here of such a breathtaking amalgam of beauty and uncompromising engineering as to render words incapable of doing these cars justice. The roll call from C to D to E may be short but it’s ‘Oh so sweet’ - and now we are fortu-
information line on 0300 123 5000 Stash the following emergency kit in your car - an ice scraper and de-icer, a torch and spare batteries, warm clothes and a blanket, boots, a first aid kit, jump leads, a mobile phone charger, food and a warm drink, a shovel, a reflective warning sign and a map. For information about winter gritting on Derbyshire County Council’s roads, visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/snow For information about winter gritting on Derby City Council’s roads, visit www.derby.gov.uk/ snow
nate indeed to be able to take one step further and add the F Type. So it’s ‘on your marks. Go!’ For a heady dose of thrills and aesthetic seduction. And the ‘Oh-so-generous’ automobile alphabet leaps ahead yet further to where X marks the spot. XK, XJ, XF and F Type. Excellence all-round in
other words. Envy me, dear reader for while you hear the crackling of crisp paper I listen to the crackling of uncompromising exhausts as they resonate and reverberate percussive detonations of twincam sixes. While the odour of instant soup permeates your kitchen, the odour of hot oil, petrol and rubber sets my head a-spinning. Oh! Yes. I am the lucky one. Abiding memories? A symphony of sound, a fresco of alfresco contoured dynamism. Alas, stratospheric prices mean that ownership of these venerable old masters remains a dream. Thank goodness that the modern representatives of the marque remain within reach for the hardworking men and women in our hearty roastbeef eating land. Opened by Sir Stirling Moss and former Jaguar chief test driver Norman Dewis, the Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience, based at a special vehicle testing facility in Warwickshire, offers a unique opportunity to drive cars from Jaguar’s collection of heritage models, including C- and Dtypes, E-type Series 1 and 3, plus an extensive range of other historic and current Jaguar models, managed and maintained by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations. A full programme of experiences from £95 is available. Details can be found at www. jaguarheritagedriving.com, or by calling 0333 577 0156.
Have something you would like to advertise? Give the sales team a call on: 01332 650239 for a free quote
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 53.
Page 54. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian.
Porsche Macan Turbo If you’re in the market for an SUV and simply want the best - that is to say that money is only a minor consideration - then the world is your oyster and the prize pearl for lucky customers just has to be the Macan Turbo. This car is so good at doing what it shouldn’t do that it has established a niche all of its own. Where else can you find SUV flexibility, 4x4 off-road capability at the push of a button coupled with tarmacadam tenacity and eye-watering performance? To put it into perspective, here is a car that can knock performance cars of only a few years ago into a cocked hat - and yet won’t be embarassed traversing a muddy field as it takes you faster than you’ve ever been before in your gumboots. With its 400bhp 3.6 V6 twin turbo petrol engine driving through a seven speed auto box, quickness is the Macans key feature. Breathtaking quickness. A ‘Pant pant! Oh my gosh!’ quickness that could bring you out in boils and lesions. Can you believe this car can go so fast (165mph) so comfortably, so competently that it’s a blatant contradiction of the laws of physics. It slices through the air like a scimitar and yet is as solid as a mediaeval fortification, protecting driver and passengers alike from hazards with a careless confidence that would border on the cavalier were it not serious in intent. It wants to be the best and with the Porsche badge to live up to
it simply has to match aspiration to achievement. I can tell you that it does: I run out of boxes to tick. Prestigious? Certainly. Refined? Unquestionably. Versatile? Verily. Economical? Not very. (about 25mpg). Performance? Superlative doesn’t come close. Affordability? Glad you should ask.(From £59,300 but this one cost £67,423 with extras). Cheshire or Chelsea, this masterpiece of modern motor engineering proves yet again that Porsche is not simply a brand it’s a phenomenon. Step inside and you’re struck by how snug it is. There’s a flight deck in there with all the gadgets and aids you’ll ever need. You soon realise that it’s the quality and driveability of this Porsche that makes it so attractive. A deft turn of the key and the engine bursts into life. Blip the throttle and there’s a crisp bark from the exhaust. It’s not too rorty: but you’ll find yourself window down - dropping a gear with the paddles for the pleasure of hearing its basso profundo. Put it into ‘sport plus’ mode though and you light the burners, stirring a cauldron of potency that makes the Batmobile seem tame. During the test period I was besieged with people eager to fulfil the role of passenger. Eschewing a glamorous companion I treated Granny Smith to the delights she might have experienced had she married a footballer. She told me she had never been in a Porsche and when I demonstrated its
performance I feared I might induce unctuous rectitude. Not a bit of it. ‘Wheeee!’ she exclaimed. ‘This is like the fun of the fair. I feel decades younger. Why can’t all cars go as fast as this?’ ‘Alas’ I responded. ‘That cannot be. Only a Porsche can perform this way’ - and by the time her ride ended she proposed to cash in her pension at once to guild her golden days with Porsche pleasures. If Ma can have fun in a Macan then why not?
