South Bristol Edition Dec 2017 www.directlocalonline.com
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Contents 6. Helping people to lose weight 8. Your garden in December 10. Counsillor’s Surgery 12. Recipe of the month 14. Why Bristol should have a statue of Dave 15. Your will and the family home 18. Movies for December 19. Word search competition 21. Kids corner 24. Events guide December 26. Merry Christmas Bristol 30. New years resolutions 32. keeping your business connected
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“Helping people to lose weight is the best job in the world”, says local Slimming Consultant Professional sleeper? Island caretaker? Wine taster? The idea of getting paid to do something we truly love is the holy grail for most of us, however, a local weight loss Consultant says she’s cracked it after a recent survey of 26,000 people on LinkedIn revealed that having a sense of purpose is the number one requirement for job satisfaction. Sarah has run a Slimming World franchise since September 2009 after losing an amazing 2 1/2 stone herself with the weight loss organisation and changing her life. Since then, she’s made it her mission to help others transform their lives like she has. “This really is the best job in the world as far as I’m concerned,” says Sarah.
Personal qualities are so important and we look for warmth, energy and enthusiasm, good listening skills and, most importantly, a caring non-judgemental nature and a genuine desire to help people lose weight – giving people the confidence to achieve their dreams is our ultimate mission and you don’t get a better sense of purpose than that! “With latest figures showing that around two-thirds of people struggle with their weight, there is an increasing need to provide people with effective and compassionate support to help them make long-term changes to their lifestyle. We provide franchisee-Consultants with in-depth training, an excellent support structure and all the benefits of a trusted household name brand that has been established for 48 years and has become the UK’s favourite way to lose weight.”
“Having lost weight myself I know what an enormous difference it can make to your life and so being able to help people to change their life like I have really is the most rewarding thing. “As a franchisee I love being my own boss and I’m lucky to have the flexibility to continue to enjoy a busy family and social life. I always believe that you get out what you put in and that’s certainly the case at Slimming World, with the number of people you can help, in the excellent training and support you get and with the generous financial returns. I’d absolutely recommend the role to anyone looking for a rewarding job.” The LinkedIn research showed that people who have a real sense of purpose at work are much more likely to be happy in their job. The research also found that people whose role is based in the local community, who have their own business and who work in healthcare are all more likely to feel like they have a purpose in their work and Sarah agrees, saying she’s extra lucky as she has all three! Slimming World Director of Field Operations, Lisa Salmon, said: “In the current economic climate people might be wary about starting up a business, which is why it’s so important to choose an option that has a strong structure and excellent training, and can be set up in your own local area. “All of our Consultants originally joined us as Slimming World members, giving them an understanding of what it’s like to struggle with their weight and all have had success on the plan.
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A Slimming World franchise costs from £1,500. For this, Consultants receive Foundation training at the Slimming World Academy on the nutritional foundations of Food Optimising, Slimming World’s healthy eating plan, the psychology of weight loss and facilitating healthy lifestyle changes through a range of behaviour change methods. They are also supported with all the equipment they need to run a successful group and a well-trained management and support team. Successful Slimming World Consultants with good group sizes can earn more than £25,000 a year for around 20 hours work per week. For more information or to join one Sarah’s group, call her on 07879 443888.
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Your garden in December
Frost, rain and winds are increasingly common this month and most of us would probably like to stay inside in the warm with a glass of mulled wine. The beginning of the month will probably be dedicated to decorating the Christmas tree. For many people this is an essential part of their festival traditions and there’s nothing quite like a real Christmas tree to decorate a room and fill the home with that nostalgic seasonal aroma. There are however a few jobs to do in the garden during December, so wrap up warm and enjoy those crisp, dry winter mornings. Clear leaves Clear leaves from lawns, patios, borders and ponds. Not only will this keep the garden looking tidy but it will remove any pests and diseases that are present in the rotting vegetation. Enjoy your garden!
The essential gardening jobs for December Protect perennial plants Protect perennial plants from the worst of the winter weather by mulching borders with at least 5cm of bark, compost or manure. Mulching not only protects roots, and tubers from frost but it also enriches the soil, which will help to give your plants a great start next spring.
Plant of the month: Sarcacocca Why should you plant them? Saracocca is a slow growing plant that can give great coverage to any spot in the garden. A vastly underrated shrub, its commonly known as “Sweet Box” or “Christmas Box” Its a tough reliable plant that is really easy to grow making it a perfect plant for winter.
