All service men and women in the Armed Forces are to receive a 2.8 per cent pay rise, Defence Secretary John Hutton announced today.
The MOD has accepted the recommendations of the independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) and will implement them in full from 1 April 2009.
This is the third consecutive year that the Armed Forces pay rise has been among the highest in the public sector.
As a result of the increases announced today, a Private soldier deploying on operations will now receive:
* Basic pay between £16,681 - £25,887;
* A minimum of £1,194 in Longer Separation Allowance over a six month tour; and
* £2,380 tax-free Operational Allowance over a six month tour.
This brings the minimum pay for a Private soldier deploying on their first operation up to at least £20,255.
Defence Secretary John Hutton said: "This pay increase is thoroughly deserved and recognises the key contribution our Service men and women are making both overseas and at home. We continue to ask a great deal of our Armed Forces and they meet those challenges with unwavering courage and professionalism. It is only right that their service is rewarded."
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of Defence Staff, said: "This pay rise is welcome and appropriate acknowledgement of the burden our people are carrying on behalf of the nation, and of their remarkable achievements in the face of great adversity."
The Longer Separation Allowance, paid to personnel operating away from their home base, will also increase by 2.8 per cent.
The AFPRB - which recommends pay levels for non senior ranks - has also endorsed new commitment bonus arrangements. From 1 April 2009, all new recruits - and those with less than four years' service - will move to the new arrangements that reward personnel with £15,000 upon completion of eight years' Service.
The senior ranks of the Armed Forces (from the Army ranks of Major General to General and their Navy and RAF equivalents) have also been awarded a 2.8% pay increase today. This follows an announcement from the Cabinet Office that they have accepted the proposals of the Senior Salaries Review Body, which recommends pay levels for senior public sector workers including military chiefs, Senior Civil Servants, and Judges.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson today celebrated a decade of success for the National Minimum Wage and pledged tough government action to support workers' pay rights.
Now standing at £5.73 for those aged 22 and over, the minimum wage has helped millions of UK workers get an honest day's pay for an honest day's work.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: "The minimum wage has been a huge success for 10 years and is there to help make sure that workers are treated fairly, whatever the economic climate.
"We are determined to protect the rights that everyone in the UK is entitled to - this is a basic matter of fairness and helps ensure a level playing field for business.
"Before it was introduced, there was no limit on how little employees could be paid and I am sure that no-one could now imagine a return to those times.
"Our new penalties mean that anyone caught underpaying their employees faces an automatic penalty - no-one can ignore their responsibilities."
The adult rate of the minimum wage has risen by 59% since its introduction in April 1999 - from £3.60 to the current rate of £5.73. Around one million people benefit each time the rate rises.
Automatic penalties for employers who underpay come into force on 6th April, ensuring that anyone caught flouting the law faces a stiff penalty.
The most serious cases of non-compliance will be able to go to trial in a Crown Court, which will have the power to impose an unlimited penalty.
Sarah Kent, 38, from Nottinghamshire, said the minimum wage had helped her stay in the catering industry as a qualified chef for 12 years, building up her expertise. She is now taking over her own cafe and will be an employer herself.
Sarah said: "The National Minimum Wage has certainly been a good thing as it puts the onus on the employer not to break the law - and sets a fair standard. Workers should always check their rights in case employers try to get round paying the right hourly rate. My own experiences make me appreciate how important a minimum wage is to people."
John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General, said: "For the past decade the minimum wage has been set at a level which has really helped low paid workers without putting their jobs or firms at major risk.
"This approach sets a good foundation for the challenging times ahead as we cope with a worsening recession.
"The government must be tough on the minority of rogue employers who undermine this landmark policy, and we support stiffer penalties for those who underpay their staff."
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "The minimum wage has helped raise the living standards of thousands of families across the UK since its introduction in 1999.
"It has been an integral part of making the UK a fairer society and is an important part of protecting some of Britain's most vulnerable citizens. We must continue to work together to develop the minimum wage, which has a vital part to play in shaping the economy of the future.
"We welcome the new penalties introduced today, which will help to ensure that there is no hiding place for rogue employers underpaying their staff. We are absolutely determined to ensure that every worker can get what they are due."
Today also sees new annual leave rules come into force, raising the statutory entitlement for all UK workers from 24 days to 28 days a year.
A phased approach to extending annual leave rights means businesses have been preparing for today's change since 2007.
FACT FILE:
The Low Pay Commission has until May 1st to make recommendations on new National Minimum Wage rates.
Minimum wage rates are £5.73 an hour for those aged 22 and over, £4.77 for those aged 18 to 21, and £3.53 for 16 and 17-year-olds.
"Greetings! As you may have heard, this week’s G-20 Summit in London will likely draw tens of thousands of protesters, almost all opposed to free markets and economic opportunity for the peoples of the world. But, there will be another sort of demonstration happening, as well – in favour of free markets! The message is that capitalism is not to blame for the current economic crisis and is, in fact, the only way out of it," said a spokesperson for the organisers."
For the last year the Government have been recommending that buyers review Home Information Packs. Contrarily, however, Buyers’ have not been following this advice, as research shows that 77% of buyers never look at the Home Information Pack (HIP). No matter how many times the Government stresses that the Energy Performance Certificates are a beneficial thing, the fact remains that the public see little or no value. That's News finds out why, from Simon Seaton, of Fridays Property Lawyers.
As of 6 April, all newly commissioned Home Information Packs will have to contain a Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) which is a legal document of actual ‘value’ to the purchaser and yet the Government remains eerily silent.
The Government states on their web site that ”The new Property Information Questionnaire will be a compulsory document for inclusion in the HIP. The PIQ is designed to be completed by a seller, providing simple, useful information about a property. This can help to inform prospective buyers' decisions about whether to view, or make an offer on a particular property."
The Property Information Questionnaire will include details of utilities and services to the property, access arrangements, Council Tax bands, changes to the property, parking arrangements, damage to the property, as well as leasehold information.
For the first time, buyers will now be able to obtain information relating to the property without having to incur the costs of a Property Lawyer to extract such information. For example, you will be able to see whether or not whether or not the property has ever suffered from flooding or storm damage. The seller is legally obliged to disclose whether or not they obtained the appropriate planning permissions and regulations for structural alterations that they have made to the property.
Armed with this information, the buyer can determine whether or not they wish to place an offer on the property. The inclusion of this document more than than anything else should result in HIPs dramatically reducing the annual abortive costs which run into hundreds of millions of pounds, a point that Government seemed so keen to underline when attempting to justify Home Information Packs.
It seems all the more strange then, that the Government are not extolling the virtues of PIQs to buyers and running public awareness campaigns advising buyers to view this document before placing an offer. The only logical reason is because the Government have taken such a pounding in the media that they are too scared to put their head above the parapet again.
Simon Seaton, Legal Director of Fridays Property Lawyers, advocates that each buyer should obtain a copy of the Home Information Pack or at the very least the Property Information Questionnaire, prior to placing an offer on a property. This represents news for buyers but is potentially dangerous for sellers. We will be advising our potential buyers to specifically request a copy of the Property Information Questionnaire before putting forward an offer on a property.
“It is very important for the buyer to have a paper trail evidencing receipt of the PIQ from the estate agent before the price being agreed. Once the buyer has the completed PIQ he can then use this as ammunition should any inconsistencies manifest themselves at a later date. Should the buyer choose to withdraw from the transaction due to inaccurate information in the PIQ, the buyer may be able to recover legal fees and out of pocket expenses which could run in to thousands of pounds."
Seaton further explains that "prior to the 6th April a buyer would have very little chance of being able to recover legal costs in the event of a verbal statement given to him by the estate agent or the seller directly. For example, when buying a leasehold property many buyers would ask the estate agent how many years remain under the lease. If, for example, the seller or agent say that there are approximately 90 years and it subsequently transpires (most likely after the buyer has instructed a conveyancer and after the price has been agreed) that there are 50 years remaining, the buyer might withdraw from the purchase.
If the buyer does withdraw (and most likely he would because many lenders will not lend on such a short lease and may require a lease extension), then he or she may have incurred thousands of pounds’ in costs including legal fees, arrangement fees and survey fees. The likelihood of recovering these costs would be remote without proof in writing of the representation that the property had 90 years to remain. Under the new legislation, the seller will be obliged to state in the Property Information Questionnaire how many years to remain. If this proved to be inaccurate then the buyer may have all the evidence he needs to pursue the seller for reimbursement of his costs ".
Even though the Government are strangely silent on this, it is definitely recommended that buyers review the Home Information Pack in advance of making an offer on a property.
Simon Seaton is a director of Fridays Property Lawyers, a law firm specialising in residential property conveyancing. Registered with the Council of Licensed Conveyancers, Fridays are highly experienced in all aspects of conveyancing. They were the first to provide a free, online “assisted” Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) service and continue to provide Home Information Pack and conveyancing services.
Job-job.co.uk, the recruitment search engine has today uncovered the most common mistakes and signals unconsciously made by workers looking to change jobs.
Job hunting can be a stressful business, particularly for a candidate already in employment and looking to move to a new job without alerting their boss to their antics.
Whilst leaving the office to take a personal phone call may seem like the normal thing to do, this is often one of the most glaring indications for an employer as this indicates that one of the team is discussing something highly sensitive – more often than not, arranging a time for a interview.
In these times of recession many workers will be unsure of their job security, particularly taking into consideration the vast amount of well established brands currently suffering and making job cuts in a desperate bid to cut costs.
Co-founder of Job-Job Ian Brooks commented: - “Job seekers really ought to be aware that if they start acting suspiciously, their employer is bound to pick up on it straight away. The best way to look surreptitiously for marketing jobs or brand management jobs is to use the internet away from work – have a look at home, pop into the local library and then arrange for any phone calls or interviews to be carried out during your lunch break, or, even better, after work is done for the day - it may not seem convenient but it could save you an uncomfortable conversation with your put out boss.”
Brand management jobs are increasingly prevalent this Spring – it is true to say that Brand Management jobs London are the buzz words on most candidates lips as they have hushed conversations in the hall way or bathroom away from listening ears – or so they hope.
Several Employers have stated that the sly hushed conversations they witness are the first thing to raise suspicion over an individuals company loyalty – you have been warned!
For more information or to search for the job that’s right for you, visit www.job-job.co.uk.
A Manchester lawyer has warned that arrangements already entered into by borrowers may be being breached due to the current climate. According to Stephen Foster, head of corporate at Berg Legal, in some cases a breach of covenants may lead to loans being called in and businesses collapsing.
He commented, “In the current difficult economic climate, lenders are seeking even stronger commitments from borrowers. It is often through no fault of the borrower that a covenant is breached. As the existing climate worsens, more and more lenders are using minor breaches of covenants to call in the loan.”
Only recently it was reported in the media that shareholders in Cattles could be wiped out after the sub-prime lender revealed it had breached its banking covenants. And accounts filed by Gordon Ramsay Holdings earlier this month showed that the group had breached some of the financial covenants with its banks.
Covenants are a set of agreements that firms agree to before banks hand out loans. The purpose of this is to set the boundaries within which the borrower can operate.
The covenants can be categorised into three separate forms: financial, information and operational covenants.
Financial covenants require the borrower to meet certain financial tests, such as debt to equity ratios. In addition, it is likely that a covenant would require a borrower’s minimum net value not to fall below a specified threshold. Potentially, the lender is concerned to ensure that it can monitor the financial position of the borrower and take any necessary protective action prior to the onset of any insolvency activity occurring.
Information covenants place an obligation on the borrower to supply certain information at certain times to the lender. The information required varies from each borrower but it is quite common for the lender to require copies of annual accounts and management accounts along with budgets and business plans.
Operational covenants restrict the ability of the borrower to carry our certain activities, such as the sale of assets outside the ordinary course of business.
Essentially, the covenant is a balance between the lender’s desire to achieve maximum security for the loan and the borrower’s desire to maintain adequate flexibility in order to run the business.
Foster explains, “Over time it is common for a borrower to forget the terms of the covenants given at the time of taking the loan and, unless prompted by the lender, the borrower may accidentally fall foul. However, the ramifications for breaching covenants depending on the severity and exposure the breach places on the lender, may be far reaching to the extent that the loan is called in, resulting in the forced sale of assets and/or the administration of the business.”
There are ways to protect yourself Foster adds “In order to avoid such an inconvenience and damaging event, we are equipped to review existing finance arrangements, give advice on the terms of covenants and likely breaches and also assist with any re-financing of existing arrangements should the same be appropriate.”
Some MPs do, genuinely, require a second home in or near London. Reports of extravagant expenses claiming for everything from a new stone sink to a new plug to cutlery, TVs, stereo systems, etc., have made MPs a laughing stock. And, unfortunately, parliament, too.
There's one way to ensure that this type of padded expense account nonsense is stopped.
Every MP who has a second home in London would have to register how many people live with them, including details of age, etc.
Then each second home would be issued with an appropriate 'pack.' Something along the lines of:
A double bed and several sets of linen, a set of cutlery and a dinner service. Kitchen table, washing machine and drier, etc. A TV set and a stereo system. Some basic furniture, or an allowance towards buying their own furniture, perhaps with extra costs (if they wanted a better quality three piece suite, for example) being born by their wages, and not claimable on expenses. Obviously there could be provision for extra beds for visiting family members.
It's clear the current situation is not acceptable and changes much come, sooner, not later.
Energy company E.ON has announced the launch of ‘FixOnline’ – the cheapest dual fuel energy product available, despite other suppliers’ price decreases.
FixOnline is priced to include E.ON’s forthcoming 9% electricity price decrease. E.ON’s electricity price decrease is effective from 31 March and will see 4.1 million customers’ prices fall by an average of £41 a year.
FixOnline customers can benefit from discounts of around 17%(3)on E.ON’s post-decrease standard prices, with both their discounts and prices fixed until 1 June 2010.
People who join FixOnline:
· Must pay by fixed monthly Direct Debit;
· Must manage their energy account online and receive online paperless bills which are better for the environment;
· May pay a cancellation charge of up to £30 if they move off FixOnline before 1 June 2010.
On average, a FixOnline dual fuel customer would pay £1,035 a year, saving them £123 a year compared to the average UK offline bill.
Jim Macdonald, Commercial Director of E.ON’s Retail business, said: “We know that everyone is looking for practical ways to save money right now, and FixOnline has been developed to help them do just that.
“We’re already lowering prices for over four million of our customers and have offered one of the cheapest gas prices throughout an exceptionally cold winter, so FixOnline is just more good news for E.ON customers.”
FixOnline is available as a dual fuel or single electricity product, is only available online, and has limited availability.
EnergyOnline Extra Saver v13
For customers who don’t want to fix their prices, E.ON recently launched the latest in its suite of EnergyOnline Extra Saver products with ‘EnergyOnline Extra Saver v13’.
Customers who sign up will receive discounts of around 14%on E.ON’s standard prices, with discounts guaranteed until at least 1 August 2010.
An EnergyOnline Extra Saver v13 dual fuel customer would typically pay £1,067 which is £91 a year less than the average UK offline bill.
EnergyOnline Extra Saver v13 customers must manage their accounts online and pay by fixed monthly Direct Debit. There is no cancellation charge with this product.
To find out more about or switch to FixOnline or EnergyOnline Extra Saver v13 please visitwww.eonenergy.com
A new fleet of 60 armoured earthmoving tracked engineer vehicles which will give the Royal Engineers a powerful and versatile route-clearing and earth moving capability will be built at BAE Systems Newcastle factory under a £300 Million contract.
The Royal Engineers are getting 60 air-portable TERRIER (vehicles which will become one of the most important engineering tools in their inventory. TERRIER(r) will support infantry by removing obstacles and opening routes, providing vital assistance on operations including peace-keeping and humanitarian missions.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said: "TERRIER will be a hugely powerful and versatile machine like a cross between an armoured vehicle, an excavator and a loader - and I am pleased to confirm this order for our highly skilled Royal Engineers.
"Designed in Leicester and integrated by BAE Systems in Newcastle, the order is also good news for British industry as over 90 percent of the manufacture will be supported by companies from across the country demonstrating the great level of skills and workmanship we have in the UK".
TERRIER(r) weighs in at 30-tonnes and has a crew of two who sit in a 'state of the art' compartment. The vehicle's armoured chassis will allow it to safely operate in a combat environment, and when required, it can be operated remotely.
As a powerful tracked vehicle TERRIER(r) will be able to negotiate almost any terrain, and its earth-moving bucket and side-mounted excavator arm will make short work of digging and obstacle clearance tasks. The bucket can be quickly replaced with a surface mine clearance device which, when combined with a route marking system, can be used to clear routes of surface laid munition.
Based on recent operational experience MoD has made changes to the vehicle design to provide additional protection against mine attacks and vehicles will be equipped with extra armour to equip them for service on operations.
Construction work will begin on the production line at BAES' Newcastle site in 2010 supported by its sub contractors who span the breadth of the UK. They are due to enter service in 2013.
A gang of four Romanians have been jailed yesterday for a combined total of eight years and four months for their part in a £700,000 conspiracy to steal from railway ticket machines.
The gang were responsible for a spate of thefts from and damage to ticket machines at railway stations across south London and the southern and northern home counties between August and September last year.
As a consequence of the thefts, some as many as four a night, British Transport Police set up a dedicated squad of detectives to form Operation Taurus to trace the culprits.
Plain clothes officers attached to the operation had a breakthrough in the early hours of September 10, after ticket machines had been broken into at Christs Hospital and Arundel train stations in West Sussex.
BTP Detective Sergeant Bob Stokoe said within an hour of the break-ins, officers managed to track the four after they were spotted in a car that had parked up outside Ifield railway station.