Nissan Qashqai Tekna 1.5dCi manual 2WD
They say that if you can pronounce ‘Qashqai’ there’s room for you at the high table. Those in the know are aware that it’s one of the best in its class and pronounce positive verdicts on its range of outstanding and appealing features. From the respect-inducing styling to its supple ride and sweet economy, the Qashqai successfully crosses the ‘T’ of the crossover formula. A top class motor in other words, befitting those lucky aficionados who like driving in style and looking stylish as they drive. No wonder the Qashqai is Nissan’s most successful vehicle to date with over a million worldwide sales since launch. As I put the five seat, £24,840 Tekna specification, 110bhp 1.5 diesel, two-wheel drive variant through its paces, I was never less impressed by its impeccable road manners, its constant acts of courtesy to driver and passenger, its confidence-inspiring commitment in everything it does to dealing out the best possible hand. There’s nothing to beat a car that ticks all the boxes and boxes the ears of the opposition, making catch-up clowns of them all.
You have to admit the Qashqai makes sense. You want a car that doesn’t crowd you in; a car that demands deference yet deflects envy; a car that’s compact enough for nimbleness and yet capacious enough for proper comfort; a car that pursues the horizon with a no-compromise poise and assurance, belying the crossover tag and its implicit engagement with a plethora of sometimes contradictory imperatives. The Qashqai is all these and more - and it’s built in Sunderland. Versatility is the key. A boulevard cruiser for Chelsea? A commuting express? The Qashqai is the way to go. Chattering away excitedly at tickover the little diesel soon quietens down and smooths out to pull like a train without having to overuse the lovely six speed gearbox - all the way to nearly 115mph. And yet it returns good economy. I doubt that you will equal the claimed 74.3 mpg overall - expect more like 55mpg. It’s a grand touring generalissimo that does most things well. So comfortable in its own skin, so assured in its capabilities,
so confidence-inspiring in its certainty that you soon realise that drudgery is taken out of driving. It’s delight on the road resides in a combination of good handling and ride. At the wheel one is struck by the balanced feel, ease of control and relaxed performance. You sit fairly high and feel quite lordly. Ergonomics are good and there’s a ‘solid all round’ feeling. Nissan needs no reminding that theirs is a name to be reckoned with - and with this in mind one knows that their products are just that little bit more considered. You get a lot of car for your money and the bonding process is rapidly completed so that before you know it you have come to regard the Qashqai as a member of the family. If you plough your money into a Qashqai, furrowed brows will be a thing of the past.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 55.
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Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 57.