Brighten up containers Brighten up containers with evergreens and winter flowering plants. Ivy, pansy, viola, cyclamen and shrubs that look great in the winter such as Leucothoe will make an attractive display to cheer up those dark days. Don’t forget to raise patio containers onto feet or bricks to avoid them sitting in the wet.
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How to plant them? This plant thrives in the shade, making it ideal for shaded border. It wil also grow in sun light but the roots will need to be ketp moist. This plant grows slowly into low growing mounds of evergreen follage making it idea for ground coverage. it can also be put in containers and placed outside the house giving off a rich scent.
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Councillors Surgery Article by Jos Clark
About 17 years ago Labour promised the City a new concert arena (and tram) and we are still waiting for both. We now hear that Mayor Marvin . has paused the current plan to build the arena at Temple Mead’s due to spiralling costs and massive pressure on the Council’s budget. We have seen threats to close the majority of our libraries (just seen off by the Lib Dems on the Council), cuts to parks maintenance and cleaning and the redundancy of lots of staff. But having said that there are a lot of Bristolians who feel the City will not be complete until it has a concert venue to rival say Birmingham and Cardiff. It is noticeable that the West Country is lacking a major Concert venue and Bristol is best placed to provide one. But what sort of concert hall do we want? Where should it be situated?
They have little arena parking and rely on public transport and the City’s existing car parks to service the arena, but it is around half the size of the one we are proposing to build. So where does this all leave us, well I think we need an honest cross party discussion of the way forward, we need to meet with the big players in the City who have the money and know how to assist the Council. Our soccer, rugby and cricket clubs, our two universities and others who can bring money and expertise to the table. We should not be hung up on whether the arena stays at Temple Mead’s or even moves to just outside the City.
After all, both our airport and docks (were originally owned by the Council) are outside the City boundary. We need to explore a joint venture with another body to defray the costs and bring their expertise to bear, some are suggesting the old Filton airfield site as a possible venue with its excellent road links and of course a railway station. But we must never lose sight of the very real financial state the Council is currently in, our current services need to be protected, so a fine balance needs to be struck between current and future spending pressures on the public purse. How much should it cost and what impact would it have on the Council’s other services? These are all questions that the Mayor and his Labour colleagues are grappling with at the moment. I doubt that we will ever be able to complete with the NEC in Birmingham as it is the Country’s largest indoor venue (the 7th largest in Europe) having a seating capacity of 16,000 and 29,000 parking spaces, its on a major motorway network has a dedicated rail service, oh and is next to their airport. It also has a fine exhibition space as well. The Cardiff arena is closer to the model we have followed in Bristol but their arena is a lot smaller than what we are proposing at around 6,000 (but there is current talk of a second one).
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Creamy Christmas Cocktails
Real Irish Cream Once you have tried the real thing, branded versions will never tasted the same. This makes about 1ltr Prepare time less than 30 minutes No cooking required
Ingredients
250ml single cream 1x397g tin of condensed milk 350 ml Irish Whiskey (It must be Irish nothing else works the same) 1tsp Camp Coffee Essence 3tsp chocolate sauce 1tsp vanilla essence 1tsp almond essence
Method
1.Sterilise the bottles for the liqueur by first washing them in very hot water, and then placing them in an oven at 160°C/325f/gas 3 for 10 minutes, then leave to cool. 2.Pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds 3.Pour into the sterilised bottles and store in a fridge. It will keep for about two months ( If it lasts that long) 4.Shake well before pouring.
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The Cranachan Cocktail ingredients
Ingredeints
50ml Irish Cream Liqueur 25ml Jack Daniels Honey 25ml Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur 100ml milk 1 scoop vanilla ice cream
Method
1. Place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with a couple of ice cubes and shake vigorously. Pour into martini glass and decorate with a cherry.
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Why Bristol should have a statue of Dave Prowse As a city, we have a
justifiable claim to the silver screen’s most recognisable villain, but within that claim lays a deeper, more heroic champion, one that we should be proud of well beyond one of the most famous characters of all time.
