9 minute read
BRISTOL UPDATES
Did someone say ‘summer refreshment’?
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CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF LEMONY ZING
Local cidermaker Thatchers has brought out a new fruit cider for the summer – a naturally cloudy Somerset nectar balanced with the tart zestiness of lemon. The 4% sparkling Thatchers Cloudy Lemon Cider uses sweet dessert apples including Braeburn, Gala and Red Spur to give a crisp, sweet taste finished with the juice of real lemons. It’s the Jonagold apples that help give the stuff its cloudiness. “We’re looking to be bold and different with Thatchers Cloudy Lemon and bring some zest into cider,” said Thatchers’ fourth generation cidermaker, Martin Thatcher. “We know cider drinkers are always looking for something new and exciting.”
If you’re not a fan of lemon flavours in your beverages, we also recommend a little of the Thatchers Rosé we’ve been sinking lately –sparkling pink cider using the orchard’s rosy red apples.
• Thatchers Cloudy Lemon, RRP £5.50 for four 440ml cans, available in retailers including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Coop; thatcherscider.co.uk
THIS IS AMERICA Year 6 pupils at a North Somerset independent school have enjoyed a virtual trip to the USA as part of their remote learning programme during lockdown.
The children from Fairfield School in Backwell – an independent co-educational school for children aged two to 11 – visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. where they took a self-guided room-by-room virtual tour of select areas and exhibits.
The pupils also planned how they would travel to America, took part in a virtual treasure hunt and enjoyed a workshop drawing dinosaurs. “We love how creative our staff and children have been during lockdown and the Year 6 trip to Washington is a great example,” said Fairfield School headmistress Lesley Barton. “We have tried to make our remote learning programme as varied, interesting and educational as possible, despite the challenges, and we’re pleased that pupils had a fantastic time.
“Throughout the crisis our teachers have been working hard to deliver the same high standard of teaching and learning to our pupils remotely. We’ve enjoyed seeing how well the children have responded to the new style of education and are really proud of their efforts. We have now re-opened for children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 and it is lovely to see how happy the children are to be back in school. For those who have not returned yet, we will also be continuing with our remote learning programme until the end of the summer term.”
Pupils took a self-guided virtual tour of select areas and exhibits
Class sizes at Fairfield, historically a PNEU School (affiliated to the Parents’ National Education Union), are limited to around 20, with many much smaller, and there is a very wide range of clubs and activities, sport, music and drama to excite the interest of pupils.
• fairfield.school
BRISTOL UPDATES
CHAMPION CHOPPERS xx
Award-winning hairdresser Noco Hair on Whiteladies Road is supporting 10 charities by giving away 100 haircuts over the summer months. Each charity will be auctioning their haircuts to raise valuable funds. "It’s important to us that we support our local community and charities, especially during these current times when fundraising has been tough,” said creative director Noel Halligan. “We are in a unique position where we can make people feel amazing through our services, and we feel it’s our responsibility to provide this care.”
• nocohair.com
Award-winning NOCO supports its community
REASON TO SMILE
For retirement charity Abbeyfield Bristol & Keynsham –established in 1956 to create supportive communities where older people can live together – restrictive social distancing rules put in place as a result of the coronavirus outbreak are diametrically opposed to everything they aim to achieve. However, with residents’ safety at the fore, the organisation introduced a ‘new normal’ early on, with split mealtimes and strict limits on outings and visitors. “The last three months have been a stressful time for everyone,” said Frances Stretton, chief executive. “The restrictions on socialising go against our core values of companionship but everyone is wholly committed to maintaining the ‘spirit’ of Abbeyfield and we are working hard to ensure life is disrupted as little as possible and providing the highest standards of support.”
Teams across Abbeyfield’s five Bristol houses put together a varied programme of summer activities with social distancing in mind. “We haven’t been able to bring in our usual entertainers, musicians and keep-fit specialists, so we needed to make some changes to enhance wellbeing and keep people together,” continues Frances, “Our residents have enjoyed poetry sessions, quizzes, crafts, film nights, croquet and exercise classes.”
Pimm’s and strawberries in the garden seems to have been the most well-attended events... And now families are permitted to visit in the gardens, there’s even more reason to smile. Abbeyfield is now looking at how it can safely appraise and admit new residents in the immediate future.