Lexus RX450h F Sport Powered by Lexus Hybrid Drive that unites a 246bhp 3.5 V6 petrol engine with two electric motors driving through CVT transmission, the electronic brains mix internal combustion with the purity of electromotion to the 4WD as and when the Lexus wizardry determines best. In other words driving it couldn’t be simpler. Once settled into the wonderfully comfy interior with ‘power’ everything, its simply a matter of programming the flight deck, choosing which mode you want (Eco., Sport or Snow) and whispering away. Should you wish to sneak away unheard, then pressing a button gives electric propulsion only. Does the romance of Lexus ever end? Here in this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness one feels inspired to pen an ode to the technological sorceries behind this carriage. There is wizardry even in luxury. In the lexicon of Lexusology surely the ultimate expression has been reached. This is a twopronged retort to the naysayers, straddling oppositional elements like a mighty colossus and squaring the circles like there’s no tomorrows world - just todays instant gratification: a rhapsody of road-mindedness. Luxury goods sometimes get a bad press. Not surprising, perhaps, when poor deluded souls can be persuaded to part with fortunes for cheaply manufactured goods embellished with trendy name tags. Fancy a nylon weekend bag for a thousand pounds? I thought not. But when it comes to motors other factors than style have to come into play. A car is more complicated than a zipper bag. You’re talking technical here. A wrapped-up package of mechanical and electronic
How can it be? You can do 125mph, get 45mpg and you’re saving the planet too. You’re running silent, infused with a desire to do the best for our fragile earth - but be assured, this is no sackcloth and ashes affair. Can you have a gilded chariot and eat it? I’ll leave that for others to decide. Not only is it a leviathan of luxury with a carbon footprint as delicate as a gossamer web but being the F Sport it is dynamic and fun to drive. Handling is tighter and more precise than the 450h while Sport mode offers more responsive acceleration. You can’t avoid the fact that this is a prestigious vehicle. Arrive anywhere in it and you’re
rewarded with understated deference. Friends - I know, for even dressed in my shabby ‘Saturday worst’ I was addressed as ‘Sir’. Be in no doubt one is dubbed with a shine when one can say ‘That Lexus is mine’. Had Robert Louis Stevenson driven an RX450h F Sport he would never have come up with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Here within the carapace of aerodynamically slippery contours twin power sources are blended into one. It’s a meeting of the twain: a twinning of torque that cuts through the Gordian knot, but squares the circle. What has been achieved here is not so much a hybrid as a thoroughbred.
alchemy that provides golden sparkle and zesty vivacity to the practicalities of transport. Want the best? Well, you can’t avoid paying a premium - but in the case of this hybrid Lexus the £52,605 premium is worth paying, for where else does fine motoring come in such a refined package? Understated yet purposeful looking, the Lexus RX450h F Sport cuts a swathe through the smug ignorance of the antiexcellence puritans we hear far too much from. Here is a manufacturer bold enough to declare it wanted to establish its own pedigree. The brand represents a template for excellence everywhere in the car-owning world. I can endorse that because - in a couple of words - they’re jolly good. So when I tested the hybrid RX450h F Sport I had no mixed emotions regarding the success of the Lexus approach to doublebarrelled driving. Here’s a hybrid that makes clay pidgeons of the opposition. In doing so, exploding the myth that hybrid motoring is a turn for the worse.