"Officers spotted two of the men leave the vehicle and examine the ticket machine at about 3.30am. Officers soon after approached the vehicle and found the men were in possession of tools and clothing used in the previous offences and had on them a large amount of cash as well as railway maps."
DS Stokoe said the four were arrested and following further investigations, police were able to link members of the group to at least 43 offences.
Romanian nationals, Adrian Timis, 22, Damian Pop, 23, Jonut Jepu, 20 and Nan Vasile, 18 pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal.
Timis, Pop and Jepu had only arrived in the UK in July and Nan had been in the country for just over a week when he was arrested.
The group was today sentenced to a total of eight years and four months.
Pop was jailed for 32 months for 43 offences; Timis received 24 months for 26 offences; Jepu received 24 months for 15 offences and Vasile was jailed for 20 months for seven offences.
Outside the court DS Stokoe said: "This group was involved in a campaign of thieving and caused a considerable amount of damage to machines across a very wide area.
"While the actual money taken was only minor, the cost of the damage to the machines to train operators was in excess of £700,000.
"Officers worked around-the-clock viewing hours of CCTV of thefts taking place.
"It was a complex case to work on due to the area they were covering. Most involved Timis and Pop attacking the machine with crow bars and other implements, while Jepu acted as either driver or look out. Nan, who had only been in the country for a week before he was caught, was look-out in the three offences.
"They would work across vast areas, staying in nearby hotels and planning their early morning attacks.
"Thankfully due to dogged detective work, coupled with hours of quality CCTV from the various stations where they struck we were able to put the best possible case forward to the court to get the result that we achieved today. Hopefully a jail term will act as a deterrent to any others who are minded to commit this type of crime."
Nine teenagers from a secondary school in Bideford and their two teachers were rescued from Hartland Quay, North Devon late this afternoon, after they found themselves cut off by the tide.
Swansea Coastguard received a call from staff at the Hartland Quays Hotel at 4:55pm, informing them that that it appeared there were people in difficulty at the bottom of the 300-foot cliff.
Swansea Coastguard sent Hartland Coastguard Rescue team to the scene and requested the launch of the Clovelly RNLI inshore lifeboat, as well as scrambling Rescue helicopter 169 from RAF Chivenor.
Phill Coles, Watch Officer, Swansea Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, said: "I am pleased to say that all nine teenagers and the two teachers have been successfully rescued by being airlifted to the top of the cliff, they were met by Coastguard Rescue Officers. One of the teenagers has been sent to the North Devon District Hospital as a precautionary measure as he received a knock to his leg by a rock.
We understand the children were on a school outing, when they got caught out by the tide and found themselves cut off. One of the teachers attempted to climb the 300-foot loose shale cliff to raise the alarm, not knowing that the alarm had been raised.
We would like to remind the public when visiting the coast to always be prepared and plan your walk by familiarising yourself with the tides, wear appropriate clothing and always ensure that someone knows what your itinerary is. Never attempt to climb a cliff and risk the safety of your own life and others. For safety advice on the coast visit http://www.mcga.gov.uk or contact your local Coastguard station."
A former Royal Air Force Corporal's dying wish to make Christmas fun for an Army sniffer dog finally came true this week for Jamie the Springer spaniel based in Afghanistan, thanks to the charity uk4u Thanks!
On hearing a report on the radio that Jamie would be out in Afghanistan at Christmas without any toys, John Evans decided to approach the Forces Christmas charity uk4u Thanks! to send the dog a special Christmas box of his own. With the help of his friends, he put together a package of toys and treats for the nine year old English Springer spaniel - who works as a search dog in Afghanistan detecting the slightest hint of explosives or weapons - which he entrusted to the charity.
Sadly, John was seriously ill with pneumonia at the time, and died a few days after sending the parcel. Addressed only to 'Jamie the Springer Spaniel, Somewhere in Helmand' the charity enlisted the help of the Ministry of Defence in tracking him down. Due to his important work alongside British Forces in Afghanistan, it wasn't possible to unite Jamie with his gift until this week, finally making John's wish come true.
Mr Evans's widow, Barbara Evans from Abergele, Conwy, Wales, said: "I know that John would be thrilled that his present is now with Jamie. All John's friends had helped put together the present of toys and treats for the dog, so of course they are very happy too.
"I would like to thank the charity uk4u Thanks! for making John's last wish come true, and for delivering this fun gift to one very brave dog."
Jamie's handler, Lance Corporal Jim Wilkinson, 23, from Pocklington, near York and serving with 103 Theatre Military Working Dogs Support Unit, said: "It's been a long tour for both me and Jamie and receiving these gifts means an enormous amount, particularly as we are nearing the end of our time out here. It was an extremely kind thought and I have to say we were all immensely touched when we heard the sad news.
"I want to take the opportunity to let Mrs Evans know how grateful we are, and I hope it eases the sadness of her loss knowing how much we appreciated the gifts."
uk4u Thanks! trustee Allan Sims, from West Chiltington in West Sussex, said: "I am delighted that uk4u Thanks! could make John's dying wish come true. When I phoned to let him know his present was on its way I had no idea that he had died.
"After speaking with his widow Barbara I was in floods of tears, and determined to unite Jamie with his gift. Thanks to the help of the MOD we were able to do this."
In a bid to keep bargain-hungry Brits up to date with the latest and very best online discount codes and printable vouchers, the UK’s leading and most successful discount voucher site, MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, issues a fortnightly update on the best deals available online. This update highlights the best printable coupons, whilst the top online discounts are also listed.
Printable vouchers can be redeemed upon production in a shop, store or restaurant, and often entitle the user to great deals and discounts from some of the UK’s biggest household names. They are free to use, and the top printable vouchers are detailed below, along with the hottest online voucher codes.
www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, the UK’s leading discount voucher website, which attracted 8.5 million unique visits in December of last year alone, collates all the best up-to-date discounts across the internet into one easy-to-use place. Throughout the recession, millions more people have been accessing the site in a bid to save on purchases, helping it become the 4th fastest growing website in the UK according to Nielson Online.
This list is updated fortnightly. Journalists wishing to regularly receive updates should contact rich@10yetis.co.uk
Here are the top printable vouchers for the week ending 29th March:
"We are holding a Concert on April 27th at St George's Church, Hanover Square to think of those who lost their life back in 1986 and for those who are still suffering!" said a spokesperson.
"We are very fortunate to have with us on this night Pianist Igor Olovnikov, Peoples Artist of the Republic of Belarus who will be performing his own transcription of Bach's High Mass dedicated for this memorial as well as works by Beethoven and Chopin. He will also be joined by musicians from C.I.S. (Central Asian, Russian and Ukrainian musicians in the UK. This is the 3rd concert of the Equipes de Sogdiana, organised to promote Central Asian students studying music in the UK. The concerts are presented under the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus.
"On 26 April 1986 01:23:45 a.m the Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear reactor accident in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. It is considered to be the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. It resulted in a severe release of radioactivity into the environment following a massive power excursion which destroyed the reactor. Two people died in the initial steam explosion, but most deaths from the accident were attributed to radiation. Further explosions and the resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area. Four hundred times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
"The overall cost of the disaster is estimated at $200 billion USD, taking inflation into account. This places the Chernobyl disaster as the most costly disaster in modern history."
Police officers are warning the public not to fall for a phone scam currently doing the rounds across the country. Numerous reports have been received in recent weeks from people who have lost money by giving out their bank details over the phone to bogus BT employees.
Victims have stated they had a call from someone purporting to be from BT, who informs them that their telephone account is in arrears and they were likely to be cut off - but if they made a telephone payment there and then, all would be well.
Many fraudsters claimed that if the victim did not pay the arrears there and then, their phone would be cut off and they would have to pay anything from £75 to have it reconnected.
As a consequence, victims have authorised payments over the phone giving their card details, including the all-important three-figure card verification number on the back. The offenders have then used the details to obtain goods and services elsewhere.
Police warned all phone subscribers not to fall for the ploy and said BT had confirmed it would never employ such a practice with customers in arrears.
The latest report in Shropshire was yesterday ( MAR 23), but the victim was suspicious and refused to hand over any card details, despite pressure from the caller. When she said she would be checking with BT directly, the caller became aggressive and ended the call.
BT staff have confirmed to police that they have never adopted this style of debt recovery and do not intend to do so.
A West Mercia Police spokeswoman said: "If you receive a call asking for phone arrears to be paid over the phone, hang up and do not under any circumstances give out any of your bank or card details on the phone, especially your card verification number and/or PIN.
"This is true for anybody who cold calls you and asks for any personal details, including bank details. Never give them out and hang up immediately."
On 25 March 2009, CEDR Solve, the services arm of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, launches the Personal Injury Unit, an initiative which acknowledges that in today's difficult financial climate, the PI field needs cost effective dispute resolution services. The formation of the new unit responds to pleas made by Lord Phillips, the Lord Chief Justice, and Sir Anthony Clarke, The Master of the Rolls, last year for greater encouragement and creative use of mediation as an alternative to expensive and unpredictable litigation.
The CEDR Solve Personal Injury Unit has formed a team of 30 specialist mediators, who provide a viable way to settle disputes of up to £100,000 in value. These include Half-day Mediations (4 hours + 2 hours of mediator preparation) and lower cost Telephone Mediations (in trials of Telephone Mediation in 2008, 80 per cent of cases were settled). The eValuate Service offers a unique independent evaluation of personal injury issues, for cases up to £50,000, by a panel of experienced, retired District Judges. eValuate is a paper-based service that replicates the likely outcome of an issue at trial.
CEDR Solve is launching the Personal Injury Unit at a discussion event kindly hosted by PI specialist solicitors Thompsons. The discussion on improving dispute resolution features a panel from the world of PI disputes. Chaired by Tony Allen, the panel includes Giles Eyre, Maurice Nichols and Kevin Smyth.
Speaking about the service Michael Tennant, former Chair of the District Judges Association said, "Costs incurred in modest value personal injury litigation are often wholly disproportionate. In its PIU range of products, CEDR has now produced a number of useful tools to assist resolution of these claims."
CEDR Chief Executive, Karl Mackie commented, "CEDR Solve believes that now is the time to encourage both advisers and parties to consider sensible alternatives to costly litigation. We hope that many claimants and defendants will use this service, as a means of achieving an agreeable settlement without incurring needless costs. It is encouraging that a number of major insurers as well as claimant lawyers have already expressed with interest in using this."
Notes to Editors:
CEDR Solve is the UK's leading Alternative Dispute Resolution provider and runs Europe’s largest commercial mediation service. CEDR Solve has managed 14,000 disputes covering every industry sector and a wide-ranging cross section of disputes and case values. Case studies are available on CEDR Solve's website - www.cedrsolve.com.
CEDR is the leader in the development of neutral-assisted dispute resolution. It is a non-profit organisation and its mission is to encourage and develop cost effective dispute prevention and dispute resolution in commercial and public sector disputes and in civil litigation. CEDR operates in the UK and internationally and has been instrumental in helping to bring mediation into the heart of business practice and into the judicial system.
Less than 2.5% of shore anglers wear lifejackets when fishing. That's according to research carried out by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. The agency is advising all anglers, whether they practice their sport from the sea, on rocks or shore, to carry and wear a lifejacket when near the sea.
Richard Jackson, Evidence Coordinator of the Research & Planning Team at the Agency said: "Deaths from angling dropped to five last year from 11 in 2007. In gaining those figures, our research showed some gaps in individuals' awareness of how vital a lifejacket can be in those few short seconds when, through a slip or accident, an angler can find themselves in the sea.
"Cold shock and hypothermia are the real killers, and if you are not wearing a lifejacket when you go into the water the chances of your survival are diminished. When things go wrong at sea there's seldom, if ever, time to get out a lifejacket and put it on properly."
Details of the five deaths:
January, 2008. Holyhead: A man packed a dinghy full of fishing equipment and pushed it out, walking into the water to follow it and board the vessel, but stopped suddenly in the water, went under the surface and drowned. The assumption is that he suffered cold water shock and became unconscious - if he was wearing a lifejacket it may have kept him afloat long enough to receive medical attention.
July - Belfast. A man was in the water after cockle picking on Scotchman Rock when his punt broke away. The man tried to recover it and was declared deceased later at hospital. No lifejacket worn.
July - Sound of Islay. A male angler in his 70s was swept off by the current. His waders filled with water and dragged him under. No lifejacket worn.
September - Polzeath. A 32 year old male angler was swept off the rocks into the sea, possibly while trying to recover some fishing gear. No lifejacket evident.
December - Aberdeen. A Polish rock fisherman was swept away by large wave. No lifejacket worn.
Lifejackets are as essential to recreational sea anglers as rods and reels, according to Stuart McPherson, chairman of the Angling Trust marine committee.
"We urge every angler to always wear the slim fitting type which instantly inflates if the wearer falls in. It does not get in the way while fishing but tucked away in a cabin or locked in the car boot it is useless.
"Lifejackets are just as important for shore angling. Recently in the north east of England anglers on a breakwater were washed off their feet by a freak wave. Only the quick reaction of one saved another from slipping into the water. Had his reactions been less speedy a lifejacket would have come into its own."
From the colourful streets of Notting Hill, London to the Corn Exchange in Leeds, taking a virtual stroll through Edinburgh to admiring the architecture of Cambridge's colleges: innovative street-level imagery of UK will provide new tourism, education, property and business benefits
Google has announced the launch of Street View for 25 cities in the UK, allowing users to view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery for places including Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester, Oxford and many more (full list below).
Street View was first launched in May 2007 and is hugely popular worldwide with imagery available in the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, Italy and from today the UK and Netherlands. It is also available in Google Earth and on Google Maps for Mobile.
In areas where Street View is available, you can access street-level imagery by zooming into the lowest level on Google Maps, or by dragging the orange "Pegman" icon on the left-hand side of the map onto a blue highlighted street. You can check out a restaurant before arriving, make travel plans, arrange meeting points, get a helping hand with geography homework, or just explore and get to know your town better.
As well as consumers, UK businesses can also benefit from the Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their site for free, helping them to promote a chain of hotels or increase awareness of a local library or restaurant.
Google's Geospatial Technologist Ed Parsons commented: "Salthouse Quay in Liverpool, Belfast City Hall, the Millennium Centre in Cardiff - these are just some of the delights that people up and down the country will now be able to visit, whatever the weather, right from their computer. Street View has been hugely popular with our users in Europe and worldwide and we're thrilled it's now available in the UK for so many great cities, enabling users to see street-level panoramas of major city roads and look up and print out useful driving directions. Google Maps & Google Earth have long been popular with British people and are used by governments, businesses and individuals as essential and informative tools every day of the week - Street View now adds a new dimension."
Google has gone to great lengths to safeguard privacy while allowing all British users to benefit from this feature. Street View only contains imagery that is already visible from public roads and features technology that blurs both faces and licence plates. In addition, any user can easily flag images for removal that he or she considers inappropriate by clicking on "Report a concern". Google UK has consulted extensively with many privacy and community groups in developing the feature and privacy safeguards.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) supports Google's approach to provide face blurring and image removal process where individuals request this.
UK partners
Google's UK partners Visit Britain, FancyaPint.com, The London Mayor and Tate have selected a gallery of Street View images, available at www.maps.google.co.uk/streetview that showcase some of the UK's best tourist attractions and locations to the world. Visit Britain has picked top city-based tourist attractions up and down the country and Tate has applied Street View technology to pinpoint the exact locations depicted in works of art by JMW Turner and John Constable, viewable in conjunction with the paintings.
FancyaPint brings you the best of London pubs and the Greater London Authority has picked out some of the top spots to visit for a fun day out in the capital.
Many other UK organisations have already identified significant opportunities for Street View to be used in travel, tourism, house buying and renting, education and helping to find small businesses. From today, www.FindaProperty.com will fully integrate Street View on their website. FindaProperty.com is using Street View as a sophisticated way for house-hunters to get to know a new neighbourhood and FancyaPint, also embedding Street View, are using it as a refreshing way to find the perfect pub to enjoy a summer beer.
Where’s Wally? Hidden within the Street View imagery is a well known children's story book character - we challenge eagle-eyed users to use their powers of exploration to find him. The official Where's Wally, in his familiar uniform of blue trousers, red and white striped hat and jumper and walking stick, can be found in just one location in the UK. Wally said, "For a wanderer like me this is a really exciting development, and for all you Wally Watchers, there is a whole new way to find me. Who knows where I might turn up next!"
What have Google's launch partners had to say?
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London: "London's unique beauty, splendour and energy is truly illuminated in cyberspace with this superb new tool. It is simply fascinating, even for a Londoner like me to whiz over Westminster Bridge past the Houses of Parliament, soak up the majesty of Regent's Park, take in the stupendous views from Primrose Hill or simply wander around the streets near where I live. It's also a hugely practical tool if you're off to an area of the city you've never been to before or are on the hunt for a new home. For visitors to this great city it is surely set to become an indispensable source of information, an essential holiday guide, that will help them to get even more from their stay. It will, I believe, also give them the confidence to go beyond the well-worn path of central London and discover those hidden gems in our outer boroughs. An exciting and welcome outcome for visitors and businesses in London alike."
Will Gompertz, Director, Tate Media: "Tate is delighted to be working in partnership with Google. By using this new technology to integrate works from the Tate Collection into Google Street view, we are putting art in a new context, which brings a fresh perspective. This is a great way to get people to look at art differently and to relate it to everyday life."
Mike Bedingfield, Director of Britain Marketing, VisitBritain: "We're thrilled to be working with Google on the launch of Street View in the UK. Google Street View is a real opportunity for Britain to showcase its destinations to millions of internet users around the world. Seeing some of our world-renowned attractions - a mix of old and new - up close, could inspire many more people to visit our shores. Our partnership with Google means that users of Street View can also find information about the different destinations and attractions, as well as value for money experiences on www.visitbritain.com”
Gordon Butler, Founder of FancyaPint: "We're very excited about Street View. When we first started www.Fancyapint.com in the 1990s, imagery was a key factor in the design of the guide. Pictures not only help visitors make up their own minds about a place, but they also help them to find it when they eventually visit. Google's Street View takes this idea to a whole new level."