Before donning the black cape and mask, to become the original Photo by Dan Jamieson Darth Vader, David Prowse MBE was a bodybuilding and weightlifting champion. He was also the Green Cross Code man, who, during his campaign as the green hero, managed to reduce road accidents involving children, by an estimated 33,000 during the 1970’s. David Prowse was born, raised and lived in Southmead Bristol
There is so much more to David’s life achievements, and do we even have a sports hall somewhere dedicated to him? He has done Bristol proud, when was the last time this city, our city, dedicated something to such a great citizen? And who better than our very own David Prowse MBE? The Statue David is most famous for his role as Darth Vader, but has always said his role as The Green Cross Code man was the most rewarding, it also earned him his MBE. He belongs in the city centre with the other statues of our great citizens, with a quote we hope to obtain from him, a statue that shows his staggering physical presence (he was 6ft 6in) and represents his two greatest roles.” Article by Perry Hicks
But it didn’t just end with the above mentioned facts, David appeared in excess of 60 films, he is good friends with David “Del Boy” Jason, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, and he was also contracted to “bulk up” Christopher Reeve for his role as Superman.
Photo by Stefano Buttafoco
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Lasting Power of Attorney
Writing a will is preparation for the inevitable but lasting power of attorney is more of a safety net.
If you begin to lose your mental or physical capacity and you’re no longer capable of making your own decision, the Lasting Power of Attorney ensures that your affairs are looked after by someone you trust. You can nominate friends or family, or someone that you trust to act for you,should the circumstance arise. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Find out how we can help:
01173 215858
Or visit our website:
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Members Of The Will Writing And Estate Planning Practitioners
Your Will and The Family Home For most couples their home is their largest asset. The thought of it ending up in the wrong hands on our death or our partner’s death is horrifying. Most couples own their homes as ‘Joint Tenants’. This means that when one dies, the survivor automatically becomes the owner of 100% of the property. The majority of couples who have made Wills, have simple Mirror Wills which gift everything to the survivor when the first spouse dies and then onto the children on second death.
Tenants in Common If the way the home is owned is changed to ‘Tenants in Common’ and your Will is changed to include a Life Interest Trust. Then whoever dies first, their share in the property is protected and the interest is ring fenced for your children.
There is nothing wrong with this type of Will. However, the disadvantage comes should the survivor remarry, suffer bankruptcy or need long term care. If the survivor remarries, then marriage automatically revokes previously prepared Wills. This means that the new spouse would inherit under the Intestacy rules if the surviving spouse did not make a new Will for the benefit of your children If the survivor fell out with any of the children, there is nothing to stop the survivor cutting them out of the Will after the first spouse passed away. This is particularly relevant when there are children from previous relationships.
If you would like a free consultation to discuss making a Will or Lasting Power of Attorney or to review your existing Will please call 01173 215858 or email nicola@richardsonswills.co.uk
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THE TOP 3 MOVIES FOR DECEMBER By Aaron Potter
What once was lost will swiftly be found again in Decembers crop of blockbuster movies. Whether it’s the Barden Bellas desire to be the best vocal group in the world, a withered and weary Luke Skywalker, or the hidden game of Jumanji. Kicking us off in a big way on December 14th is Disney’s highly-anticipated space opera sequel, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Picking up mere moments after The Force Awakens’ cliff-hanger ending, the evil First Order have regrouped following Starkiller base’s destruction, making the efforts of Rey, Finn, and the rest of the Resistance even more vital. Thankfully Jedi Luke has found his new apprentice. Two heavy hitters then fill out the rest of the Christmas month with Pitch Perfect 3 and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, both releasing on December 20th. It’s last call for the pitches of the Barden Bellas with this third and final outing having them face their biggest challenge yet: actual musical instruments. Meanwhile Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sees a group of angsty teens accidentally sucked into the same destructive game that plagued Robin Williams way back in 1995. Now headed up by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, for the first time we’ll experience the game from the inside, as our team fend off creatures and crawlies to make it back home. Direct Local Magazine and Cineworld Bristol are continuing this excitement, with two sets of cinema tickets up for grabs. Simply fill out the next page crossword. There’s so much to see this December, so be sure not to miss out.