Ford Fiesta Zetec 5-Door 1.0 litre EcoBoost Powershift In the carnival of the automotive good life, nothing boosts a drivers ego like Ford’s spirited new EcoBoost Powershift Fiesta. Never a manufacturer to turn away from the eternal quest for a perfect balance of motoring joy with that commitment to sober responsibility for the planet’s survival, Ford’s latest Fiesta comes within a whisker of solving that complex equation. They say that the fun is over. Too many drivers with neither enough talent nor experience to cope with cars with too much power. Now though, there is a solution. One that is fun, practical and safe. One that will allow you more pure driving satisfaction than most thunder blaster whizzbang speedsters, yet one that will slip past the scrutiny of the Ministry of Nastiness and Misery - and it’s sensibly priced too, at £15,795. It certainly seems that ‘power’ is shifting away from the
overpriced to the affordable. Within a mile of driving it this Fiesta feels natural - easy. When it comes to driving manners it is grown up enough to impress a buying public that has become ever more demanding. Consumers want small cars now but they don’t want them to be any less comfortable or well equipped than a big one. Despite the small proportions Ford has ensured that it has real road presence. It feels solid too and is a full five door, five seater. But the big news is that the engine and gearbox make for one of the best double acts in small hatchback history. As a driver, you’re more than merely ‘involved’ in the action - you’re part of it. The single most important raw material essential for capturing that elusive essence of fun in any car is its engine - and it’s not surprising that the new 1.0 litre, three cylinder, 100PS EcoBoost was winner of the International Engine of the Year Award in 2013. On paper it’s much like rival
products - but on the road you can tell that people who really understand what makes one engine a workhorse and another a pure delight have been at work here. Smooth and restrained at low revs for relaxed use, but if you choose, it is a delight to rev high and hard. As you give in to this temptation the sixspeed ‘Powershift’ changes almost imperceptibly, and in ‘Sport’ mode returns the engine to where the greatest torque is available. It has a top speed of 112 mph and a claimed combined mpg of nearly 58mpg. (expect around 45mpg because you’ll never resist the temptation to enjoy the performance). In the finest Fiesta traditions it is deliciously chuckable. You take bends confidently and you can judge your line to perfection. Ford must be applauded for creating a car that’s so much fun yet which never forgets its duty to give a comfortable and compliant ride. Profoundly relevant for today it is probably the best small hatchback. It will, no doubt, be imitated - but for now it is unique.
A car, however, is just a ‘car’ without a companion - so a lady acquaintance, Moira Jardine (for it was she) joined me for a drive to a favourite restaurant. “It’s always a pleasure to be
escorted by a gentleman to a restaurant of renown” she said. Time passed quickly and before we knew it I was helping her back to the car. “Look at the crescent moon”
she cried. “It hangs like an ivory bugle”. “Indeed” I replied “And no doubt ‘twill blow a fanfare in praise of the Fiesta EcoBoost Powershift....ta ra ra boom de ay!”
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Capdepera Golf Course Capdepera is the picturesque Golf Course located on the Island of Mallorca, this outstanding course has plenty to offer for those wanting to have tee-off on the beautiful island. With the fabulous ‘Restaurante Roca Viva’ on sight for peace and tranquillity look no further for nature at its best on this scenic course. With their annual membership starting fee of under €100 you will find no better value for money at this gorgeous location. Capdepera Golf Course offers a versatile and frivolous golf course for all abilities, with an option of 18 holes or 9 holes; as well as a Driving Range and Practice Area.
This will have the opportunity to test the most experienced of players. The 15th hole of the course was designed by famous US Architect Dan Maples and has been voted the
most beautiful hole in Mallorca repeatedly by Mallorca Magazine. Capdepera also offer lessons to those who are not as experienced, with teachers with
over 26 years of experience more than capable to teach even the most inexperienced players. The Restaurante Roca Viva is the diamond of the course with stunning views of the course and the ideal place to relax in the picturesque scenery. The typical ‘Mallorquin style’ of the house allows for a wonderful setting and the terrace gives a spectacular view of the mountain side. As well as catering to those who want to unwind on course, this stunning location is perfect for any wedding party or business function, Capdepera has the facilities for any occasion. With the
capacity to accommodate for 200 people many guests have had their most wonderful experiences at Capdepera. Capdepera Golf Course is the perfect holiday location that
is child friendly and is suitable for anyone who wants to enjoy the natural beauty of this stunning Island. Please contact them to make a booking on: +34 971 81 85 00.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 59.