Chris Boorman, Head of Product Development for FindaProperty.com: “We are delighted to have Streetview on FindaProperty.com as it offers our visitors a new and unique way to view the location of properties and save time in their search. It's an amazing tool that will allow our users to see each property and its surroundings and help them get a real feel for the area without having to physically be there. For those who are searching for a new place to call ‘home’, the search just got easier!”
The cities so far covered are: London, Edinburgh, Leeds, Bradford, Cambridge, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby, Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Swansea, York, Newcastle, Dundee, Southampton, Norwich, Scunthorpe).
(EDITOR: The civil liberties industry are, of course, taking a dark view of this service. They are, in general, against it.)
Hard-pressed families priced out of an Easter getaway this year have found a new way to holiday – swapping homes.
Www.UKHolidaySwapShop.co.uk is proud to announce that the first swaps it helped arrange will take place over the Easter period. Families in Scotland, London, Liverpool and Derbyshire will all pack up their bags and swap keys for a free getaway.
“We are so excited that these families will get to enjoy free holidays this year for the first time,” says Jackie Wiltshire, co-founder of www.UKHolidaySwapShop.co.uk.
“Easter is traditionally such a great time for families to get away together, but so many people just don’t have the money to splash out on a week in the sun or even a B&B in the UK this year.
“House swapping gives them the chance to stay in some fantastic locations in the UK and Northern Ireland – and by offering up their own homes they get the added bonus of helping their local economy.”
Jackie, and her husband Dave, are so enthusiastic about the home swapping concept they have even arranged to exchange their North Wales home in July.
“We will be staying in a lovely home in Norwich and we can’t wait,” says Dave, who also co-founded the website.
“It will be great to introduce visitors to our part of the world – we have put together a list of all the best attractions. It gives you a great sense of satisfaction knowing you are helping another family to have a great holiday.”
FACT FILE: www.UKHolidaySwapShop.co.uk is a new website which allows people within the UK (including Northern Ireland) to swap homes, for business or pleasure.
The swap itself is completely free – the only cost is an annual membership fee. For a limited period prospective swappers can browse the site for free, and pay just £14.95 to upgrade for a year’s membership.
Www.UKHolidaySwapShop.co.uk was founded by husband and wife Dave and Jackie Wiltshire, who wanted to pioneer a new way of British holidaymaking.
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency was advised late yesterday evening by its helicopter contractor CHC, that all four Coastguard S92 helicopters operating out of Stornoway and Shetland have been grounded pending further advice from the relevant safety authorities.
This affects all S92s operated globally and is not unique to the Coastguard or CHC. CHC are awaiting official advice from the aviation authorities.
CHC were instructed earlier yesterday evening by Sikorsky (the helicopter manufacturer) to ground all S92s operated by the company pending an urgent modification to the S92 fleet. The MCA are now working closely with the Ministry of Defence to provide cover for the islands from Lossiemouth and Prestwick.
Once it has become more clear as to how long the Coastguard helicopters will remain grounded and any remedial engineering work that needs to be carried out, we will take a decision on implementing a contingency plan for longer term air coverage. The aircraft on the south coast are unaffected.
Portland Coastguard have been coordinating the rescue of a cliff faller south of Church Ope Cove, Portland, this afternoon.
The initial call around 12.30 this afternoon came on VHF channel 16 from a group of sea kayakers who were circumnavigating Portland and witnessed the fall. The faller, a 32 year old male from Plymouth, suffered an open fracture of the tibia and fibula. He was also suffering from concussion, but still remained conscious.
The Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Portland was immediately scrambled to the scene with Portland Bill Cliff Rescue team. An ambulance was already on its way.
Team members along with paramedics stabilized the man at the base of the cliffs and he was then flown by Coastguard Rescue Helicopter to Dorset County Hospital at Dorchester.
Allan Norman, Portland Coastguard Watch Manager said: "Fortunately the weather has been kind to all of the rescue services today with fair winds and calm seas and 10 degree C temperatures with excellent visibility. With such a bad fracture speed is of the essence, and our Coastguard Rescue Helicopter was able to get the gentleman with his badly broken leg to hospital in the shortest possible time. Our thanks to the kayakers who first alerted us to this incident, that they were carrying VHF radios ensured the fastest response for this badly injured climber."
At quarter to five this evening Falmouth Coastguard were alerted to a man from the Stoke-on-Trent area who had fallen about 85 foot from cliffs at Sennen Cove in Cornwall, quite near the shipwreck of the RMS Mulheim. The first informant had rung from the cliff top and the injured man was in a party of four.
The Lands End Coastguard Rescue Team were immediately sent to the area and the Sennen Cove RNLI inshore lifeboat was also requested to launch.
Upon arrival they found the casualty in a poor way with two broken legs, a possible fractured skull; an injury above the left eye and a damaged knee. His position was about 20 foot above the prevailing waterline, although the tide was falling at the time.
Rescue helicopter 193 from the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose was also scrambled to the scene with a trained paramedic on board.
The man was quickly stabilised ready for an airlift and he was flown to Treliske hospital, some 12 minutes flying time away.
Martin Bidmead, Watch Manager at Falmouth Coastguard said "Visibility was not good this afternoon, with haze. The injured man was not a climber but just happened to be walking on the cliff top when he slipped and fell. Fortunately his colleagues were on scene and able to get urgent assistance for him.
"We do remind members of the public to be very, very careful around cliff tops when damp conditions can make such areas very slippery and highly dangerous"
Britain’s largest rental company, Northgate Vehicle Hire, has joined the growing clamour for the Government to introduce a ‘scrappage’ scheme to encourage businesses to replace ageing vehicles.
Northgate specialises in the supply of light commercial vehicles, and says companies and sole traders should be able to use the cash raised from scrapping their vehicle to fund a new model either by purchasing or alternatively through a flexible rental agreement.
Northgate Vehicle Hire managing director Phil Moorhouse believes Government introduction of a ‘scrappage’ scheme will bring a range of benefits to the entire automotive industry and also help companies and small businesses such as plumbers, builders and carpenters that take delivery of new vans reduce operating costs, cut their carbon footprint and improve their fleet safety.
The motor industry has called for a ‘scrappage’ scheme, which is already operating in a number of European countries, to be introduced in the UK to revive private and business demand for new and nearly-new vehicles.
The Government has so far yet to either formally support a ‘scrappage’ scheme or exactly how one would function in terms of the financial incentives available to encourage owners to replace older vehicles with newer models.
However, ‘scrappage’ schemes have already been introduced on the continent. In Germany, drivers get €2,500 (£2,220) for trading in a car more than nine years old, while in France motorists can receive up to €1,000. ‘Scrappage’ has also recently been introduced in Italy and Spain.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has already called for a UK ‘scrappage’ scheme to be launched that would allow both cars and light commercial vehicles over nine years old to be scrapped in return for a £2,000 cash incentive towards a new or nearly new vehicle up to 12 months old.
Mr Moorhouse said: “A ‘scrappage’ scheme should be introduced by the Government as it will stimulate economic demand for new and nearly-new vehicles; will reduce vehicle emissions as newer vehicles powered by ‘cleaner’ engine technology would replace older polluting models; and newer vehicles are also equipped with all the very latest safety features to help drivers avoid crashes and offer improved protection in the event of an accident.”
The SMMT has estimated that up to 250,000 cars and 30,000 LCVs could go through a ‘scrappage’ scheme over an 18-month period if introduced.
Northgate Vehicle Hire operates a rental fleet of 65,000 vehicles and Mr Moorhouse said: “If a ‘scrappage’ scheme is introduced, businesses should treat the financial allowance as a cash injection to provide funding for the most flexible new vehicle alternative.
“With the UK haunted by recession, the most financially astute businesses and sole traders could opt for a mini ‘sale and rentback’ vehicle solution. This would initially see Northgate providing a new or nearly-new vehicle on a 10-month contract in place of the ‘scrapped’ vehicle before the customer moved onto to our fully-flexible NORFLEX rental scheme.”
He added: “The credit crunch, which has led to recession, means that many small organisations and sole traders cannot obtain large enough loans to fund new vehicles. However, a ‘scrappage’ incentive could be just the cash injection needed that provides a springboard to help these smaller businesses move into modern vehicles.
“Not only will the introduction of new models help these companies reduce their vehicle emissions and simultaneously cut their fuel bills, but they will also be operating safer models. In addition, businesses would save on the service and maintenance costs associated with running older vehicles.”
UK property expert Aaron Turner calls for urgent action to stop market deteriorating further. The eight year low in home loan lending revealed by the Council of Mortgage Lenders today will only continue unless the Government cash being pushed into the economy is channelled into mortgages.
That’s according to Aaron Turner, CEO of leading UK property website look4aproperty.com.
“I predicted a few weeks ago that the property market needs a substantial amount of the money being injected into the economy by the Government,” says Turner.
“The country needs new lending products – otherwise the housing market will continue to stagnate,” says Turner.
“The only way the housing market will bounce back will be when the availability of mortgages increases.
“Until that time the rising number of people stuck in negative equity will continue to go up and those people will have little choice but to sit and wait.”
As of this month, South African passport holders will require a visa to visit or transit the UK – a move which will affect up to 400,000 travellers each year, despite assurances that the new rules will not impact trade between the two countries…
Although the new visa requirement has already been introduced, if you are a South African national who has previously travelled to the UK on your current passport, you will be exempt from the visa requirement until mid-2009.
South Africa is not the only country to have been hit by these new visas – the UK has been conducting a global review of its pre-entry immigration controls and is committed to strengthening its borders. In total, nearly 75 per cent of the world’s population is subject to a visa requirement prior to travelling to the UK.
However, the South African passport has been one of the most abused passports detected at UK border posts and, over the last two years, there has also been a significant increase in the number of South African nationals detected working illegally or overstaying after their leave to remain in the UK has expired.
The British High Commissioner, the Rt Hon Paul Boateng said, “The introduction of a visa requirement is in no way a reflection of any deterioration in our continuing and strong relationship with South Africa.
“We are committed to continuing to welcome South Africans travelling for legitimate reasons to the UK.
“The UK remains a favourite destination for both business and tourism for South Africans and will continue to be so. Our aim is to provide a first class service to all. Visas will provide added security and protection for travellers to the UK.
“This, together with the introduction of biometrics, will ultimately provide a safer and better experience for the ordinary travelling public,” added Mr Boateng.
The new visa rules aim to reduce the risk of South African passengers being unnecessarily delayed on arrival in the UK because of current concerns over the security of South African passports.
The new rules may not be permanent but will depend on whether or not the situation of wrongly used passports improves.
Carry on trading
The new regulations are not expected to impact trade between South Africa and the UK.
South African Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said, “No plans or programmes in terms of trade will be derailed.”
“The UK has written us a letter, acknowledging that we are doing a lot to improve the security of our passports and identity documents,” she added.
Plans are also afoot to introduce a ‘smart card passport’ instead of the traditional scanned barcode. These new passports, which will be far more secure, could be completed as early as next month.
Easter arrived early for kids at Keech Cottage Children’s Hospice in Luton, Bedfordshire this week thanks to kind-hearted celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.
The chef decided to surprise children at the local hospice by personally hand-delivering them a giant luxury four-foot chocolate easter egg.
However the delivery of the Easter egg was not without incident, and turned into something of a mini-marathon, as Novelli ended up having to personally walk the enormous chocolate egg through Hertfordshire country lanes for three miles, from his award winning cookery school in soaring temperatures of 17 degrees (over 60 degrees F) when his car unexpectedly ran out of petrol and broke down en route!
“The Easter egg is fantastic, but instead of being greedy and eating it ourselves we decided to give it to the children at Keech Cottage. I believe all of us should try and help a local charity if we can, and I hoped this chocolate egg would delight some of the children,” he said.
“Thankfully we have a contact at Pasque the charity who run Keech Cottage, called Amanda Kennedy. She runs the local Pasque charity shops, and helped us with access to the hospice.”
Due to the substantial size and weight of the egg, however, the logistics of moving it proved a challenge! The impressive egg was stored safely at the Novelli Academy cookery school. Weighing in at around 80lbs it was decorated with hand-crafted chocolate Easter figurines around the base.
However, disaster struck when Novelli ran out of petrol and broke down in country lanes en route to the hospice with the huge chocolate egg in the back of his vehicle: “As usual it had been rush, rush, rush for the whole day because we had a full house at the cookery school. But in our hurry to get to the hospice in time, despite the warning sign, we managed to run out of petrol on the way in one of the country lanes I was using as a short-cut.”
“Luckily Michelle and Steven were with me, but on one of the hottest days of the year – 17 degrees - Steven and I had to unload this enormous chocolate egg – 80lbs of pure chocolate – and start walking through country lanes with it to try and get to the hospice in time! Michelle managed to call for help, which eventually arrived, and saved us. But a trip which should have taken 20 minutes ended up taking hours!”
“My main concern was that in that heat, the chocolate would start melting. I could smell it melting, which made it very difficult to handle. At one stage there was a dog running without a lead. He ran straight towards us and it was very difficult carrying the egg and get the dog away from it. But I was determined to get the egg to the kids in one piece, so we persevered and eventually arrived. By the time we got there, we were both exhausted!”
By the time the egg did finally arrive at Keech Cottage, most of the day-staff had already left – so Novelli and Kitchen carried the egg into Keech Cottage personally - and Jean-Christophe spent time seeing and talking with each of the young residents and their carers individually. The egg is now on prominent display at Reception amongst giant cuddly toys, which Novelli re-arranged around the egg before he left.
The chef’s visit to the hospice has made him determined to help Pasque and Keech Cottage even more in the future: “Where children are concerned, or if someone is suffering, it is impossible to do nothing if you are in a position to help. The care at Keech Cottage and Pasque is so important and I believe we should all make an effort to try and remember to help our local charities and especially children’s charities if there is any way we can.”
For further information on Novelli Academy Cookery School or to book a class at one of the wide range of one-day cookery classes and the new Chocolate course contact 01582-454070 or log on to www.jeanchristophenovelli.com
For further information on Pasque or Keech Cottage and how you can help support their vital work or make a donation please log on to www.pasque.org or call 01582-492339
More universities should offer under-graduate engineering courses tailored towards renewable energy industry to keep up with rapidly rising demand.
That’s the view of ATA, one of the UK’s leading recruitment consultancies in the engineering, rail, energy, technical sales and construction sectors.
Just a handful of UK universities currently offer engineering courses focusing specifically on renewable energy.
And it is leading to a huge skills shortage as so-called green energies, like wind power, solar power and geothermal energy, become more and more popular.
Indeed the soon to be published Renewable Energy Strategy seeks to drive up the use of renewable energy in the UK as part of an overall strategy for tackling climate change and to meet our share of the EU target to source 20 per cent of the EU's energy from renewable sources by 2020.
And this will inevitably push demand for graduates with the right training even higher.
“Many universities now offer post-graduate courses, or parts of courses, in renewable energy, but only a small number have addressed this at an under-graduate level. This needs to be looked at as a matter of urgency to ensure the rising demand for properly-educated engineers relevant to the modern workplace can be met in the longer term,” said Gary Hewett, Managing Director of ATA Energy.
“We are well-placed to spot the potential in the sector and the already growing demand that is not being tracked by educational provision. It is no longer just specialist companies which are investing in renewable energy technologies, but enterprises across the board. “On shore and off shore wind, solar, tidal energy, biomass, biofuel and ground source energy are growing in importance and will continue to do so, particularly in light of the forthcoming Renewable Energy Strategy. “Earlier this year, ATA formed an energy division in recognition of the growing importance of the sector – and we have been inundated with firms looking for individuals who specialise in renewable energy. Only by more universities expanding their curriculum in recognition of the market trends will we be able to keep up with demand.
“To bridge the gap, what we are able to offer is expertise in matching transferable skills. Historically over the past few years, there has been a shortage of skilled engineers. Now, with the current economic climate, some engineers in other sectors are finding opportunities shrinking, so there is a surplus.
“We are looking at suitable transferable skills in order to fill the demand in the renewable energy sector. We have a pool of very talented engineers whose skills can easily transfer over to the sector with minimal disruption to fill current needs.
“In the longer term though, and in anticipation of an eventual market upturn, education centres need to be looking now to investing in courses to train the renewable energy engineers of tomorrow.”
Formed in 1963, ATA matches candidates' career aspirations with client expectations. Each candidate is interviewed by ATA’s team of consultants, each experts within their sector, before being recommended to a client to ensure they are suitable. This approach positively impacts on those businesses striving to improve staff retention by ensuring that the right candidate is placed for each vacancy.
The first vaccine against bovine tuberculosis in badgers will be used in the field (sic) in England next year, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced yesterday.
The vaccine will be used in six areas of up to 100km2 where there is a high incidence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle. Vaccination will start in 2010 and continue for at least five years.
It will be the first practical use of a vaccine for TB in badgers outside research trials.
The deployment project will focus on developing practical approaches for use rather than developing further evidence of the effectiveness of the vaccine, although Defra will be looking at the number of cattle herd TB breakdowns in the areas for any changes in cattle disease trends.
Hilary Benn said: "Developing an effective vaccine for bovine TB is only half the challenge. The other is to deploy it effectively. This project will help us do that. As such it marks real progress in our fight against this terrible disease."
The project will focus on ease of use in the field, securing local engagement in the vaccination campaign, developing practical know how and creation of a skills base. Government, the farming industry and other stakeholders working together will be important for its success.