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This Months Prize Ferdinand Goodies Welcome to our word search competition Cineworld Bristol are giving away goodies from the new movie Ferdinand! All you need to do is complete the word search above and either scan, take a photo on your smart phone and email it to us at :
The Draw will take place on the 19th December The lucky winner will be pulled randomly from a hat and contacted by a member of staff at Cineworld. Children entering must have parents written consent to enter, people over the age of 16 yrs need no concent to enter..
info@directlocalonline.com or send it in the post to via snail mail to the address below. 7 Hopewell Gardens Shirehampton Bristol
Novembers winner Joy Watlow 19
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Bristol’s Christmas Market 2017 The Bristol’s Christmas Market will once again return to the heart of the City Centre on Broadmead. We are aiming at adding an additional highlight to the Christmas season for this great location. Along the high street there will be a variety of unique gifts, presents and food on offer. Established traders will be there as well as new highlights which Xmas Markets Ltd. will include in Bristol’s Christmas Market. Broadmead turns again into a christmassy shopping street for the young and the young at heart.
Approx 55 authentically decorated wooden chalets will sell a wide range of unique gifts and unusual Christmas presents as well as delicious food. Wooden and soft toys, unique jewellery, beautiful lights and many more Christmassy products are offered in a magical winter atmosphere. Sip a warming“Glühwein” (German Mulled Wine) or drink a German Beer at our Jägerbarn (open 10am-10pm), enjoy a famous Bratwurst or indulge yourself with other culinary specialities and delicious treats at our Food Village at the Podium (open 10am-10pm). Traditional Christmas music will enthrall visitors, filling them with the Christmas spirit. Reservations for Christmas Parties and other enquiries can be made via our website or Facebook page: www.xmas-markets.com www.facebook.com/ChristmasMarketBristol
Experience a taste of what a traditional, beautifully lit Christmas Market has to offer.
Images by courtesy of: Alessa Lovegrove, Xmas Markets Ltd.
Opening: 10th Nov – 24th Dec 2017 10am – 8pm Mondays – Sundays 10am – 10pm Food & Drinks 22
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Events guide December Family-Friendly A Very Craft Christmas Market Event Date: 1st - 3rd Dec Description: Christmas Party and Craft Market all Weekend: Friday 1st open all day, but party starts at 18:00 till late. Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd, open for breakfast/ lunch all day,however Christmas market stalls open at 14:00. Venue: Pickle at Underfall Yard, Cumberland Road Saltford Christmas Market Event Date: 2nd Dec Description: A great opportunity to buy Christmas Gifts in a Market that is a highlight of Saltford’s year. Venue: Saltford Hall Santa’s Grotto at Bristol Zoo Event Date: 2nd - 23rd Dec Description: Visit Santa and his elves. Venue: Bristol Zoo Bristol Zoo Gardens Guthrie Road Clifton Bristol Winter Fair at Windmill Hill City Farm Event Date: 9th Dec Description: Our fabulous Winter Fair will be held on Saturday 9th December from 12 noon to 4pm. Venue: Windmill Hill City Farm Philip Street Bedminster Bristol The Bristol Santa run Event Date: 10th Dec Description: Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) is excited to announce the return of its popular Santas on the Run event in Bristol on 10th December. Venue: Bristol Harbourside, Bristol Docks
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Family-Friendly Paddington & The Snowman Event Date: 17th Dec Description: Gift your family a magical, musical evening this Christmas of two much-loved classic stories presented by CBeebies star Pui Fan Lee. Venue: Colston Hall Colston Street City Centre Bristol Jack and the Bean Stalk Date: 17th Dec Description: Due to popular demand (and us being bowled over by last years support!) we are doing 2 Shows this year. Show times are 1.30 & 3.30pm. Come along for some rip-roaring, traditional panto fun, with an anti-bullying message, and start your Christmas break the right way!! Ticket prices: £6 for adults £3 for children Under 3’s go free If you need any further information or would like to BOOK then please call Sally on 0117 964 99 31. Venue: Headley Park Community Center Santa Special - Avon Valley Railway Event Date: 21st - 24th Dec Description: Make this Christmas one to remember with the Avon Valley Railway. Venue: Avon Valley Steam Railway Bitton Railway Station Bath Road Bitton