Villa ‘Gusto’
Carretera del Puerto de Carmen
Carretera del Puerto de Carmen are a young golf course that has been creating a lot of talk in the Lanzarote area. This picturesque course has caused a stir in the area with its stunning views and modern 18 hole course. The course was designed by the famous American Ron Kirby, situated in Puerto del Carmen right next to Tias. Circled by volcanoes the course offers endless views in order to practice golf in the splendour
of the Atlantic ocean, as well as being complimented by the striking Lanzarote landscape. As well as the course Carretera del Puerto de Carmen also offers a terrace in their Club House or their Restaurant ‘Hoyo 19’ where one can watch players from holes 1 to 10, and also see them arrive at 9 and 18; giving you the perfect views of the magnificent course. Similarly, their facilities are also designed to host a variety of events in
order to make your day as special as possible. They offer the opportunity for weddings, business function and presentations for products, making this the perfect location not just for your golfing experience. With rates starting from €40.00 for 9 holes and €70.00 for 18 holes, Carretera del Puerta de Carmen is the perfect location to visit on your holiday in the gorgeous location.
Villa ‘Gusto’ in Los Mojones, Puerta del Carmen Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Villa ‘Gusto’ is an exquisite 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom Villa in a quiet location with a heated, private pool, ocean view and only a 5 minute walk to the main shops, as well as Playa Chica and a short walk to Playa Grande that is located in the main strip of Puerto del Carmen. Along with an 18 hole golf course on its door step and only a 10 minute drive from the airport. This luxurious Villa has everything that you need for the perfect get away holiday with a beautiful outside terrace, perfect for dining and relaxing that looks out onto a private pool deck, accompanied by comfortable sun loungers and brightened by a scenic garden with palms and other attractive shrubbery. The heated plunge pool that accommodates for all year round pool delight is the focal point of this exquisite garden. In addition to this there is a barbeque which is perfect for picturesque evenings in. The large lounging area with com-
fortable and stylish furniture looks out onto this stunning deck. The facilities available at the Villa ‘Gusto’ are more than enough to please any guest, both bedrooms are more than spacious with a stylish décor accompanied by a king sized bed with walk-in wardrobe and en-suite in bedroom 1 and bedroom 2 offers a clean and bright twin room with a fitted wardrobe and an adjacent bathroom. The modern and elegant kitchen only further enhances the classy look of Villa ‘Gusto’ with granite work tops and a well-equipped facilities including a fan oven with gas hob and coffee maker. As well as a washing machine and drying area at the back of the property. The Living room not only looks out onto the surreal pool deck but is more than comfortable for relaxing in with a leather suite, with a great selection of books, magazines and general information about the surrounding area. As well as a 32” flat screen, satellite television with a large choice
of DVD’s for those late nights in; this also facilitates the tasteful table and chairs. The amenities available will suit any family as Villa ‘Gusto’ provides a cot, highchair for the family get away, and has easy access with only four steps up to the entrance gate, with a further two steps into the Villa. The Villa itself is only on one level. Geoff, Linda, Karen and David from the UK visited the Villa in August this year and said that, ‘Villa Gusto is a Lovely Villa which is equipped with everything that you will need for your well-deserved break. The outside area is especially nice with beautiful views.’ They also added, ‘We can highly recommend Villa Gusto for your future holiday!’ Change over day is made flexible for Villa ‘Gusto’s guests, normally it is required to have vacated the property before 10am on departure day, however, storage is provided for cases if guests are leaving on a late flight. Similarly, those arriving are asked to come in from 1pm onwards.
Page 60. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 61.
Let’s face it, moving house can be one of the most stressful times of our lives, which is why more and more people are choosing to remain where they are and improve their existing homes instead.
Paul Fiddes
I am a self employed Gas Safe and a guild of master chimney sweep engineer and i have been established since August 2008. I previously worked for a small fireplace shop so have plenty of experience installing a wide range of gas, solid fuel and electric products. I will install most types of fires, stoves and fireplaces. I also fit cookers, gas runs, flue liners gas or solid flue, twin wall flue systems, chimney pots, and most types of domestic chimney sweeping.