Defra will begin to sign up participants and train personnel during 2009, with vaccination expected to begin in summer 2010.
The Government is working with the Bovine TB Eradication Group for England and other key groups to develop criteria for selecting the areas where the project will take place, looking specifically at areas with a high incidence of bovine TB in cattle.
A shipping agent from Venezuela who used fake identities to smuggle over 11kgs of cocaine into south Wales last year, was jailed yesterday for 16 years.
The man, who gave his name as Rufino Antonio Villalobos Fuentes, which is believed to be a false identity, was arrested as he attempted to land over £450,000 worth of cocaine hidden on board the MV Monte Pelmo, at Port Talbot docks in October 2008.
The case was investigated by officers from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), after the illegal stash was discovered by officers from the UK Border Agency.
Andrew Pavlinic, HMRC Assistant Director Criminal Investigation in Wales said: "Fuentes claimed to know nothing of the origin of this cocaine, but our investigation soon proved this to be a deliberate and pre planned smuggling attempt. His sole desire was to make as much money as possible and he showed an utter disregard for the damage drugs do to individuals and communities.
"HMRC officers carried out a thorough and professional investigation which enabled the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office to successfully bring this case to court. We would encourage the public to contact us on our 24 hour Hotline - 0800 59 5000 - if they have any information about drug smuggling or other illicit activity."
Following the departure of the MV Monte Pelmo, a freight vessel carrying coal, from Maracaibo in Venezuela in September 2008, Fuentes had flown to the UK to meet the ship on arrival in Port Talbot. He then attempted to retrieve the cocaine whilst claiming to be a surveyor working for an international survey company, as a cover for boarding the ship.
He was arrested in possession of the drugs as he disembarked the ship at the Port Talbot dockside in October 2008.
Villalobos Fuentes was sentenced to 16 years on charges brought by RCPO relating to the attempted importation of 11.372kgs of cocaine with an estimated street value of £454,800. Another man was found Not Guilty.
The National Federation of the Blind of the United Kingdom welcomes the Government's announcement that they will change the regulations of the Disability Living Allowance to allow Blind people to receive the higher rate of the Mobility Component of the DLA benefit from 2011.
The Federation’s ten-year campaign to have blind people included in this benefit has been helped in the last three years by the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
However, it was the Federation’s long-term campaign, encouraging other organisations to join the campaign, that has led to this success.
Jill Allen-King M.B.E. who was the only blind member of the DLA Board when it was set up in 1992, and has campaigned for the regulations to be changed ever since, said:
“It was very unfair that a person who was virtually unable to walk was able to receive the higher rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance, and yet blind people could only receive the lower rate. That was a difference of £30 per week.”
A spokesman said: “The Federation would like to thank all its members and friends and their members of parliament who have, over the years, supported us.
“The Federation would also like to thank its Patron, Professor Ian Bruce who, in his last year as Director General of the RNIB, agreed to make this a high profile campaign which led to two successful mass lobbies of parliaments. Federation members, who are all blind and partially sighted, travelled from all parts of the country to take part in these lobbies.
Blind people have to spend so much money on taxis to take them to their shops, doctors, churches, and social activities, that this higher rate of benefit will certainly go a long way to help them to be more mobile and independent.”
(EDITOR: It is a source of shame that the NFB had to campaign so long and hard for this in the first place!)
NS&I has announced that from the April prize draw onwards one of the two monthly Premium Bond jackpot prizes of £1 million will be replaced by a wider mix of prizes in the monthly draws, allowing more people to win but still retaining the chance of winning the £1 million jackpot prize. Similarly, a new £25 Premium Bond prize will be introduced and used alongside the existing prizes (ranging from £50 to £1 million). These changes have been introduced because Premium Bond holders say that maintaining the chances of winning tax-free prizes on a regular basis is particularly important to them.
In addition to these changes, NS&I is reducing the Premium Bond prize fund rate from 1.8% to 1%. This rate will be held at least until the June 2009 draw even if there are further changes to the base rate. This is the first change NS&I has made to the prize fund rate since December last year - during which time the Bank of England base rate has fallen from 3.0% to 0.5%. The revised prize fund rate will come into effect from 1 April 2009.
The current odds of each £1 Premium Bond number winning any prize will remain unchanged at 36,000 to 1, so with average luck an investor with £30,000 in Premium Bonds could win 10 tax-free prizes a year. The unclaimed premium bond prizes range all the way from £25 up to £100,000. NS&I gives away over one million tax-free* Premium Bond prizes each month.
NS&I is also reducing the interest rates on its other variable rate savings by up to 0.50%, following movements in the Bank of England base rate. The revised interest rates will come into effect from 18 March 2009.
Peter Cornish, Director of Customer Offer, NS&I, said: "Premium Bonds are unique and are hugely popular with our customers. Replacing one of the £1 million jackpot prizes with a wider mix of prizes and introducing the new £25 prize category will help us maintain the frequency of tax-free prizes - something that we know is particularly important to Premium Bond holders. "
He continued, "We always aim to reward as many of our customers as possible from the prize fund available, together with having the right mix of prizes. We continue to pay out hundreds of thousands of tax-free prizes each month and customers also benefit from a 100% guarantee on their investment because we are backed by HM Treasury."
As always, NS&I will communicate all of these changes to customers via a range of outlets, including press advertisements and NS&I's website, as well as putting an updated Premium Bonds prize draw details leaflets in all Post Offices and updated interest rates leaflets in most branches of WH Smith throughout the UK.
On the 4th and 5th of April Bedfordshire will host one of the biggest skydiving competitions in the World. however no planes or parachutes will be used, this competition takes place inside an enormous wind tunnel.
Bodyflight Bedford, the World’s largest human flight chamber, will host the indoor skydiving World Challenge which sees over 300 competitors travel from 17 different countries to compete for huge cash prizes.
“The Bodyflight World Challenge is the largest competition of its kind and is really important to the sport in the UK” Says event organiser Bryony Doughty. “This year is the biggest competition yet with over 60 teams entered.”
There are two competitions within the challenge, Formation Skydiving which is all about speed and accuracy, and FreeFly which is much more artistic and creative.
For the last three years the Formation Skydiving competition has been dominated by the American national team Airspeed who will be back again defending their title. This year however all of the British teams have been training hard and have their sights set on taking Gold.
Skydiving is one of the fastest growing sports In the UK, as reflected in the recent success of British teams at the Skydiving World meet in France last summer where Bodyflight Storm, last year’s British Champions came first in the Women’s competition.
The Storm team members are currently taking a break from competition, but team captain and 5 time World Champion Claire Scott and team mate Hannah Betts couldn’t resist taking part at the World Challenge, and has even joined up with old rivals to do it:
“Me and a couple of friends have put together a fun team to compete in the Challenge. It is one of the best competitions in skydiving and it’s great to see the top teams in the World all under one roof. I used to compete against two of my team mates so it will be interesting being on the same team for once! Skydivers are a close knit community so I have known these girls for a long time.”
Since opening in August 2005, Bodyflight has become recognised within the skydiving world as the best place to train as it is unrivalled for space and air quality. The massive 4.5 metre propeller can generate wind speeds of up to 180mph. Simulating freefall and allowing people to really fly.
Doctor Helen Fisher, the chief scientific advisor to match.com has revealed the science behind successful relationships after testing the romantic chemistry of nearly 30,000 singles.
The research involved studying the character traits of more than 28,128 match.com members and has been developed to guide singles to potential partners. It examines not just basic personality traits, but also includes other aspects ranging from favourite foods and the type of exercise preferred to attitudes towards risk and even expertise with machinery.
Dr Fisher, who has studied the science of romance for 35 years, believes that this explains why some couples, such as Brad and Angelina, enjoy more successful relationships than others, such as Brad and his former partner Jennifer.
It hinges on which of four chemicals - dopamine, oestrogen, serotonin or testosterone - is most dominant in the brain. The balance of these chemicals helps create four different personality types which can then be used to determine how compatible people are.
The four personality types are explorers, builders, negotiators and directors.
Explorers, ruled by dopamine, tend to be novelty seeking, risk-taking and spontaneous and tend to work well with other explorers. Brad and Angelina are both explorers.
Serotonin is the dominant chemical in builders, people who are calm, conscientious, loyal and cautious. Unfortunately for Jennifer who is a builder, builders are more likely to be drawn to other builders and, like Brad, Jennifer's recent ex-boyfriend John Mayer is an explorer.
Negotiators (oestrogen) are imaginative, intuitive and compassionate and they have good people skills while directors, who are ruled by testosterone, are more direct, decisive, competitive and often musical. Directors and Negotiators are better with each other than with a person sharing the same characteristics.
It does not always mean there cannot be a successful match between other combinations, but it may take more effort to keep the relationship alive. For instance, negotiators and builders can have a fiery but ultimately successful relationship. Dr Fisher has identified 10 different pairings, but some work a lot better than others.
Dr Fisher said: "The reasons why we love are incredibly complex, but it is possible to scientifically understand why people partner better with certain types."
So far seven million members of dating site match.com have taken the personality test based on this research in order to find the perfect partner.
Dr Fisher is a research professor of anthropology and one of the world’s leading experts on the nature of romantic love and attachment. Her research and her unique personality test are the subject of a new book 'Why Him? Why Her? A guide to finding and keeping your perfect match', has spent nearly five years developing her concept.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Britain’s secret WW2 research centre voted top in Building with Pride awards
The battle is over and Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire has been named the victor in the Wickes Building with Pride awards.
The public have been voting over the past two months for the building they would be most proud to put their name to and Bletchley, made famous for its role in shortening the Second World War, has come out on top.
From the 30 finalists, the top five buildings are:
1.Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes
2.The Needles Old Battery, Isle of Wight
3.The Cavern Club, Liverpool
4.The Spinnaker, Portsmouth
5.Leith Hill Tower, Dorking
Tommy Walsh, commenting on the win said: “Bletchley Park is not only a great building but it’s also where some of the most important intelligence work of the Second World War took place. The British public have rightly recognised this as their first ‘Building with Pride.”
Matthew Critchley, Brand Communications Director, Wickes said: “The public have really taken this search to heart and have chosen a building that holds an incredibly important place in the British psyche. Bletchley Park has come to signify British ingenuity, courage and pride. I can’t think of a more worthy winner of the first ‘Building with Pride’ awards.”
Bletchley Park is now the home to the National Codes Centre and the National Museum of Computing. For more information on the estate please go to www.bletchleypark.org.uk.
FACT FILE:
·The Wickes ‘Building with Pride’ search is a chance to celebrate the quality of workmanship in the UK
·From the past to the present day, many buildings carry a secret mark made by the tradesmen involved to indicate their pride in their work. As a nation we should be as proud of these buildings as the tradesmen who built them
·Tommy Walsh has joined forces with Wickes to identify the building that the great British public would put their name to if they could
·Wickes has 193 stores nationwide and is an established brand within the UK DIY Market. Wickes stores are designed to appeal to serious DIY customers who carry out more complex projects and tradesmen who undertake general repairs, maintenance/ improvement projects for households. As well as for customers looking for a complete service for kitchens and bathrooms, including affordable quality ranges with an expert design and planning service
World’s Stock Imagery and Video Sales Leader Offers Easy Ways to Purchase all Types of Multimedia Under One Account
iStockphoto, the world’s leading stock multimedia destination, announced its new and diverse audio collection today at the SXSW Music Festival. iStock’s Standard Audio collection includes over 11,000 royalty-free, user-generated sound effects and music tracks. iStock also debuted a new Pump Audio collection of over 18,000 single-production music tracks.
This means iStock is now the first company to offer stock imagery, video footage, vector illustrations, Flash files and audio for purchase under a single payment model, on one convenient site. iStock’s Standard Audio tracks start as low as £1.40 ($2) each with Pump Audio tracks as low as £21 ($29). Music and sound effects tracks can be used in a variety of creative projects, from Web video to TV shows, movies, commercials, public performances and even games.
For online editors and bloggers: Access video interviews with iStock COO, a buyer and an artist, and a demo of an audio track being downloaded here: http://inr.stage.mediaseed.tv/iStockphoto_36319/
iStock is a pioneer in monetising user-generated content, with contributing artists and customers from nearly every country in the world. iStock shares royalties with its contributing artists and is currently paying out close to $1.1 million a week. iStock continues to have some of the strictest quality standards in the industry, making it uniquely poised to offer an outstanding, high-quality audio collection.
“The iStock model extends purchasing power to masses of people, many of whom are already devouring our image and video content,” said Kelly Thompson, COO of iStockphoto. “We are truly the Web’s easiest solution to buying all types of multimedia content in one place and under a single account.”
How it Works:
People looking for music can go to www.iStockaudio.com and search over 30,000 audio files via keyword search, and by genre, tempo, key signature, time signature and categories. From there, customers can easily preview and purchase audio tracks.
To use a music track or a sound effect with no restrictions and a multiple number of times, iStock’s Standard Audio Collection is the customer’s best choice. iStock also offers a Pump Audio Collection, for single-production use. More detailed information to help customers decide which collection to use can be found at: http://www.istockphoto.com/faq.php?FormName=FaqSearchForm&Ca....
Sound of the 70s Contest
To celebrate the premiere of iStock’s Standard Audio, we’ve launched the “Sound of the 70s Contest”. Entrants are asked to submit an original music composition reflecting a clear 70s vibe. The contest closes on March 31, 2009 and winners will be announced on April 23, 2009. Find more contest details and prizes at http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=565.
iStockaudio Standard Collection Pricing and Details
The iStockaudio standard collection currently offers more than 11,000 tracks from 500 global artists. The tracks range from five seconds to four minutes in length and vary in complexity. Tracks include public performance, synchronization and mechanical licenses. With credits as low as $.95, pricing is as follows:
Pump Audio is a collection of full-length tracks by indie artists from Pump Audio, found only on iStock. The single-production collection currently offers more than 18,000 tracks. With credits as low as $.95, pricing is as follows:
• Web only: non-lyrical: 30 credits • All media: non-lyrical: 60 credits • Web only: lyrical: 40 credits • All media: lyrical: 80 credits
At a time when universities are pushing for higher tuition fees, online distance learning specialist, RDI (www.rdi.co.uk), points out that the cost of delivering undergraduate education can be kept under control and there is no need to hit young people and their parents in the wallet by charging in excess of £3,500 a year for a degree course.
According to a recent BBC survey, more than half of university heads want students to pay at least £5,000 per year, or for there to be no ceiling on tuition fees so institutions can charge what they choose. The government is due to review university fees this year and arguments are already raging about whether the present £3,500 cap should be lifted.
Dr Philip Hallam, CEO of RDI, comments: "The call for a rise in tuition fees doesn't really reflect any necessary increase in the delivery costs of quality education. Universities need to look more closely at their resource usage, learning models and how they might integrate modern technology to lower costs and improve the effectiveness of learning. Many of our university partners are already working with us in this area and the results are astounding in terms of quality, value for money, completion rates and widening participation. Other universities would do well to follow suit."
He adds: "These days, many universities are investing in, for example, new buildings which are typically 50% utilised, and not allocating sufficient funds towards improving their use of efficient and effective learning technologies. This is at a time when UK Plc is generally tightening its belt, examining its operating efficiencies and trying to be leaner and fitter. Students could face debts of up to £32,000 upon graduation* if tuition fees reach £7,000 a year and RDI maintains that these increases should not be necessary based on the cost of delivering a degree course. Universities must consider both their business model and their learning model before imposing higher charges."
RDI can provide an identical distance learning degree on an "earn as you learn" basis (i.e. the student continues to work while they study) and the cost of (e.g.)a full BA (Hons) Business when taken via RDI and their distance learning partner university, is just £4,750. In comparison, universities have been charging each student a minimum of £9,000 over 3 years in tuition fees and also receive at least a further £9000 per student from the taxpayer for an identical campus based programme. And now universities are asking for even more funds.
So how does RDI deliver UK university education so affordably? Students access their learning resources and tutors 52 weeks a year instead of 36, so students can spread their studies more effectively around an existing job. RDI only pay's its tutors when they teach so avoids the usual public sector staffing inefficiencies and it doesn't have have to contribute to expensive public sector final salary pension schemes. RDI is operated as a lean and accountable business and, as a result, fees paid by students are kept down.
Dr Philip Hallam adds: "At present, there's a 'smoke and mirrors' mystique as to how universities operate and control their costs. But this needs to change and the current row over tuition fees might bring this about. UK universities should be run in a more transparent way - without constantly hitting the pockets of young people and their parents."
Meanwhile, young people starting university this September can save thousands on their degree or diploma by signing up for an online distance learning course with RDI. Thanks to RDI's new 'pay as you go' system, higher education is gentle on the wallet: the fee to study a degree is just £99 a month for the first year of study, followed by £125 a month.
In a recent RDI survey, 82.2% of students agreed that distance learning worked efficiently for them, 73.8% felt their confidence had grown as a result of the studies and 82.6% considered their workload manageable. And 83.9% felt that the distance learning course had stimulated their interest in further study.
RDI currently has around 7,000 students enrolled in its academic body and distance learning courses are available at MBA, MSc, BA (Hons), Diploma and Advanced Certificate level. Around 4,000 of the students are studying through RDI at a variety of top universities and this figure is growing by 20% a year.
Students can study and share ideas from any location with an internet connection using RDI's educational answer to Facebook, called 'iLearn', which rolls an online university, online campus and classroom into one.
Iain Dale at Iain Dale's Diary pointed out a rather funky new feature for blogs and websites. It is supplied by Total Politics (the device itself is produced by Rouse Media) and brings a live feed of 25 of the top UK political news sites to That's News. And if you want, your site, too. Just click on the link, get the code and within seconds, it will be up and running on your site, too.
Thanks for pointing this out, Iain. It looks good.