Music Saltcellar Folk Club guest performer Georgia Lewis and Friends Event Date: 2nd Dec Description: Young, exuberant and musically versatile trio. Venue: Totterdown Baptist Church, Wells Rd, Bristol Skream Open to Close Tour 2017 Event Date: 16th Dec Description: Skream is back with his back-to-basics ’Open to Close’ tour after last year’s hugely successful, fully sold-out run. Once again, the clubbing stalwart brings his years of experience behind the decks as an innovative trailblazer to the best venues up and down the country. Venue: Motion, 74-78 Avon St, Bristol Christmas with The Overtones at The Colston Hall Event Date: 18th Dec Description: Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with everyone’s favourite crooning five-piece, The Overtones. Venue: Colston Hall Colston Street City Centre Bristol
Misc NATHAN CATON: THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (Tour Show) Event Date: 1st Dec Description: The prolific Nathan Caton is back! He’s keeping it real and keeping it funny, dissecting all things from the personal to the political in this hilarious show. Venue: The Hen and Chicken 210 North Street Bedminster Bristol
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Merry Christmas Bristol; Onwards and Upwards in 2018
Christmas is approaching rapidly as it does every year with the hype about what every family needs to get increasing every year as our finances and resources are more and more stretched. What this year has shown is that the so-called “Austerity” policies have failed which have frozen the services that are the mark of a civilised country like ours. The NHS, Education, Police and local government services have been subject to vicious cuts and the wages of most people, especially those providing those essential services in the public sector, have fallen well behind. A visible sign on the streets of Bristol is the number of homeless people; “street sleepers”, people sleeping rough. When I feel worried at the expense of Christmas, I think “I am glad that my family are Ok” and usually give a bit of money or a sandwich to the next homeless person I see. I guess it helps my conscience, but there is no doubt that the numbers have increased noticeably during 2017. All need help, but thanks to “Austerity”, the services cannot keep up.
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Austerity was the brainchild of George Osborne and David Cameron; this key Conservative policy was fully supported by their lap-dogs, the Liberal Democrats. Thanks to Austerity, Bristol is facing huge cuts to services that we all value like parks and libraries. So, if I was the Fairy on the Christmas tree, what magic would I like to work in 2018? 1. Ease the pressures on housing, both renting and buying, by increasing the supply of affordable property; the City Council are doing their best now to free up frozen sites 2. Unblock the roads; as first steps, review all roadworks, make contractors stick to the timescale, fine those that overrun or those that no-one is working on for days, amend the flow at traffic lights where there are regular hold-ups. Mayor Marvin Rees’s Congestion Working group is due to report in 2018 – speed ‘em up Marvin!
3. Keep our libraries – they are vital community assets. Once gone, we won’t get them back 4. Find money for our parks – like the libraries, the good that they do by being there for our citizens to enjoy is under-rated. Few services are free, parks and libraries must be retained. ·5. Nationally, reinstate the rail electrification programme to include Bristol Temple Meads and Bath; deleting it is simply not understandable and is so blinkered. Finally, Austerity is discredited; I would wave my magic wand so that the Conservative and Lib Dems recognise that and invest in the above instead.
May you all have a Happy and trouble-free Christmas May 2018 be even better in all kinds of ways to 2017. “God Bless us, everyone”. Artilce by Eileen Means
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New Year Resolutions Over Christmas you may be wondering about the business you are in, what’s gone well and possibly how you can find more customers next year. You may like to consider joining a networking group. Networking groups fall into several categories:
1.Professional and trade based groups – specific to your industry or profession 2.Social and charitable groups – Churches, Mosques, Temples or organisations like Rotary 3.Open Business Networking groups – run adhoc or regularly by event organisations 4.Loose membership organisations – like 4N Networking which is part social as well as business 5.Referral Partner Marketing groups – such as BNI where members build close and tight business relationships with one another in a structured environment Word of mouth and referral based business is highly effective and will give a great return on time and money if done right. Make 2018 the year you include this type of client acquisition into your business.
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Don’t wait untll the last minute to do your self-assessment. Rushing will mean that you are more likely to make a mistake. Maybe even do it before Christmas and enjoy the festivities knowing you don’t have it left to do. Set aside a reasonable amount of time to complete it, somewhere quiet where you will not be disturbed or distracted. Make sure you have everything you need. Invoices, purchase invoices, receipts and a full years’ worth of bank statements.