The Grosvenor House Hotel
THE Grosvenor House Hotel in Skegness is quite rightly regarded as one of the resort’s premier residences. It is known throughout the UK, and beyond, for its live ballroom dancing, friendly staff and excellent value for money. Child-friendly, family-friendly and petfriendly, The Grosvenor House is always being praised by its customers for being, well, friendly and welcoming. Its location could not be better - it is directly opposite the pier - so all facilities, attractions and amusements are within a short walking distance. It is also well-known for its top-class children’s entertainment and offers a full a-la-carte menu with comfortable rooms
(including rooms with a sea view), a luxurious lounge bar, all-day carvery, full bar menu and a delightful afternoon high tea just some of the things it has to offer. The kitchen team pride themselves in using the finest locally-reared meats, locally-grown vegetables and the restaurant offers a selection of international wines to suit all tastes. Located just a stone’s throw from the Famous Embassy Theatre, The Wild Life Reserves at Gibralter Point and some of the best beaches in the UK, the Grosvenor House Hotel has 29 en-suite bedrooms including singles, doubles, triples and family rooms. Lillibet’s Cabaret Bar offers nightly
cabaret with dinner whilst the Imperial Ballroom offers facilities for up to 500 people for banqueting, weddings and receptions. Also don’t forget to ask staff about the Embassy Specials where there are great rates for theatregoers and the tea-dance specials which are are always extremely popular with guests. If you are looking for a classic hotel on the Skegness sea front with great entertainment, amazing specials, friendly staff and an amazing location then you need look no further than The Grosvenor House Hotel.
Page 62. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian.
Derbyshire Guardian. Issue 23 : Page 63.
Callum Lockie and David Mason hung on to take the Britcar title
Manuel Cintrano and Javier Morcillo ended the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship season with two victories at Donington Park, in November, but it was Callum Lockie and David Mason OBE who took the title by a single point. Lockie forced his Ferrari 458 into an immediate lead from Cintrano’s Mosler MT900, at the start of the first of two 90 minute races, to build a lead he could hand on to Mason at mid-race. Cintrano also faced an immediate challenge from the Darren Nelson/Nigel Greensall Ferrari, although Nelson spun his way to the back of the pack in the first turn. Mike Millard, driving solo in his Pro-Sport, had moved up to third and Nelson put in some competitive laps on his recovery drive. Cintrano pitted first, handing over to Morcillo who was clearly on a mission, still looking for the title. Lockie’s advantage was two laps when he pitted, eight laps later, but that soon
disappeared. Mason, returning after breaking his shoulder, found a power steering problem and Morcillo passed him on the first lap out of the pits, leaving him no choice but to nurse the crippled Ferrari to the flag. Cintrano and Morcillo came home three laps clear of Greensall and Nelson with Millard third and Salih Yoluc and Euan Hankey claiming Class 3 honours in their fourth placed Ginetta G55. Mason limped home six laps behind, he and Lockie just hanging on to the championship lead ahead of the night race finale. With the FF Corse Ferrari repaired, Lockie again took the lead as race two began after dark. Mason had opted not to drive, but Lockie was unable to establish a significant lead before a series of safety car periods. It is often the case, one safety car period follows another as drivers are caught out with cold brakes, so Lockie’s advantage was still small when Morcillo took over the Mosler from Cintrano and began his pursuit of the Ferrari. With just
Javier Morcillo laps Richard Neary’s BMW
Callum Lockie and David Mason are the 2014 Britcar champions
The Cintrano/Morcillo Mosler always goes well at Donington
The Nigel Greensall and Darren Nelson Ferrari 458 took two podium finishes
Cintrano (left) and Lockie fight for the lead at the start of race 1
Cintrano and Morcillo completed their double in the night race
Two race wins for Manuel Cintrano and Javier Morcillo
ten miniutes remaining, Morcillo forced a rare error from Lockie at Redgate Corner to seize the lead and win by 15 seconds completing a Donington double
Mike Millard (left) looking for a way past the Walewska/Clarke BMW in his Pro-Sport
for the Spaniards. Second, though, was enough for Lockie and Mason to take the title by 214 points to Cintrano and Morcillo’s 213. Mason had been
Darren Nelson spins his Ferrari at the first turn
quite despondent after the poor result in the first race, but his brave drive was crucial to their title success. Nigel Greensall and Darren Nelson rounded
Mike Millard took third in his Pro-Sport
out the race two podium, two laps down.