- 1980s menu and prices available all day - - Prize for best '80s costume – - Exclusive Raffle Prizes include VIP tour, elite dinner cruise and free annual membership to Imperial War Museum To celebrate its 25th birthday, London’s Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms is offering visitors 1984 admission prices for one day only on 4th April 2009. Prices will be reduced from £13 to £2, the museum’s entry fee when it opened on 4th April 1984.
Visitors are encouraged to join in the birthday celebrations and turn up wearing 1980s style costumes. The museum staff will be taking photographs of people in 1980s gear and awarding a prize to the best dressed. Early birds will also be rewarded, with the first 25 visitors through the doors at 9.30am being offered a free bacon sandwich in the cafe.
Classic 1980s dishes including, Victory Soup, Shepherd’s Pie and Apple Crumble and custard will be available all day in the cafe with significantly reduced prices which will suit today’s credit crunch budgets.
Phil Reed, Director of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms says, “4 April 2009 is a landmark birthday for the museum. In the past 25 years, over 5 million people, including heads of states from all around the world, have visited us to discover what life was like inside Churchill’s authentically preserved secret headquarters during the Second World War. We are looking forward to celebrating our birthday in style with a 1980s theme running throughout the day. Winston Churchill was a flamboyant dresser so it is a very fitting tribute that people turn up in their 1980s gear.”
“The museum has grown significantly in 25 years with the addition of the remarkable Churchill Museum in 2005, which is dedicated to the life of our war time leader Sir Winston Churchill. This year is the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and the Cabinet War Rooms becoming operational, and we will be launching a new exhibition later this year to mark this, so it is an exciting time for us. We hope that our 1984 pricing will attract hundreds of new and repeat visitors to join in our fun birthday celebrations.”
Visitors will also get the chance to enter an exclusive raffle. The first prize, valued at £650, is a private VIP tour with the Director of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms for up to four guests. Winners will enjoy privileged access inside the War Cabinet Room and the Map Room. The rooms have been perfectly preserved since 1945 and it was in the Cabinet Room that Churchill announced “This is the room from which I will direct the war.” The winner will also receive a bottle of Churchill’s favourite tipple, Pol Roger champagne, and four souvenir guidebooks, along with a signed copy of ‘Churchill’ written by Churchill’s granddaughter, Celia Sandys.
Second prize, valued at £220, is an Elite Dinner Cruise for two with ‘star treatment’ on London Bateaux. This luxurious treat includes champagne on arrival, a sumptuous five-course a la carte meal with fine wines, followed by after-dinner dancing.
The lucky third prize winner will receive a year’s free Friends of Imperial War Museum membership. This allows free admission to all exhibitions and free entry to The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, HMS Belfast and Imperial War Museum, Duxford. This winner will be able to take their family on a day out to a museum of their choice, as they will also receive Family tickets (2 adults and three children) worth £60.
Some of the many highlights of the Cabinet War Rooms include the Map Room, the communications hub during the Second World War, left almost exactly as it was when its doors were finally closed in August 1945; Churchill’s bedroom, strategically placed next door to the Map Room, and the War Cabinet Room, where Churchill held meetings with key advisors, selected Cabinet members and his Chiefs of Staff, while, outside, the bombs rained down on London.
Visitors can also enjoy the Churchill Museum, which uses cutting-edge technology and multimedia displays to bring to life the story of Winston Churchill, who was voted the ‘Greatest Briton’ in a nationwide poll in 2002. From Churchill’s childhood to his ‘finest hour’ and later years, visitors will not only learn more about his political exploits but also the man himself, his successes as well as his failures. Interactive displays allow visitors to further their learning and engage in a debate on many of the key decisions taken by Churchill.
Central to the Museum is the state-of-the-art Lifeline exhibit – the world’s largest interactive display - a 15-metre-long interactive table on which visitors can access information from every year of Churchill’s life, even drilling down to specific weeks and days. The Lifeline puts key events in Churchill’s life in context and engages users through a variety of animations and sounds.
FACT FILE: • Entry to the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms is usually £12.95 adults, £10.40 seniors and students, £7.75 disabled and children under 16 are free. • The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms are open daily to explore from 9.30am - 6.00pm, last admission at 5.00pm. • The Museum is located at Clive Steps, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AQ, with Westminster being the nearest tube station. • The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms is a branch of the Imperial War Museum.
Distressed Assets, a Liverpool based property research and acquisition company has seen a sharp increase in the number of enquiries from investors for its bespoke property purchase service.
As UK property prices tumble and recessionary woes continue, astute investors are seeing the opportunities that the present economic situation presents. Most commentators seem to be advising not to touch property right now but others see the situation differently.
Dominic Farrell, founder of Distressed Assets, believes now is the best time to invest in UK property: "The best time to buy anything is when demand is weak and finance is difficult to obtain. Add in negative overall sentiment and you have a recipe for success. Investors can secure excellent value in today’s market and will reap the benefits over the medium to long-term. However, as with any business, there are a lot of potential pitfalls and research, relationship building and comprehensive due diligence are the fundamental requirements for a sound investment.”
David Ogden from Manchester, a client of Distressed Assets, testifies to the potential for investment success in the present market: “Within 3 weeks of joining they had secured me a great property which will generate a significant return on my investment, is cash positive and has great potential for capital growth. They secured it for 60% below its previous selling price. I have found the Distressed Assets team to be unbelievably focused and passionate about what they are doing and have absolute confidence and trust in them."
Given the present negative media coverage of property as an investment it could be easy to believe that prices will never rise again and the recession will last for the next decade. Farrell disagrees:
“With stock markets at 12 year lows, interest rates on cash almost negative in real terms and the bond market showing signs of a bubble, property purchased at significant prices below current value with strong cash flow is a solid investment over the medium to long-term.”
FACT FILE: Distressed Assets is a Liverpool-based company founded specifically to seek investment opportunities in the present economic situation. Its sister companies include well established property development and acquisition companies and an investment magazine publisher. The company website is at www.distressed-assets.co.uk
Distressed Assets will be holding an investment seminar in Central London on Tuesday 21st April 2009. If you wish to attend this seminar, please fill in the form at the website
Police officers have arrested nine people on suspicion of mortgage fraud worth £40m.
Officers are investigating fraudulent mortgages taken out on 500 homes in Southern England between 2005 and 2007
In light of the recent news that nine people have been arrested on suspicion of mortgage fraud worth around £40m, Landmark Information Group is warning solicitors to protect themselves against the criminal consequences of breaching the Money Laundering Regulations. Handling funds obtained as a result of mortgage fraud could have serious consequences for solicitors involved in a transaction. According to the Financial Services Authority Register, a firm named Eastbourne Financial Services had its authorisation withdrawn on the 3rd March 2009, after an investigation was carried out into mortgages secured on 500 homes across Southern England.
The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 have now been in force since December 2007 and require firms to take a risk based approach to compliance. Firms that fail to ensure that their risk assessment and risk management procedures properly address the potential risks that they face are more at risk from criminals seeking to exploit their procedures in order to launder criminal funds..
With this in mind, Landmark Information Group has recently launched Landmark AML (www.landmarkaml.co.uk), a cost-effective client due diligence solution that assists in ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations.
James Sherwood-Rogers, Managing Director of Landmark Legal & Financial comments: “Mortgage fraud is a significant issue for solicitors and has clear implications for anti money laundering compliance. It is important professionals recognise the need for enhanced due diligence to be carried out in high risk situations, such as where the client does not meet the solicitor, as is the case in many conveyancing transactions. By using a service like Landmark AML, solicitors can be reassured that they are using a system that assists in performing the client due diligence process.”
Landmark AML is a comprehensive customer due diligence verification tool that analyses a range of best-of-breed data sources to assist in compliance with AML legislation. After registering (at no cost) with Landmark AML, advisors can undertake checks on the electronic search system, which provides a full audit trail and carries out both positive and negative checks on the background of clients. These checks include government databases such as the Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) list; terrorist sanctions files, and persons covered by the far reaching implications of the US Patriot Act (such as the infamous Natwest three, extradited to the US without trial.)
International women’s month 2009 – how healthy is your wealth this spring 2009? Come and meet The Vitality Show 2009’s first and only exhibitor offering guidance in wealth creation – Women In Wealth™ – part of the UK’s 1st Wealth Intelligence Academy (WIA) - and enjoy a complimentary ‘Millionaire Mindset’ Head Massage courtesy of the Women in Wealth™ team-
Recent research undertaken by GirlGuiding UK has revealed that 93 per cent of 18 to 25 year old women throughout the UK are concerned for the future of their finances (source: GirlGuiding UK). So who is also taking responsibility for the financial wealth and health of the next generation of British entrepreneurs, home owners and business leaders? Women in Wealth™ is, that’s who...
Developed and created by one of Channel 4’s favourite ‘Secret Millionaires’, Gill Fielding, Women in Wealth™, part of the UK’s only Wealth Intelligence Academy (WIA) was borne out of a demand for educational programmes that are both female-inspired and taught, by women of all ages and backgrounds. The Women in Wealth™ trainers, in the main, are former WIA students and derive a multitude of backgrounds.
Take the example of former WIA student turned WIA trainer/philanthropist/professional property investor, Naomi Sesay, who previously worked as a TV presenter on MTV Europe. Naomi, a trainer in Quantum Physics and also the first producer of Channel 4’s ‘Big Brother’, now devotes her time to property investment, social entrepreneurship and wealth creation. Another valued Women in WealthTM trainer and team member is Bindar Dosanjh, a self-made full-time lawyer who also enjoys a part-time career in property investment, sometimes with her 18-year old daughter who has also studied with WIA. Each and every one of the Women in WealthTM team has a remarkable story to tell relating to their own personal journey to financial freedom*…
According to Naomi Sesay: “I am absolutely ecstatic to be part of Women in Wealth’™. It is the perfect environment for women to understand the fundamentals of wealth creation at their own pace and in a ‘female-centric’ way. When a woman understands how to create wealth, her internal and external world can radically change. In this climate, financial education is more important than ever, throwing up opportunities that only the savvy investor can claim, particularly in light of the recent research released by GirlGuiding UK on how young women view money and their financial future. It is our collective responsibility to nurture and drive the investors of tomorrow with our knowledge from today and yesterday as well as to continue to be inspired by freshly emerging wealth creators”.
So come along to the Women in Wealth™ stand, number H206, at this year’s Vitality Show 2009 and meet inspiring women who have stood in your shoes and who have already taken that initial financial leap of faith – into success. And don’t forget about your complimentary ‘Millionaire Mindset’ head massage to boost positive energy and mental clarity if you come along and see us.
During the Show you will be able to sign up for attendance at one of our FREE Women in Wealth™ preview seminars in the following areas:-
*London/Richmond 7th – 8th April 2009
*Birmingham/Coventry/Wolverhampton/Leicester 20th-24th April 2009
Once you have attended an initial preview event you are then able to progress to the next stage of your financial education with Women in Wealth™. In the form of a three-day basic training programme priced at £597.00 (including VAT) per person. This price includes all training materials, refreshments during the three days and all tuition. The next three-day basic training will be held in the following area:-
*London - Heathrow 17th–19th April 2009
*Birmingham 15th – 17th May 2009
All preview attendees must pre-register to attend prior to each event. To register for any of the above courses before or after The Vitality Show 2009, simply call FREEPHONE 0800 011 4365 or register online at www.womeninwealth.co.uk
For those who are unsure about taking that first step to financial freedom, Women in Wealth™ is also offering up an exclusive ‘Mindset Day’ for visitors of The Vitality Show for a special introductory rate of £50.00. Please visit the stand for more details.
In an historic moment in its long history, The Royal Hospital Chelsea, home to some 300 veteran soldiers, welcomed women to its ranks for the first time on Thursday 12 March. Chelsea Pensioners are recognised world-wide by their distinctive uniforms and this is the first time that women will be seen wearing scarlet.
Mrs Dorothy Hughes (85) and Miss Winifred Phillips (82) the first women to become In-Pensioners, will be welcomed to the Hospital by the Governor, General the Lord Walker GCB CMG CBE DL, Adjutant Brigadier David Radcliffe OBE, as well as some of the current In-Pensioners.
After years of fundraising, the Hospital is finally in a position to accept women, who will live temporarily in the new Margaret Thatcher Infirmary, which was built entirely through donations. The women will then move to more permanent accommodation alongside the men, but more funding is needed to refurbish this area before the move can take place.
In his welcoming speech, the Governor, General the Lord Walker GCB CMG CBE DL, said: “This is a wonderful and momentous occasion in the life of the Hospital and we are proud and delighted to be welcoming women for the first time in our 300-year history. Dorothy and Winifred will make a positive and lively contribution to life here at the Hospital and everyone has been looking forward to their arrival.
“It has taken us some time to be in a position to accept ladies because we have not had the necessary funds to create the appropriate accommodation until now. But we have not waited a moment longer than we have had to before inviting them come.”
Dorothy Hughes was born in Swansea and joined the ATS in 1941 and was subsequently posted to 450 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery in the London Division. In 1945 the Battery was deployed near Rye to defend against V1 rocket attacks. Dorothy later worked with the Army Operational Research Group developing fuses in shells used against V2 rockets and was discharged from the Army in 1946 in the rank of sergeant. After the war, Dorothy worked as a secretary before training as a teacher and following her retirement in 1982, has been heavily involved in a variety of voluntary work. Her interests include gardening, reading and travel. Dorothy says: “Everyone has been extremely kind and welcoming and I am very excited about the prospect of my new life at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.”
Winifred Phillips trained and qualified as a nurse before joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1948. She enlisted into the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) in 1949. She completed 22 years’ service with the Colours and retired in 1971 in the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2.
During her long military career Winifred served in Egypt, Singapore, Cyprus and Germany as well as several tours in the UK. She has been employed as a switchboard operator, clerk, office supervisor, administrator and PA. Since she retired from the Army, Winifred has worked as PA to a solicitor and in the Department of Education. Her interests include painting and computers. “I am very much looking forward to this new phase of my life and feel very happy that I will be able to pursue my interests in the homely and friendly surroundings of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.”
The Royal Hospital Chelsea was founded in 1682 for the ‘succour and relief of veterans broken by age and war’. Today, the Hospital is home to some 300 elderly veterans in a vibrant and stimulating community. It also provides the highest standard of medical and nursing care.
A dog massage has many benefits for your canine friend.
So what are the benefits of dog massage, you ask?
The benefits that your dog gains will depend upon the reason for his massage.
If he has a health problem and a vet has recommended massage as a form of therapy then the benefits will relate to fixing or at least relieving the health issue.
Often a vet will recommend this therapy when there is a muscle injury, circulation problem and even arthritis.
Let's take a look at the main benefits of dog massage regardless of the reason for your dog undertaking a massage:
- Massages improve blood and lymph circulation - Massages can relieve muscle tension - Massages can help a dog to recover quicker from injury - Dogs can de-stress with a massage - just like people can - A massage can help to rebalance energy - Massages can enhance the bond between you and your dog - Massaging a dog can increase the immune system
A great benefit of dog massage is to increase the effectiveness and strength of the immune system.
Chemicals called cytokines are released during a massage and these help to reduce stress hormones.
Yes, dogs can suffer from stress too! And reducing stress in your dog can lengthen their life and improve their behavior.
Improving stress can also help your dog to fight ailments and illnesses as he ages.
Many people are now hiring a masseuse for their dog's happiness.
Just like people, dogs gain pleasure from a massage.
However not all dogs are suited to a massage.
Some simply will not lay still for long, whilst others (in particular older dogs) could lie down all day and be massaged.
You will know whether or not your dog could handle a massage.
Puppies generally will not have the patience for it but, who knows - once he experiences the pleasure of a massage his whole personality might change!
You don't have to go to a professional dog massage therapist - you can learn dog massage and massage your dog from the comfort of your home.
You can ask a vet for advice on the best spots and the type of pressure to use, but it is not overly difficult to apply a feel good massage to your dog.
The benefits of dog massage are clear - your dog will love it and you'll love have a more relaxed, happy dog!
Make sure you get the most the important woman in your life the most wonderful gift for Mothering Sunday.
Here’s a selection of gifts bound to ensure a scrumptious and very happy Mothering Sunday …
Soap & Glory A Change of Face Skincare Starter Kit: Soap & Glory A Change of Face Skincare Starter Kit contains 3 steps to smooth, luminous skin all in this gorgeous pack. £19.57 www.boots.co.uk
Zelens Advanced Luminescence Serum: An advanced serum that helps to reduce the visible signs of dark spots, blemishes, discoloration and uneven skin tone. Regular use of this luminescence serum helps to restore an even, bright and radiant skin complexion. £85 www.zelens.com
The Fit Flop - Billow: These new-style FitFlops give you a workout while you walk. Every step you take in your FitFlops helps tone and trim your legs. Called the Billow because they are the closest you will can come to walking on a cloud. £88 www.thefitflop.com
laboratoire remède alchemy premium night crème: Laboratoire Remède has taken everything you love about Alchemy and put it in a cult-worthy cream that's designed to work overnight (when your body does its blue-ribbon repair work) to fix the free-radical damage done by day and return that refined, luminous, younger-looking skin. £95 harrods.com and www.blisslondon.co.uk
Real Hair Masque Enriching Hair Treatment : A weekly intensive treatment for all hair types, each element is harmonized to bring sustained well-being to hair, extract of African moringa tree seeds help protect against protect against pollutants, whilst red seaweed helps moisturize the scalp. £55 www.realhair.co.uk
Nubo Lip Perfection: Introducing a new pout perfecting ‘power house’ from NuBo, with SPF 15. The first positive cosmecutial skincare line, continues to move the beauty boundaries in the right direction with the launch of a protective and nourishing balm. £38 www.harrods.com
Akhassa Varada hand care gift set from www.victoriahealth.com: Jasmine hand cream, pink tea hand scrub and a 100% cotton hand towel. This cache of essential hand care treats is presented in a gorgeous bronze box. £26.91 available exclusively from www.victoriahealth.com
bliss Give Her a Hand Set: Give a gift that’s sure to get a ‘handing’ ovation with this prettily packaged pair of our hyper-hydrating, seriously sensation-‘nail’ Glamour Gloves. This set includes bliss glamour gloves (self-activating, rapeseed and multivitamin gel-lined moisture gloves) and bliss glamour glove gel (an anti-aging treatment gel that sinks deep into the skin to treat sunspots with lightenings lemon and pigment purging parsley extract). £48 www.blisslondon.co.uk
Amie Spring Clean Mask: Created by a mother for her daughter, the harmonising natural active fruit and botanical ingredients in Spring Clean Mask work with your skin. Soothing, softening Lime Butter tones the skin and helps shrink pores while Organic Peppermint refreshes, cools and soothes, creating a healthy, glowing complexion. £4.95 www.amieskincare.com
The company behind a 'controversial' TV advert that has had more than 1,000 complaints from men – including more than 50 to the Advertising Standards Authority – insists it is being taken out of context.