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Keeping your business connected Cloud systems are the way forward for business systems and communications. If your business thinks it is not for them today, certainly in the future it will be.Tomorrows world will look very different. In your personal lives, how often do you shop online? How many photo albums do you own? Chances are your memories are downloaded and stored in the cloud. It therefore goes without saying that in the future more business will be done online. More applications and programs will be cloud only. More data will be stored in the cloud.Already, cloud-based solutions give you the ability to store huge volumes of data, share files across your business, and do away with your traditional on-premises phone system. For your business to move away from the desktop and into the cloud, it’s easyto overlook the most important link in the technology chain. Your internet connection.Without a robust, high-performing connection, cloud-based business innovations just won’t work. If you haven’t got the right connection today, and haven’t planned for the right connection in the future, your growth ambitions could fall flat.
How do you know if your connection is up to the job? A good place to start is to understand what you use your internet connection for now. What applications and websites does your business rely on? Then factor in what could become essential very soon.Even if your business stays the same size, it’s more than a fair bet that your reliance on the internet will grow.If you can, find out how much data your business sent and received over the internet a year ago. Then compare that with what you’re using today. I think you will be surprised.Consider where your business is going in the next five years. Do you plan to expand? Will you employ more people who’ll need access to the internet? If you’re thinking about a new phone system, will you be taking advantage of one based in the cloud?
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Ways to make your connection ready for the future If you’re a light user and expect to continue that way, then you’ll be fine with standard broadband or fibre.Using a lot of data or your needs are likely to increase? You will need high-endfibre for better upload and download speeds.If you’re a heavy user a leased line could be perfect. These lines guarantee consistent upload and download speeds on your own dedicated line. With verylow latency, a leased line is ideal for businesses using a lot of data and where internet connection is critical.As the demand and reliance from businesses for reliable and fast internet connectivity increases, the networks have reacted by providing more options and much more competitive pricing. Alliance have partnered with all the Internet and Fibre network providers to ensure you get the best service available in your location, at the best price. For further information contact us on 01173 700 900, email info@alliancecoms.com or visit our website www.alliancecoms.com
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Your Local Electrician Keeping You Safe in Your Home PLUG-IN SOCKET COVER DEMONSTRATION VIDEO GOES VIRAL Last month Steve Palmer of JPS Electrical Services shared with us information that was provided to help parents question if it was safe to use plug-in socket covers in their electrical sockets at home. Now ordinarily we wouldn’t expect to go back over old ground but something truly sensational has occurred since we published the last issue. Steve created a video at his home showing how two of children, Jayden One and Preston Three, could easily remove socket covers that he had removed from a client’s property. The video also showed the exact danger that was highlighted in the article, which is how the top pin of a socket cover, if turned upside down, can disengage the socket safety shutters that cover the live conductors. A chilling thought for any parent. We were interested to know just how a sole trader who works alone was able to create a video and send it viral. Here’s what we were able to find out. Steve stumbled across a website a couple of years ago called www.fatallyflawed.org where he learned about the dangers of the socket covers and why a campaign had been set up to raise awareness. Whilst the information was eye opening there wasn’t much content that jumped out and grabbed someone with very little electrical knowledge. For a long time, Steve knew that he had to do a video, just one problem. He claimed that he hates being in front of the camera.
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For some time now Steve has been a member of ‘My Electricians Toolbox’ where he’s been working with a gentlemen named James Dewane. If you’re an Electrician, then Steve recommends that you check this guy out. It’s in this group where Steve works with likeminded Electricians whose number one goal is to improve the way that the business operates. See there is a great deal more to being an Electrician and running your own business than just doing electrical work. This is proven time and time again through stories are told by homeowners across Bristol complaining about tradesmen. One of the areas that Steve has been working on in the Toolbox member group is video. He explained that whilst he disliked the thought of doing them he understood exactly why they should be used. Video introduces you to your clients, they get to see you and hear you in your video so when you arrive at the clients’ door it often feels like the client has already met you and knows what you are about. Of course, the clients also enjoy the useful hints and tips which have been provided without cost.
So, how do you take a video and get it to go viral? This is what Steve said, ‘the truth is I just created the video. I knew the content was golden but never did I think that it would perform the way it did. I watched the video over and over, I posted it on my YouTube Channel and my Facebook business page. I could see instantly that people were interested in it. I’m a member of a group on Facebook called Electricians Community. It can be a VERY ruthless place. Very often a post goes into that group and the poster gets shot down in flames. I looked at the content again. I looked at the message. It would have been wrong to NOT post it. My thought was, even if just a few people take the message and they share it then the message will spread. I put my tin hat on and posted the video in the group. I was amazed at the response, everyone loved it. They were asking permission to share it on their business pages and post it to local groups. Well this was amazing and before I knew it the engagement figures were going up in their thousands, then tens of thousands. No sooner had it hit 50k views it was hitting 100k. Then it was literally increasing by a hundred thousand times each time I checked back.