MEET MRS MOLNAR: BRISTOL’S LOCKDOWN LITTER PICKER
Mrs Anita Molnar is the passionate environmentalist who runs the St. Mary Redcliffe and Temple School eco and recycling clubs. Throughout lockdown Mrs Molnar, fondly dubbed 'The Rubbish Hero' by her students, has been practising what she teaches by litter picking her way across the city. As well as picking up litter whenever and wherever she finds it, Mrs Molnar has a regular litter picking route along the Portway where she can easily fill four or five of the huge green bags supplied by Bristol Waste. She’s always grateful for thank-yous and a thumbs up from passers-by but would love to see more people joining in to take care of where they live.
“Anyone can make a difference,” she says, “even just one less piece of litter makes Bristol nicer for people, safer for animals and protects our rivers from rubbish!”
• Feeling inspired? Make a Big Tidy pledge at bristolwastecompany.co.uk/big-tidy-pledge
Anita easily fills four or five green bags on her Portway route
Spotting the true value for money in broadband
With providers continually vying for attention with record speeds, latest deals and the misuse of the term ‘fibre’, what’s best for the consumer in terms of value for money gets lost in translation. But equipped with the right knowledge, it’s easy to spot what delivers the best service and value for money in broadband.
Understanding the small print
With ‘latest broadband deals’ everywhere, it’s easy to be tempted with the obvious fast speeds or low-cost options. But these are often over sold and under deliver so aren’t the smartest choice.
Paying for a 500Mbps package isn’t a good move if you only get those speeds at 3am when no one else is online. And that £20 a month deal isn’t such great value when the connection continually cuts out.
Ask your provider if they guarantee their speeds, or only provide average speeds to make sure you don’t pay for a service you don’t receive.
Bandwidth or speed?
Everyone talks about broadband speeds, but speed alone won’t get you far: bandwidth will.
Think of bandwidth as a motorway: at rush hour, with lots of traffic congestion, the number of lanes available will impact how fast the cars can drive. Having enough bandwidth is like having the fast lane all to yourself at rush hour. Insufficient bandwidth will always shunt you into the digital slow lane.
If your network doesn’t have the bandwidth capacity, it often won’t reach the advertised speeds.
Beware fake fibre
There are two types of ‘fibre’ broadband and although advertised using the same term, deliver very different results.
Full fibre, aka fibre-to-the-property (FTTP), gives every property its own dedicated connection and provides guaranteed speeds 24/7.
Part fibre, aka fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) has a fibre cable running to the cabinet, and is then split across multiple properties which creates fluctuating speeds. Often advertised using fastest potential speeds, but delivers ‘average’ or ‘up to’ speeds which fluctuate hugely.
Truespeed’s full fibre promise
At Truespeed we only provide full fibre broadband, with all the bandwidth you need and guaranteed 200Mbps speeds 24-7. Visit www.truespeed.com to discover more.
HOW SELF EMPLOYED PROFESSIONALS CAN GET MORE RESULTS FROM DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital Marketing (DM) helps your business, but it only amplifies your message to your audience. If your message and choice of audience is not right, it can’t do much for you.
Clarify these 5 things before investing in DM: your beliefs, your purpose, your niche, your brand story, and your sales process. Note: I am not a DM consultant; I am sharing my own experience as an entrepreneur.
Firstly, investing in DM while living with limiting beliefs & self-doubt will not get you great results. You will be less convincing on videos, charge low rates, and struggle to convert the leads you get.
Secondly, define a clear and motivating purpose. If your motivation goes up and down, you will find it hard to build a complete digital funnel. You’ll dabble, procrastinate, and waste time. Find the drive that will sustain you.
DM consultants are tech experts, but are not self-awareness and business coaches. They may not help you get empowering beliefs and define a clear purpose.
Third, set a clear niche. DM consultants can help create avatars, but they may not challenge you especially if they don’t know your industry. They’ll build a funnel based on what you say. So it’s your responsibility to get clear and stay focused.
Next is your brand story, the client’s journey with you. It’s more than a hot slogan. You must answer the questions they’re asking: “Can I trust you? Do you understand me? How can you help me?” Your consultant will help you create a customer journey, but will they sharpen the finer distinctions?
And finally, your sales process. DM will get leads, but leads don’t get returns; clients do! To my knowledge, no DM consultant guarantees clients. Increase conversion by finetuning your sales approach. Who is guiding you to sell better? Don’t let your bad sales process waste good leads.
Building a good foundation for DM will get you quicker results. Which of these do you need to work on? Contact me for a chat.
I help dedicated self-employed professionals create a comprehensive marketing approach in only 3 sessions, so they can reach their dream life without wasting time and money.
Find out more about The Brave Zone at www.thebravezone.com or book an Initial Discovery Session to get fresh perspectives for your business.
Email her at cynthia@thebravezone.com