The advert for Oven Pride™ – the one with the bag – kicked off a £1 million national TV campaign last week.
It features a reluctant man being forced to clean the oven by his long-suffering wife. You can see it at www.pride-range.co.uk.
The advert strapline states that Oven Pride is so easy, even a man can use it.
More than 50 complaints have already been received by the ASA.
And more than a thousand people – about 90 per cent of them men – have contacted the company directly through email, phone and forums.
“The advert simply portrays a typical couple who live together,” said Matt Stockdale of HomePride, the company that makes Oven Pride.
“The reality is that while some do, many male partners don’t pull their weight at home and this advert simple portrays that. Most women have a much more balanced view of life and see this advert as it was intended – tongue in cheek.
“Whilst we can’t please everyone, and certainly not all of the men who have complained, of course no offence was ever intended.”
Oven Pride is the UK’s leading oven cleaner and was invented by Matt in his garage in the year 2000.
Sales of Oven Pride have doubled since the advert went on-air, with some retailers selling out.
It is now the lead product in the Pride range, which also includes the new Stove Pride, Sink Pride, and Shower and Bath Pride.
Recent research by GMTV that revealed that people who had heard of Oven Pride are more likely to agree it was the best quality, worth paying more for, and the brand to trust more than any other brand.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a consumer warning about UK Expatriates Independent Financial Advisory Services (UEIFAS) which operates from Middlesbrough and Wrexham.
Customers who have invested money through UEIFAS should check the status of their investment with their investment provider.
The FSA believes that UEIFAS may have cashed in investment products taken out on behalf of its clients, without their knowledge or consent, and failed to return those funds to them. It may have also failed to pass funds transferred to it by clients for investment purposes on to the relevant investment provider.
UEIFAS operates from offices at 7a Oxford Road, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS5 5DY or 51 Westbury Drive, Pandy, Wrexham, LL12 8PZ.
Anyone who made investments through UEIFAS is advised to contact the FSA by email or telephone at:
Callers can also ring the FSA Helpline on0845 606 1234 (call rates may vary). Or write to: The Financial Services Authority Small Firms and Contact Division Investments 3 25 The North Colonnade Canary Wharf London E14 5HS
http://www.peiprofit.com/ is a very useful website for those of us who are serious about earning an income from our efforts on the Internet and the World Wide Web. The first thing you will notice at the Make Money Blogging website is that it is very well designed. And it contains some highly useful advice and information. Not only does it offer you advice on how you can earn money on the Internet, in one post it also offers some exceptionally sage advice on how you should not try to earn money on the Internet. One specific method that the website advises against is that of MLM or, to give it its full title, Multi-Level Marketing. Incidentally, did you know that products sold via MLM are general 4 times the prices that they would be, if sold direct? This is as a result of the high costs associated with running downlines, etc.
There are links to a variety of Must Read articles. And they are genuinely 'must read' articles. They will provide you with information on a variety of tops, but all designed with one aim in mind, helping you to make money blogging. (Excuse me – I just abandoned this article for 30 seconds to go and bookmark the site!)
Webmaster Ben Pei clearly knows his subject, yet does not talk down to visitors to his website. I am going to try to follow the make money blogging advice and see how much I can increase my income by! Just visit http://www.peiprofit.com
According to the new Prudential 'Class of 2009' retirement survey, around 2.2 million UK adults aged 45 and above are delaying their retirement in 2009 due to the state of the economy and the falling value of their investments.
The Prudential survey also highlights that their concerns are so severe that those delaying retirement do not expect to be able to get their plans back on track for years to come.
Only one in four (25 per cent) of those delaying drawing their pension in 2009 expect they will be able to retire before 2012, with an even higher number - two in five (42 per cent) - expecting it will be 2012 or beyond before they can retire and one in four (23 per cent) believing they won’t ever be able to afford to retire.
But, despite many adults delaying retirement, nearly one in three (30 per cent) of those actually able to retire in 2009 are public sector workers, even though they make up just one in five people in the UK workforce.
The remaining 2009 retirees will be split 35 per cent from private sector jobs and 15 per cent from self employed roles, with the remainder coming from those who are unemployed or in other sectors.
"It is a reflection of the difficult economic situation that so many workers, and particularly those in private sector roles who do not benefit from public sector final salary pension schemes, are trying to delay retirement but there are other options available," said Martyn Bogira, Director of DC Solutions at Prudential.
Martyn pointed out that even with the economy in its current depressed state, many annuity rates have performed better than many feared and there are a number of other pension income options available, like income drawdown, which can let workers delay buying an annuity until such time as the economy has started to recover.
Martyn continued, "Now more than ever it pays to seek early retirement advice from an independent financial adviser and we would suggest that people start planning for their retirement early, ideally at least 15 years from retirement. It is vital that those saving for retirement continually monitor their investment mix to ensure they have the right risk profile to help minimise the impact of economic fluctuations and falling stock markets."
Apitope Technology Ltd is a biopharmaceutical company that specialises in developing treatments for allergy and autoimmune diseases.
Formed as a spin-out company in 2002, Apitope announced in 2007 it had developed a vaccine designed to halt multiple sclerosis in its tracks. Cherry Lewis talked to Professor David Wraith, founder and Chief Scientific Officer, about the vaccine and his struggle to get funding for clinical trials.
David: About ten years ago, Geoff Watts from the BBC came to talk to me about autoimmunity for his Medicine Now programme that went out on Radio 4. One of the things we discussed was a new discovery we'd made that was a way of developing vaccines for treating autoimmune diseases and allergies, so-called therapeutic vaccines. They are based on the concept that has been well known for almost a century, namely allergic desensitisation, where people are given injections of the allergen that causes the reaction.
Cherry: Is that the same principle as a vaccine for smallpox? David: Not really. With the smallpox vaccine, you're giving an attenuated form of the infectious agent which boosts the immune system without actually causing the disease. What we're talking about here are disorders of the immune system which respond to innocuous things such as house dust and pollen that cause an allergy, or proteins in your body that cause autoimmune diseases. In multiple sclerosis, for example, which is an autoimmune disease, the immune system attacks the myelin sheath around nerve cells - the insulating layer that allows the cells to conduct electrical signals. This causes the nerves to function poorly or die and the symptoms of MS to appear. In these 'hypersensitivity' diseases, the immune system is over-responding. We have developed vaccines that can control the immune response, based on the antigens to which the immune system is responding.
Cherry: So how do you activate this desensitisation? David: There is a set of cells in the body called T-lymphocytes (T cells). Now we know that T cells respond to very small fragments (peptides) of whatever is causing the allergy or the autoimmune disease. We have developed a method of identifying and administering certain peptides so that instead of causing damage, they actually suppress the immune reaction.
Cherry: How very exciting. What happened next? David: Well, I was talking to Geoff Watts about things and explaining how the biggest challenge we now faced was taking this to the next step, but that it was proving difficult to find funding. Although we have some very large and highly successful venture capital companies in the UK, none of them are funding medical development at an early stage.
Cherry: What's the reason for that? Is it too high risk? David: And it's too long term. But what happened to us was very fortunate.
An 'angel' investor heard about the programme and offered to help us.
He gave us the money to develop our approach to the point where we could take it into clinical trials.
Cherry: That's a powerful argument in favour of talking to the media. David: Yes, we had a really great discussion and Geoff got very excited about what we had discovered. I'm sure his enthusiasm helped convey the significance of this work. So the business angel provided enough funds for us to develop the vaccine and do what is called 'tox testing' to prove it's safe. You have to prove that the vaccine is not toxic in animals by giving them doses 500 times higher than you would give humans. When this proved successful we were ready to take it to clinical trials, but then we faced another funding hurdle.
For more than two years we discussed funding with the DTI but that eventually fell through for various reasons. I found the whole business incredibly frustrating. Eventually we were awarded a University Translation Award by the Wellcome Trust and that provided close on £1 million for the first clinical trial in humans. This was set up in 2007 under Professor Neil Scolding in the Department of Neurology at Frenchay Hospital here in Bristol. It was what we call a Phase I safety study.
The aim is to prove that the vaccine can be given safely to humans and there are no adverse effects. Six MS patients at quite an advanced stage of the disease were given our vaccine, memorably called ATX-MS-1467. At the end of the trial, no safety issues had been identified and one patient even showed remarkable improve-ment in her eyesight. I think it's fair to say that the trial was highly successful.
Cherry: So where are things now? David: We are now ready to develop the vaccine further and take it to full clinical trials, but we've had to raise a lot more money. Dr Keith Martin, who's the CEO of Apitope, and I have spent the last two years going through endless rounds of talking to funding agencies, venture capital companies, etc, trying to raise the funds, but sadly we haven't been able to raise any funds in the UK. We had various European investors - from Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, France - all willing to join a syndicate to fund our next development. But in order for us to stay in this country, they needed an investor in the UK to take the lead.
Cherry: And you couldn't find one? David: We couldn't find one. There isn't a biomedical venture capital company in the UK who doesn't know about us, who hasn't looked at our business plan. Finally we were introduced to a group of Belgium- and Luxembourg-based investors who were very interested and we have just signed a deal with them worth ?10 million (£7.7 million). Apitope will now move to Belgium, locating its head office in Diepenbeek, and be called Apitope International NV. The current UK-based Apitope will stay in the UK and become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Belgian company. Among the funders is the University of Hasselt, which will provide support in exchange for an equity stake and will join forces with Apitope by providing its own research on diagnostics.
Cherry: How do you feel about that? David: Our decision to move out of the UK highlights the difficulties UK biotech companies have in raising support, even before the recent financial crisis, especially when it comes to bridging the gap between academic-funded research and advanced clinical studies, where the outcomes are a safer bet. Nevertheless, we have now got the funding so the trials will go ahead and ultimately this will lead to safer and more effective treatments for people with MS.
Helen Yates, Chief Executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre (MSRC) said, "Whilst this work is very encouraging in terms of its potential to help people affected by MS, it is a damning indictment on the funding streams in the UK that it is such a struggle for people like Professor Wraith to gain funding to translate academic knowledge into advanced clinical trials. Nevertheless the vaccine looks to hold great hope for everyone in the MS community."
Arriva, one of Europe’s largest transport organisations,has re-launched its UK bus division website. The website redesign follows a major overhaul by leading web design and build agency Freestyle Interactive.
Arriva, which delivers a billion passenger journeys every year across Europe, commissioned the complete redesign of its website to more positively reflect the warm, dependable Arriva brand. Quick and easy customer access to timetable, ticketing and special offer information was core to the brief as was implementation of a user-friendly Content Management System (CMS) to enable Arriva’s regional management teams to update website content.
Chris Hopkins , Commercial Director at Arriva said: “We recognise that that our web presence is becoming increasingly important to our business and the way we communicate with our loyal customer base. Our customers are going online to find up-to-date travel information and we need to make sure they can easily find the latest about their bus journeys, tickets and special offers”.
“Since the relaunch of the site, we have already seen a surge in online ticket sales following our “25% off 4-weekly tickets when you buy online’ campaign which has been three times as successful as previous offline campaigns. This is great for Arriva and great news for our customers because they can save money”.
The objective of Arriva’s new website is ultimately to encourage more passengers onto Arriva buses, but also to ensure that customers experience a great ‘journey’ when visiting the site, with easy access to timetable and ticket information as well as special offers and inspiration for travelling with Arriva. The site also enables regional marketing teams to drive, manage and measure marketing and customer loyalty campaigns, using e-mail and other channels.
The website uses the Ektron Content Management System and currently integrates with a third party ticket system for online bookings.
Future phases of the website will see integrated e-commerce, User-Generated-Content (UGC), blogging and an increase in targeted customer communications.
Site analytics, hosting and maintenance as well as continuous optimisation via Search Engine Marketing and online campaigns is all part of the ongoing package provided by Freestyle for Arriva.
In a bid to keep bargain-hungry Brits up to date with the latest and very best online discount codes and printable vouchers, the UK’s leading and most successful discount voucher site, MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, will be issuing a fortnightly update on the best deals available online. This update highlights the best printable restaurant coupons, whilst the top online discounts are also listed.
Printable vouchers can be redeemed upon production in a shop, store or restaurant, and often entitle the user to great deals and discounts from some of the UK’s biggest household names. They are free to use, and the top 5 printable vouchers are detailed below, along with the hottest online voucher codes.
www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, the UK’s leading discount voucher website, which attracted 8.5 million unique visits in December of last year alone, collates all the best up-to-date discounts across the internet into one easy-to-use place. Throughout the recession, millions more people have been accessing the site in a bid to save on purchases, helping it become the 4th fastest growing website in the UK according to Nielson Online and Hitwise.
This list is updated fortnightly. Journalists wishing to regularly receive updates should contact rich@10yetis.co.uk
Here are the top 5 printable vouchers for the week ending Friday the 13th March:
Retailer Ask Restaurant Offer 2 for 1 Deal at Ask Restaurant when using this Printable Voucher Expiry 9th April 09 http://www.askrestaurantoffers.co.uk/
“My husband Craig and I were trying to make some sense of our finances just before Christmas. As we both work in the creative media world - he’s a producer - we’re all too aware our financial security lasts only as long as our next contract.
“We’re both thrilled to be working at the moment, especially in the current climate. I’m really enjoying appearing in 'The Bill' and Craig is involved in some great projects; but they could always choose to kill off my character at the same time as Craig’s current work dries up, and we never seem to have the time to plan ahead with our own household budget.
“We did the scary thing of sitting on the floor surrounded by bits of paper trying to make sense of it all. The cat kept knocking over the piles and it was getting really complicated, making sense of all the invoices and rate changes and Christmas expenses, so in the end we decided there had to be some advice online to help us work through it.
“By chance I found a great website, Your Money in a Nutshell, which gave a place to list all the different bits of income and expenditure with dates and amounts and contact details, and by pressing a button it automatically threw up an interactive budget at us showing a month or the next three months – as far as a year ahead.
“It was so easy to use and started making such sense that I stopped panicking. And to be honest we gave up with the separate piles of paper and decided to work through them all sensibly at the table a bit at a time each evening.
“So there we are; we started the New Year with a great resolution we can actually keep – staying on top of that budget.”
The team behind the website is delighted to announce that Claire liked Your Nutshell so much, she's joined the company as a Director!
Once Claire found other parts of the site – such as Your Life in a Nutshell where you can record your life story by answering lots of questions and uploading pictures, music and video - she was hooked.
“To be honest neither of us gets a lot of free time to go online, but we’re finding odd half hours in the evenings for this,” she says. “There’s also Your Year in a Nutshell which is a secure place for uploading thoughts and dates and ideas as they happen so you don’t forget them – it doesn’t have to be an every day diary.
“When I get my filming schedules I can pop them in there, and then at the end of a busy week I can write up some of the funnier things that happen or upload pictures from my phone so I’ll remember everything later.
“When I go away anywhere I can upload scans of my important travel documents and emergency numbers before I go, in case a bag goes astray, and I keep a journal while I’m there; and with my brother away a lot working on his charities he can take pictures as he goes and share them privately with me like mini books so I feel I’m there with him, whatever he’s doing.
"I've always been wary of very public social networking sites but Your Nutshell is completely private. Craig and I even spent time recording our living wills (after a glass of wine to take the serious edge off!); now we feel we’ve finally done the sensible thing this year and sorted out our lives a bit, safely, online.
“Best of all, knowing our cat and what she gets up to, the day a cup of coffee ends up all over the keyboard I won’t lose anything I’ve put into my Nutshell as I can access my records from any PC anywhere in the world by using my secure passwords and PINs.
“We can record everything as we go to look back on and enjoy later; it really is a snapshot of our lives - in a Nutshell!”
Should Local Authorities Should Look Stateside to Recoup Pensions Shortfall?
The amount of taxpayers’ money that is being poured into UK council workers’ pension funds, has hit record levels, as pension funds get hammered by the ailing equities markets, according to an investigation carried out by Channel 4 News. This is leaving many councils in danger of not being able to make payouts, after months of bad news on the stock exchange. Worcestershire Council has one of the biggest deficits at £847 million, a shortfall that it is plugging with taxpayers’ money.
Thomas Dubbs, and expert at law firm Labaton Sucharow said: “As UK local authorities face soaring discrepancies in their pension funds, rather than solely mining taxpayers’ coffers, they need to look at others ways to plug the growing pensions gap. A class action – a law suit filed against a corporation on behalf of a large group of affected parties, like pension funds - is a US legal practice that is becoming more widespread in the UK.