Steve went on to explain that he has been On Air with Emma Britton of BBC Radio Bristol and on ITV West Country News. Now that’s not too bad at all considering this was a message that was intended for an area that mostly included a 2-mile radius of his home address. The video has now been shared over 33 THOUSAND times and reached over 2 MILLION people. When Steve was asked how that feels he said ‘It’s amazing, I couldn’t even tell you what 2 million looks like. That is a massive number of people that have seen my message. I’m going to continue making videos and posting them frequently. I’m not expecting the same response but at least now I know it’s possible. I’ll perhaps reconsider some of the ideas that I’ve written off in the past’ We’re looking forward to receiving Steve’s next article which is likely to be followed up with a video so be sure to LIKE the @keepingyousafeinyourhome Facebook page and subscribe to the JPS Electrical Services YouTube Channel.
Once it had hit 1.2 million an article popped up in The Mirror Online and then various other local papers around the Country. Electricians were posting in the group explaining that it had reached their area. I even had a client that told me a friend of hers in Southampton had seen the video. I was getting messages from all across the UK and one from Ireland where people were asking me for advice. I even had a gentleman get in touch who wanted to have a chat with me about a prototype that he was working on that could completely solve the issue that I had raised in the video.’
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What is a cavity wall? Cavity Wall construction was Introduced in the 1900’s, initially in coastal areas because of high exposure to wind driven rain. Buildings were constructed with 2 “leafs” with a gap, the cavity, and held together with “Wall Ties”. Moisture penetrating the outer wall would evaporate and run down this outer ‘leaf’, keeping the inner wall dry. Cavity Wall Insulation (CWI) was promoted, in the 1970’s, as the solution to our energy saving conscience, and was seen as a way to improve our energy efficiency. Government backed schemes, followed, which provided CWI to properties, to meet International emissions targets. Property owners were offered CWI at minimal or no cost, and there was an unprecedented push to insulate as many properties as possible. This led to a large number of installers joining the market, and sales to the consumer increased one hundredfold, hindered only by poorly trained sales staff. This push was on the back of poor regulation of the installers, poor surveying standards, poor installation practices, and inadequate guarantees.. Homeowners and tenants alike have suffered as a result. Post war, there was an immediate need to build a lot of houses. Companies such as Laing, Wimpey built homes quickly and efficiently using new methods of fabrication on-site. Concrete was used, rather than brick on brick, so became known as System Built. There are around one million non-traditional, System Built homes in the U.K. that used this method of construction. Cavities, present in most ‘system built’ homes were not suitable for standard insulation materials like ‘bead’ and ‘mineral fibre’, and should not have been done. All CWI materials, badly installed or in the wrong type of property can lead to damp problems. Blown fibre and mineral wool, by the nature of its construction are able to absorb and retain moisture affecting the internal wall of the property, and causing problems, such as crumbling plaster, wallpaper lifting and furnishings damage.
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If you have got it, you’ll know it. Estimated that 3 million homes in the UK will suffer damage due to insulation being installed incorrectly, and in many cases should not have been done at all.There are some obvious signs of damage, caused by damp, not the least being damp patches on interior walls, wallpaper lifting or crumbling plaster. Not so obvious are the early signs of rising damp, not helped by the CWI retaining moisture making the interior walls damp. Also, the signs of penetrating damp, where the CWI acts as a wick across the cavity. Condensation, usually seen as a black mould growth, should not be confused with “damp damage”, insufficient ventilation often the cause. Air vents blocked by sealant, during the process of installation, can lead to damage to floor timbers, due to lack of ventilation. Seeking help from a reputable company will involve no expense on your part, and the free inspection will reveal if you qualify for a compensation claim. The process is straightforward and is on a No Win No Fee basis. Remember, damp can cause long term problems, and will reduce the value of your property, and the chance to sell it, in the future. It has been said that we are becoming a “compensation” culture, society, but in this case, the fabric of our homes has been affected, and damage experienced.
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