Salih Yoluc and Euan Hankey won Class 3 in their Ginetta G55
Page 64. Issue 23 : Derbyshire Guardian.
BIRD FLIES IN MALAYSIA
Photos courtesy Formula E
Sam Bird took a dominant victory in the second round of the 2014-15 Formula E Championship, the Ycapital Management Putrajaya ePrix in November. The Virgin Racing driver was never troubled, in Malaysia, and the 4.175 second gap to Audi Sport Abt’s Lucas di Grassi does not do justice to the Brit’s performance. The new all-electric Formula E Championship, based in state-of-the-
Jarno Trulli, with Karun Chandhok looking for a way past. art facilities at Donington Park, is bringing top class single seater racing to major cities around the world underlining the series’ green credentials. With fastest qualifier, edams Nicolas Prost, subject to a ten place grid penalty after the last corner crash in Beijing, Oriol Servia (Dragon Racing) inherited pole position, with Bird second and Daniel Abt (Audi
Sport Abt) in third place. As Bird challenged Servia into the first turn, the Spaniard held his lead, but Abt suffered a lack of power off the line and dropped to the back of the pack. Following the first of two safety car periods Bird was again on the attack, quickly disposing of Servia and putting a 2 second gap between himself and the field. This disappeared with a second safety car, but Bird caught
the field napping at the restart with a blistering getaway to re-establish a comfortable gap. Meanwhile Abt had pitted to change cars, under the fullcourse caution, gambling on a radical strategy. Behind Bird the racing was close, with plenty of overtaking, allaying fears of processional racing on tight street circuits. Jarno Trulli was third, in the early stages, but was holding up the pack who were eager to pass. Lucas di Grassi made regular progress through the field, from eighteenth to finish second, underlining his solid race form in Beijing, where he won the race after the leaders crashed out. “For sure this was beyond my expectations,” said di Grassi. “To come all the way from the back of the grid on a street track to second is an amazing feeling. I felt I had a much better race than in Beijing where I won.” Edams Sebastian Buemi made similar progress, nineteenth to third, making up for a disappointing show in Beijing. Buemi, who was crowned World Endurance Champion the previous week, had consistently topped the testing times at Donington before a non-finish in Beijing and problems in qualifying. “We were really good in testing and then when we came to the first race it just didn’t go well.
Photos courtesy Formula E
It went bad today in the qualifying, which is quite strange, some set-up changes didn’t work so well but I felt the strongest in this car and finished third.” Bird was the last of the leaders to pit to change cars, but re-emerged ten seconds behind ‘backmarker’ Abt, such was the German’s advantage from his early pit stop under caution. Abt was, however, driving cautiously with only 50% battery power remaining, and Bird had no trouble closing him down to retake the lead. Abt soon fell down the leader board and finished tenth. Bruno Senna was one of three drivers to be given an extra boost of power in a fan vote, and used this to move his Mahindra Racing car past Prost, to take fourth place. Senna then tried an ambitious pass on Bue-
Sam Bird celebrates in his Virgin Racing machine. mi, just two corners from home and lost grip, suffering a heavy impact with the wall. Prost regained fourth, to take his first finish of the season. None of this, though, bothered Sam Bird who was delighted at his maiden victory, coming after a fine third in Beijing. “In the first stint I was able to get a very good gap which meant we could take it easy and not make any silly mistakes, and coast to the finish.” Di Grassi leads the standings, after two rounds, with 43 points, Bird is second with 40. Three drivers are tied for third, with 18 points, Franck Montagny, Prost and Jerome D’Ambrosio. The third round is in Punte del Este, Uruguay, on the 13th December, with round 4 in Buenos Aries, Argentina, on 10th January.