“One of the key reasons that local authority pension funds are taking such a hit is because they invested in banks. Banks have seen up to 85 percent wiped off their share value in the last five months, which has hit pension funds badly. Mismanagement is one of the reasons that has oft been cited as a reason the banks have performed so badly. Therefore, pensions schemes could well be within their rights to take the banks to court to seek recompense for the short fall in their investments.
“Another trick that UK council-led pension funds are missing is action over legal proceedings in the US. Independent reporting agencies have suggested that between 30 percent and 70 percent of payouts between £1.5 and £2 billion remain unclaimed by UK and European investors, many of which are council-led pension funds.
There is a general misunderstanding of the opportunity to file claim forms amongst UK local authority pension funds. Councils need to be aware of the facts as they fight to plug the escalating gap in pension funds."
~ learn how to control of your working life and how to sell yourself better in the current jobs market ~ with John Lees at One Life Live 13-15 March 2009
We're all working longer because of the pensions crisis, and working harder because of job insecurity. So now, more than ever, people are struggling with the idea of job satisfaction, even though they realise that the decisions they make now, in tough times, will impact on the rest of their working lives. With the current work climate in the UK, there are has never been a better time to take control of your working life - and to learn how to sell yourself better to a prospective employer.
At One Life Live this 13-15 March, leading career strategist/working lives expert and best-selling careers author will be presenting daily on the main stage and giving daily workshops.
Main Stage Topic: Take Control of Your Career Workshop Topic: 6 Steps to Landing a Great Job!
Visit John on his stand: M54
Take Control of Your Career
If your job meaningful and stimulating? John will reveal the secrets of taking control of your career and working life. Just as companies need to re-brand to stay alive and thrive, so do people. Today's marketplace demands a new mindset. Job seekers need to know how to sell themselves and how to take control of their working life.
"The world of work has become over pressurised - long hours, demanding cultures, organisations restructuring every year, and now the added factor of job insecurity has put many people on the wrong foot. All these factors make it essential that job seekers learn that taking control is essential - before someone else does," comments John.
6 Steps to Landing a Great Job
At a time of increasing redundancies and a tighter/fewer jobs market, there's never been a more pertinent time for people to learn how to think differently about their job search and strategy. To get a job you'll love you need to get short-listed for an exciting role that matches as close as possible what you will love doing! To get a job you'll love you need to have identified your chosen field of work, link it to your passion, purpose and meaning, and then concentrate your message for the right organisations that answers a simple question - "Why YOU?" Everything you do for yourself when seeking a job - from the CV, to the covering letter, interview preparation and the interview itself should bear in mind the WHY YOU? factor.
John Lees is author of How to Get a Job You'll Love, Take Control of Your Career, Job Interviews: Top Answers to Tough Questions and Why You? CV Messages to Win Jobs - all McGraw-Hill.
For the second year running H.Samuel has won the Cosmopolitan Online Fashion Awards Best for Watches category. This prestigious award from one of the world's leading fashion and lifestyle magazines, further enhances H.Samuel's reputation as the most wide-ranging, reliable, informative and trustworthy online watch retailer.
The Cosmopolitan Online Fashion Awards took place on the 5th March 2009 at the Roof Gardens in Kensington. Judged by top celebrities Fearne Cotton, Lisa Snowdon and Mark Heyes, together with Cosmopolitan readers and fashion experts, the awards celebrate the very best in online fashion retailing, representing online fashion with categories including Hottest Partywear, Sexiest Heels and Best for Watches. The winners will feature in the April issue of Cosmopolitan (on sale 9th March).
Two of the judges, Fearne Cotton and Lisa Snowdon are big fans of online shopping. "Nothing quite beats surfing for a new wardrobe from the comfort of your own home," commented Fearne, "The Cosmopolitan Online Fashion Awards provide the ultimate guide to the best fashion sites available. Being able to experience all the joys of shopping with no queues or crowds - complete heaven."
Lisa Snowdon, thinks that the Cosmopolitan Online Fashion Awards make online shopping even easier and more accessible. "Shopping online has never been easier and Cosmopolitan has made it even more accessible," said Lisa, "With increased time pressures combined with the sheer volume of fashion websites that cater for every shape and size, women can transform their wardrobe at the click of a mouse."
This award for H.Samuel is also recognition for the work and effort put in to establishing a competitive online presence as the UK's leading online jewellery, watches, gifts and collectables retailer. H.Samuel Online store manager, Vikki Luke, commented, "We are delighted to receive this award for the second year running. The team works extremely hard to keep the website up to date with the latest models and hottest brands, ensuring that it always has a great range of designer watches. To be recognised by Cosmopolitan and its readers as their favourite online watch retailer for two years in succession is a fantastic achievement."
Cosmopolitan is a magazine for fun, fearless, females, celebrating fun, glamour and a passion for life, while inspiring young women to be the best they can be. Cosmopolitan magazine, published by The National Magazine Company, has a circulation of 450,836, with a readership of 1,760,000 - the highest in the monthly market. The Cosmopolitan website currently attracts 5.4 million page impressions and 428,520 unique users every year.
About H. Samuel: H.Samuel is the nation's favourite High Street Jewellers with over 350 stores and an online retail website. Featuring an incredible range of branded watches, H.Samuel also has a stunning range of jewellery, collectibles and gifts for all occasions, offering something for every taste and style. H.Samuel is part of the Signet Group, the world's largest speciality retail jeweller.
The new Dremel Driver offers precision, control and power - simultaneously. Targeted at anyone doing drill/driving work in a variety of detailed applications, including medium and light duty DIY, it measures just 12.5cm and has a T-handle design and precision variable speed trigger.
It's ideal for DIY tasks such as mounting pictures on a wall, installing a lock set, mounting cabinet hardware, installing lighting fixtures, putting lights on a deck and assembling flat-pack furniture - there are even two IKEA bits included in the kit! It's just as useful if you are working on the car.
Detailed hobby projects are undertaken with ease: working on electronics such as PCs and circuit boards or RC products in cars, boats and planes; installing and repairing audio/video products; model work; miniature ship building; and many other applications.
Powered by a 7.2V Lithium Ion battery, the Dremel Driver has a variable speed of 0-300 RPM - with an electronic brake so it stops exactly when you want for maximum precision. The magnetic bit holder holds the hexagonal shank bits firmly in place for better control.
The Dremel Driver comes complete with a charger, eight long precision driver bits and detachable storage to keep the bits close at hand.
It provides superior balance compared to the standard pistol-grip design and fits your hand like a glove. As the most compact cordless screwdriver on the market, it gets you closer to the work, allowing access into tight areas where other screwdrivers won't fit. In fact it's even small enough to store in your pocket or work pouch.
It has a linear RPM 'ramp-up' for extreme accuracy, especially at low RPM, and provides superior control when starting.
Thanks to its lithium ion battery it weighs a mere 430 grams. It also has Longlife Electronic Cell Protection, safeguarding the battery from burn out, overheating and full depletion - there's no 'memory effect' so it's always ready for cordless, precise drill driving.
Following ‘Significant’ Interest at MWC, MB-910 to Launch Late 2nd Quarter ’09
Hyundai Mobile UK today announced that, following strong interest, its innovative watch phone will be available in the UK by the late-2nd quarter of this year. The MB-910 phone watch, which includes features such as a Bluetooth headset, email client, video playback, music player and touchscreen control, is already selling well in mainland Europe.
Hyundai Mobile UK expects the MB-910 to retail for a competitively priced: £200 SIM free.
The feature packed watch phone weighs just 58g and enables talk-time of up to three hours and up to an impressive 70 hours on standby. With a Bluetooth headset included in the price, the MB-910 enables users to talk hands-free (or directly to the phone the phone itself). This wristwatch-style mobile phone is Tri-Band enabling it to work internationally.
The Hyundai MB-910 wristwatch-style mobile is aimed at consumers who want the latest in technology at an affordable price, as director for Hyundai Mobile UK, Roland Prinz explains: “The Hyundai Mobile brand is about the latest cutting edge technology at a price point which is accessible to the masses. Already a hit in Europe, we have high hopes for the MB-910’s entry to the UK market. We are delighted to confirm that we intend to make the MB-910 available in the UK and we will announce our specific plans shortly.”
“The MB-910 is the perfect marriage between cool functionality and classic looks. At this year’s Mobile World Congress it became something of a talking point and drew much attention to the Hyundai stand,” said Graham Jelfs, head of marketing and communications for Hyundai Mobile UK. “For gadget lovers and mobile phone aficionados alike the MB-910 has the potential to become the ultimate, must-have accessory,” he added.
Summary of feature set:
Band: Triband 900/1800/1900 MHz Display: Type TFT Touch Display Resolution 132 x 176 Pixel Colour 65.000 Colours Technology: GPRS Class 12 Browser: WAP 2.0 Connectivity: Bluetooth® 2.0 / USB Data Cable Messaging: MMS / SMS Ringtones: 64 Polyphonic Battery : 400 mAh Talking-Time: up to * 3 h Standby-Time: up to * 70 h Color: Silver Dimensions: 58 x 44 x 16 mm Weight : 58g (with Standard-Battery)
* Operation times may vary depending on radio access technology used, operator network configuration and usage.
The OFT has told 11 financial management businesses with 'look alike' websites that it claims are posing as official or charity advice sites, to close them down immediately, and is warning consumers to take care when searching for debt advice online.
The sites use similar or slightly amended domain names which imply that they are affiliated to organisations such as Citizens Advice, Advice UK, National Debtline or the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. Some of the website names also imply that they have some official status or sanction from the Government.
Parts of the content of these 'look alike' websites are often copied from legitimate sites offering free advice, despite the companies involved charging fees.
The OFT has told the companies to stop using the trading names immediately and for those companies who were trading without a licence to stop trading completely or face prosecution. The OFT is also working closely with internet service providers to ensure that the websites are taken down promptly.
The action followed complaints from a number of debt advice charities including Citizens Advice.
Consumers are advised to take particular care when searching for terms such as 'citizens advice' or 'government advice' to ensure that they are dealing with a genuine charity-based help and advice service. Consumers should also be careful not to deal with traders who are unlicensed. Most businesses that offer credit or lend money, including those that offer advice on debt, must be licensed by the OFT and they must notify the OFT of all the trading names they intend to use. Trading names should not be misleading or otherwise undesirable. Failure to comply with an OFT warning can result in a business being subject to licensing action or criminal prosecution for unlicensed trading.
Ray Watson, OFT Director for Consumer Credit said: “The OFT will take action against businesses that use 'look alike' websites to mislead consumers into believing they are dealing with established charitable and not-for-profit organisations.
“Consumers are also reminded that they should not deal with any company that does not have a consumer credit licence. These unlicensed businesses are unregulated and consumers may have no means of redress if things go wrong”.
Consumers can check whether a business holds an appropriate consumer credit licence by searching the OFT consumer credit register at http://www.oft.gov.uk/consumercreditregister.
The Government has acted to protect the public from potential service cuts or council tax increases that could result from local authority investments in Icelandic banks while efforts continue to recover the money.
Local Government Minister John Healey has laid regulations before Parliament that enable authorities to postpone any possible budgetary impact of this until 2010-11.
Without this help, they would have to make immediate provision for possible losses in their revenue budgets - with potentially serious impacts on council tax or services.
New statistics published today show that as at the end of last year, 125 local authorities in England had outstanding investments of around £923.2million in Icelandic banks
John Healey said: "Following the failure of Icelandic banks last year the Government - with the Local Government Association - acted immediately to ensure no local authority faced serious short term difficulty as a result. We continue to work closely with the banks and Icelandic authorities to help local authorities and other creditors recover their money.
"This money isn't lost but it is at risk so under normal financial rules this risk would need to be taken into account in their budgets. I was concerned about the possible, and potentially unnecessary, effect this could have on services and council tax. That's why I am taking this exceptional step that gives authorities some breathing space that should allow them to be clearer what sums, if any, are still at risk. Meanwhile the Government will continue its efforts to ensure that investors recover as much as possible from the banks."
The regulations come into force on 31 March 2009 and apply immediately.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson called on international businesses wanting to trade in the global market to make London their base as the capital is rated the top global financial centre in a new survey published today by the City of London.
The Global Financial Services Index of international financial professionals shows that while many other international financial centres are sliding back in the rankings London remains ahead of New York and resilient and strong to the global downturn.
The Mayor said: ‘I want all international businesses to look to London as the place to be and do business in with excellent access to the global market place. Its environment means that it is a great location for companies and their employees and we are ready to help anyone who wants to set up business here”
The Mayor is working hard to further improve London as the number one location with a range of measures to support the capital through these challenging times and so that it emerges even stronger from the global downturn. This includes pushing ahead with major infrastructure improvements, like Crossrail and the Olympics, and delivering programmes to increase the skills of our workforce so that companies investing in London have a pool of talent ready to employ.
With the UK now officially in recession and couples desperate to tie the knot, free online personal wedding website provider www.Weddingpath.co.uk ask whether it’s possible to have a FREE wedding? – (and no, it’s not about making the parents pay!)
Rule 1: Remember KISS, Keep It Simple and Stylish.
Your Wedding Outfits Your dress doesn’t have to cost the earth. Does your grandmother, mum or auntie have a vintage dress they want to pass down? It will have tremendous sentimental value and you could always look to have it altered if you’ve got a friend who’s a dab hand with the sewing machine. As for your veil, many of your friends would probably be honoured and flattered if you ask them to borrow their veil and tiara. Don’t be shy, no one would ever know! Alternatively, a single white flower or feather can look just as effective.
As for the shoes, your gown will probably be floor length and the chances of seeing your shoes is minimal, why not wear your favourite pair of evening shoes, ballet pumps or sexy knee highs- comfort and personal style being the order of the day! In regards to jewellery, lingerie and going away outfits, you know you’ve got plenty already – no real need to splurge on any of these! Your hubby-to-be’s outfit needn’t cost you either. Most gents have a suit, put together with a borrowed waistcoat and tie are perfect. A stunning black or white tie dinner suit can look equally dapper and perfect to request the Ushers and Best Man to match as the chances are they might already have one in the cupboard. If not, a simple yet striking button hole will clearly identify the bridal party. You can easily suggest to the Bridesmaids a colour theme and ask them to wear a nice dress they already own, once again most girls have a perfect black dress, no need to spend out here either!
RECENT REAL BRIDE ON WP, Rose, bought her wedding dress from a charity shop and her mum jazzed it up with a huge plum bow.
Most of us have a computer and printer so pinging out those invitations, creating order of service sheets, menus, place cards, making a seating plan and thank you notes couldn’t be easier – maybe a sneaky creative lunchtime at work might be possible?!!!! Best of all you won’t need reams of paper and incur hefty postage costs because if you create your free online wedding website containing all your wedding details you need only supply the website address! You could even email your guests rather than send letters completely wiping out postage costs!
Flowers
Ok, so you need a bouquet, something for the bridesmaids, button holes and some decorations for the ceremony and reception. Ask your friends and family to raid their gardens. Beautiful natural bouquets of fresh home grown flowers can look so pretty and feminine and for a more striking look carrying a single long stemmed flower with some foliage tied with a ribbon can be perfect.
WP REAL BRIDE SUGGESTS MAKING A BOUQET OF ROSES LOOK SPECIAL BY INSERTING A PEARL PIN HEAD IN EACH BLOOM.
Silk flowers can also look pretty. Create something similar for your bridesmaids. As for the ceremony, candles and lanterns are beautiful. Raid your cupboards, a romantic atmosphere can be created by placing lots of candles around, alternatively a carefully placed lantern complete with foliage from the garden can be a free and beautiful alternative. Remember to ask your attendants to take the ceremony decorations to your reception for a second use!
Ceremony
The legal side of the wedding, be it the Church, the registry office or the civil service venue will cost and there is no getting round it.
You will also need to find a few pounds for the licence. However, how about asking for this cost to be covered as a wedding gift? Music can be provided by friends or family and a well chosen track played through your own music system can be just right. The track can be carefully thought about and actually be more meaningful to you as a couple than the traditional fodder. As for the photographer and videographer, in this digital age, everybody has cameras and most people are snap happy. Your online wedding website on www.Weddingpath.co.uk will also allow your guests to upload all of their images for you to see in a format that you can print.
It would probably be advisable to nominate someone as “official photographer” who you can provide a list to of must-have shots and general organiser. As for cars, most cars look terrific after a clean and decorated with a ribbon, place your bouquet on the parcel shelf and voila… you have yourself a free wedding car and driver!
Reception
This is the bit where you can beg, borrow and steal! Ask a friend or family member to be the hosts, be it in their back garden or indoors and ask if anyone has a contact for a venue or marquee. You’ll be surprised what a bit of quizzing can turn up. Food and drink is the bit where you can really save.
Pimms or Fizzy wine is always a perfect substitute for expensive Champagne, again a requested wedding present! Most drink shops offer free glass hire if required. As for the food, think “American Supper” – ask your guests to bring a platter of food. These all go onto a table for everybody to share. A perfect, exciting, varied buffet at no cost to you! Your guests will also enjoy being involved and you’ll find most will take pride in their offering.
Your cake can double up as pudding and once again can be lovingly made by a friend or family member, individual fairy cakes are also on-trend, topped with something connected to your colour theme or decorated with a floral tribute - a stunning free alternative! Your favours to your guests can be something more personal. A handwritten note placed inside an envelope at each person’s seat can not only double up as a place card but can also be a very treasured memento of your special day. You could write a few meaningful words of shared memories you’ve enjoyed with each guest or use the opportunity to thank them for helping towards your day.
The key to this one is to make each note different and very personal – much more meaningful than a bag of brazil nuts or printed chocolates! As for music and entertainment, most families have a budding DJ and a good sound system and why not ask the children to put on a cute play or borrow a karaoke machine!
Honeymoon
Your first night and honeymoon can be kindly contributed to by your guests. Some couples are taking mini-moons these days staying in the UK and enjoying a couple of very special nights away instead of spending thousands.
To summarise, by looking at your wedding day as an opportunity for your friends and family to come together to achieve the best day of your life - it needn’t cost you a bean!
For more Wedding “How To’s” WeddingPath have recently launched downloadable, interactive fact sheets. The new series of fact sheets cover all the vital topics that couples need to research when planning a wedding. Each of the fact sheets added together makes the most valuable free-of-charge resource for any bride. Every fact sheet is full of top tips, forum post links, and hyperlinks culminating in a handy checklist that once printed out and stuck into the Bride’s all important wedding journal can be ticked off bit by bit.
The Country Living Magazine Spring Fair is known for showcasing the best of British crafts, foods and fashions, but there is one exhibitor this year that will stand out alongside the gifts and craft wares visitors of the fair are accustomed to: Joey D. His range of fashion clothing and accessories made from reworked fabrics and materials are crafted in his very own cutting edge style. His clothes have graced catwalks and celebrities around the world, as well as representing big Scottish brands with a punky slant on tradition, and will now grace a stand at the Country Living Magazine Spring Fair at the Business Design Centre from 11-15 March.
Joey D is renowned for his deconstructed Harris tweed jackets, which epitomise the clash between old and new that make his signature designs. “I love to take unusual recycled materials and put them together in a new way,” says Joey. “My designs may be something different to a lot of other exhibitors at the fair, but the original support for my brand came from people who live in the countryside and polo players. So in a way it is nice to be welcomed back by the following that really started this.”
Since the origins of Joey D’s range, he has enjoyed much success and his clothes have often been used in the promotion of major Scottish brands. When Strathmore spring water looked to a new advertising campaign to enforce their position in the market as a cutting edge young brand, they turned to Joey for the clothing that would communicate this image in the advert. His fashions have also been used to communicate brand values by Dewar’s whisky in Japan.
Joey says, “I have been privileged in my career as it has allowed me to travel and it also gives me the freedom to be creative. I work from images and what comes into me head when I’m working with the fabrics and materials. The whole process is quite fluid, from the ideas to the actual making of the items. This also reflects the business, as the whole growth, from my shop in Edinburgh to celebrities on the catwalk, it has all happened organically.”
It has been partly down to various international fashion events that have helped the brand sustain the success and build the name overseas based on the cult following in Scotland. The Dressed to Kilt event is the centrepiece of Tartan Week in America has been an important platform for Joey’s original style. Dressed to Kilt is a high profile Tartan Week event in the US and internationally. Starting out as a simple kilt show, it has over the past few years generated $15 million of media coverage for Scotland. Joey D has become a favourite at the show, which is hosted by Sir Sean Connery, with his modern take on traditional Scotland.
His items include handbags with bullet casing trim on the straps, men’s jackets combining denim and tweed, and mini kilts, reworked with new detailing to break the mould of the traditional design. It is this trait in his designs that have made his work so popular with celebrities such as KT Tunstall, Kimberley Stewart, Elton John and Ashley Jensen. The Ugly Betty Star donned her Joey D original for the Dewar’s Whisky promotional fashion event in Japan. Joey is also very prominent in the major events on the fashion calendar, such as London and Tokyo Fashion Weeks.
This is perhaps a far cry from his former employment in construction, an industry he worked in until the early 1990s. At that point he started shoe designs, but it wasn’t until 1999 that he really came into his own with his fashion designs. “My shop in Edinburgh has been behind the whole success of the brand,” says Joey. “It has a somewhat cult following in the area, and I owe a lot to the people who shop here. They support me because they see that there are no gimmicks and this is the real thing. It’s just me. It’s authentic and they can talk to the person who makes what they are buying.
“Even if it is perhaps not always vintage materials I use, I still try to retain the authenticity,” Joey continues. “For example, if I don’t use vintage Harris Tweed, it might be a new tweed made by crofters. It is the clash between old and new that I like in design. Although it is often larger scale commissions that I work on now, I still enjoy doing individual commissions when I can.
"I often have people coming in looking to revamp an old piece of clothing that they love and don’t want to throw out, so I can introduce new life to their favourite items. I also have had a lot of army guys come in looking to turn their old combat clothes into something their girlfriends can wear. It’s a great way to really be creative.
“I am looking forward to bringing this creativity to the Country Living Spring Fair. It is great to be exhibiting at the fair, because it was the kind of people that go to the fair that were my first main customer base. So it’s nice to go back to my roots in a way.”
Joey D will be at the Country Living Magazine Spring Fair at the Business Design Centre from 11-15 March. For further information and to book tickets, call 0844 848 0158 or log onto www.countrylivingfair.com
Oxfam has commissioned a series of stunning photographs of 2009’s must-have fashion accessory – the 2009 Red Nose.
Shot by leading fashion photographer Tim Bret Day, the images – which also feature fabulous clothes from Oxfam shops – capture the beauty and effortless style that the nose bestows on its wearer with any outfit.
Never has there been a better time to pick your nose all in the name of charity. For the first time ever there are 3 different Noses to choose from which are available from Oxfam, Sainsbury’s or www.rednoseday.com for £1 each (with at least 70p going to Comic Relief). The Red Nose has been a design classic that has been essential-wear every other March for more than two decades, and its 2009 incarnation – which features elegant “cheeky faces” motif – proves that the Red Noses will be a wardrobe staple for the discerning fashionista for many years to come.
Sarah Farquhar, head of retail for Oxfam said: “This year’s Red Noses are a perennial classic – and by buying one from Oxfam you are investing in a better world. These pictures go to show that by coupling a Red Nose with affordable classics and funky design from Oxfam you can look silly and stylish at the same time.”
Oxfam sells around 750,000 Red Noses during each Comic Relief campaign. Money raised from the sale of merchandise, music singles, fundraising initiatives and generosity of the British public has contributed more than £5million to Oxfam’s lifesaving work around the world since 2007, as well as to numerous other international charities and projects in the UK.
Farquhar added: “Not only can you Do Something Funny for Money this year, you can look cute for a hoot too! Make sure you pick your nose before Red Nose Day on Friday 13 March.”
Merchandise available at Sainsbury’s, Oxfam and online at www.rednoseday.com
Forget the big stars of the show - Melbourne and Sydney - if you are thinking of making that move to start a new life down under, now could be a good time to consider South Australia as the Government has just reintroduced their capital investment bond.
If you lodged your visa application before September 1st 2007, you will be very interested to learn that the South Australian Government has finally reinstated the capital investment pathway to Australian skilled migration.
After 13 months of waiting, those skilled migrants wishing to move to Australia using the capital investment scheme can now finally proceed with their Australian visa application.
On the 1st September 2007, as part of changes to the Australian General Skilled Migration programme, the ability for individuals seeking a skilled visa under the old skilled program to be granted five bonus points for making a capital investment with a State or Territory Government Treasury Corporation was withdrawn.
The removal of the capital investment scheme meant that applications for skilled migration lodged after September 1st, 2007 could no longer use the capital investment scheme - which asks that a minimum of £44,000 is invested for at least one year in a nominated Australian bond - to gain bonus points towards their application.
Thus, applicants have been in limbo ever since, with thousands of hopeful migrants left without a path to their new life.
But now, those hopefuls are celebrating with news that the South Australian Government Financing Authority(SAFA) has officially reinstated the scheme, but only for those who applied under that category before 1st September 2007.
As it has been over a year since applications for migration under this category have been allowed, eligible applicants are being warned not to use the old information paper and application form as SAFA has changed its Registry provider to Link Market Services.
They are also being advised to consult an emigration expert to see if they are still eligible for a skilled visa. Unsurprisingly, the lifting of these restrictions has led to a flood of new enquiries from wannabe migrants (many from the UK desperate to escape the weather and certain that struggling through the credit crunch would be easier in the sun) so visa processing times could be drastically lengthened.
Information for this article was sourced by The Move Channel. For more information on Australian properties and the market in general, please visit http://australia.themovechannel.com/
Aaron Turner, CEO of www.look4aproperty.com warns against wasting £75billion quantitative easing
Property entrepreneur Aaron Turner is calling on the government to introduce strict guidelines to ensure the injection of money into the economy announced today reaches the people who need it most.
Speaking on business channel CNBC, Turner welcomed the quantitative easing but warned the UK must not make the same mistakes as Japan had, with banks sitting on the cash.
“This money and today’s rate cut is welcome and desperately needed by British businesses and borrowers,” says Turner, “but if the government does not ensure the money gets to them it will have been a wasted exercise.”
Turner is also calling on British businesses to come up with ways to get liquidity back into the housing market.
Together with James Caan, his business partner at www.look4aproperty.com, Turner believes this is the key to kick-starting the economy.
Most of us are so used to seeing For Sale boards scattered around our neighbourhoods that we don’t even notice them anymore - they are as much a part of the scenery as road signs and house numbers - but some councils have had enough of the rash of boards posted all over their boroughs and are taking action of the most modern kind – ASBOs…
Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) are most associated with teenage hoodies making a menace of themselves on our streets. But now, they have been extended to estate agents in the form of ‘retail ASBOs,’ to try and curtail those who plaster areas with for sale signs on UK properties.
Whilst genuine for sale boards are acceptable, some agents are pushing the boundaries and putting up these boards outside properties that they are not even selling, in a bid to attract publicity and interest.
Harrow and Islington councils are eager to hand out warnings to these agents and will make use of the Responsible Retailer Agreement to do so.
The RR agreement, which was intended to prevent shops blocking the pavements with rubbish or products they are trying to sell, will now also be used to help stop these fake for sale signs.
Many local residents in the Harrow and Islington areas are constantly phoning the council to come and remove the signs and are getting tired of the way some agents are using the signs as billboard advertising on a product they have had nothing to do with.
Harrow Council’s Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for environment and community safety, Susan Hall, said, “With a depressed housing market, estate agents’ signs are hanging around on street corners in greater numbers and for longer than ever.
“However, a slump in housing sales is not a licence for dodgy estate agents to take a hammer and nails to any piece of the street they like for free advertising.
“If they do not obey the law, they will find us, and not new buyers, moving in,” Ms Hall added.
Already, a handful of Harrow based estate agents have agreed to sign up to the Responsible Retailers Agreement, which lasts for one year. They will be in line for a penalty or legal action against them if they put up a for sale board on a road sign or the side of a wall without permission, or if they put one onto private property.
Buy your own ‘ASBO’ pack
Last year, house hunters were given the chance to buy £100 'ASBO' packs that revealed the amount of anti-social behaviour in their prospective area.
The report gave their prospective address an 'ASBO' rating, which include data on how many local youths are under curfew, information on youth and gang related nuisance, vandalism and damage to property, drug nuisance and dealing, prostitution and kerb crawling, dog and animal nuisance, harassment and intimidation, and litter, rubbish and fly tipping.
One of Kent’s finest gardens, Hole Park in Rolvenden, has a well deserved reputation for fantastic spring colour and the most amazing display of bluebells and tulips can be seen throughout the gardens and woodlands.
Taking a walk through the bluebells is a very special experience that brings people back year after year to see the never ending haze of blue and smell the wonderful fragrance that fills the air. A new circular walk with all weather paths makes access to the bluebell spectacular even easier for all visitors.
Every year head gardener Quentin Stark adds something new to the established gardens to delight visitors. This year is no exception and Quentin has replanted the sundial garden with over 6000 tulip bulbs to provide a burst of colour in April and May. The varieties planted include the salmon-pink 'Fantasy' which has green stripes on its petals, the apricot coloured 'Beauty Queen' and the pale pink 'Candy Club' which has up to six cup-shaped flowers per stem. This will be followed by varieties of peony and well loved old fashioned and English roses including Rosa mundi which has pretty stripy pink, purplish flowers and Gertrude Jekyll with its double, deep pink flowers.
A new lime green border has also been planted in the millennium garden. A new ha-ha wall has also been built giving uninterrupted views from the front of the house over parkland to Rolvenden’s windmill.
The Beech hedge along the Camellia walk has been newly underplanted with the blue flowering Muscari 'Cantab' which flowers in early spring, followed in late spring by the allium 'Purple Sensation' which has purple globes of flowers on 2 foot stems.
The spring colour is so spectacular that owner Edward Barham extends the opening of his gardens during spring. The Gardens will open every day for the spring and bluebell spectacular between Sunday 12 April and Sunday 10 May 2009, from 11am to 6pm.
The gardens first open on 1 April 2009 and visitors in early spring will be rewarded with a fine display of blossom, flowering magnolia, camellia, daffodils and narcissi and banks of pale blue scillas and primroses.
“We have created a new circular walk through the woods this year with all weather paths and new bridge. There is also improved access with a hard track leading to the bluebells ensuring disabled access in all but the most adverse conditions.” said Edward Barham.
After the tulips and bluebells, the gardens continue to blossom with rhododendrons and azaleas which create a showy display of colour. Also in May the standard wisterias in the Vineyard garden come into their own.
Large areas of Hole Park are dedicated to wildflowers and during spring the nodding heads of the fritillary flower and wild orchids can be seen.
For the rest of the season the gardens are open Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 2pm to 6pm starting from 1 April until the end of October and Sundays from April 5 to 28 June and again on the following Sundays 11, 18 and 25 October and Bank Holiday Mondays 13 April, 4 May and 25 May 2009.
Light lunches and afternoon teas with homemade cakes are available from the coach house on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday during the bluebell and spring spectacular. The restored and now working turret clock mechanism in the coach house is a popular feature enjoyed by visitors. Afternoon tea is available on all other openings. A plant stall will operate next to the tea rooms and visitors can buy homemade jam and honey produced from the fruit and bees on the Hole Park estate.
The website has further information about Hole Park with a picture gallery showing images taken throughout the seasons www.holepark.com. Telephone 01580 241 344/241386 for details.
Admission is £5.00 for adults and 50p for children. Season tickets are available for £20 and your first visit is also refunded if you buy a season ticket after your first visit. Free tickets to Hole Park can also be downloaded from the Visit Kent website for Sunday 5 April as part of Kent’s ‘Big Day Out’ promotion.
Hole Park is situated 4 miles west of Tenterden on the B2086 between Rolvenden and Cranbrook. Follow the AA signs for the spring and bluebell spectacular.
FACT FILE:
A family owned estate, Hole Park has been owned by the Barham family for the past four generations. The gardens manage to combine formalised gardens with natural woodland. They cover some 15 acres and were developed, laid out and planted by Colonel Barham, the great-grandfather of the present owner, in the years between the two World Wars.
Hole Park is now owned and managed by Edward Barham, and much of what can be seen today is due to the contribution made by Edward’s father, David Barham, who has looked after the estate for the past 45 years and still takes an active interest in its future today.
The garden is renowned for beautifully clipped topiary and great yew hedges which provide shelter for the lawns and splendid borders. The walled garden contains mixed borders, pools and a water garden. Marvellous climbing plants also provide a fine display here. The natural garden has bulbs, azaleas, rhododendrons and flowering shrubs.
There is a woodland bluebell walk and, in the autumn, the foliage colour is spectacular. Hole Park has many fine trees and the garden is surrounded by superb parkland with wonderful views across the Kentish Weald.
Formal gardens surround the house. Walls and yew hedges, which are a particular feature of Hole Park, shelter broad expanses of lawns. Clipped entirely by hand, it is claimed that nowhere in the county can yews be seen trimmed to greater precision. Fountains and a swimming pool, the egg pond, the walled rose garden, herbaceous borders and wrought iron gates all contribute to make a series of gardens within a garden, united by the lawns, while outwards there are lovely views of the Weald over the surrounding 250 acres of finely timbered parkland.
At the rear of the house, beyond a beech hedge measuring six feet thick and 12 feet high, lies the Policy, massed with daffodils in April with its heathers, flowering trees and shrubs, banks of rhododendrons and its azaleas. Amongst the trees can be seen collections of birch, juniper, cypresses and fine oaks. Rhododendrons, camellias, magnolias and primulas are all here in abundance and further plantings are now being made to adjoining woodlands.
Spring is in the air, nature calls and whether your passion is walking, golf or fishing The Handpicked Collection has a range of fantastic accessories to suit every occasion.
For weekends away the Canvas & Leather Weekender (£95.95) is not only the perfect size but also looks the part – complete the look with a set of Thornback & Peel Hankies (£14.95), printed with delightfully eccentric motifs of pigeons.
For those looking to discover some gorgeous countryside the Walks of Britain Book (£35.95) is illustrated with beautiful watercolours guaranteed to inspire visits to new places whilst keen golfers will love the World Atlas of Golf (£30), which provides the lowdown on the 100 greatest golf courses on the planet and includes tips from golfing insiders and ex-pros.
Golfers and Fishing enthusiasts can make a note of their game and their catch in the dark green mock lizard Noble Macmillan Golfing and Fishing Books (£29.95 each), the ultimate way to remember different rounds, whether the five-iron came in handy or an honest record of the ones that didn’t get away.
Former scouts will remember their motto and ‘Be Prepared’ for every eventuality. The All-Weather Fire Steel (£15.95) will light anything anywhere even if things get wet whilst the revolutionary Coloured Knives (£5.95) remain constantly sharp and are ideal for gutting fish or handy for picnic lunches. The Wine In The Park (£32.95) insulated carrier with plastic glasses, corkscrew and bottle stopper is perfect for refreshment stops and the Wool Picnic Blanket With Leather Carry Strap (£74.95) is just the thing for sitting on or covering up with if it gets chilly.
FACT FILE:
The Handpicked Collection is a website and catalogue featuring hidden gems and classic gifts. It differs from other websites in that everything in it has been vetted by an independent, expert panel of journalists, entrepreneurs and trendsetters aimed at giving customers the confidence to shop knowing that they’re getting something special. Each panel member brings their creativity to the collection, and every gift is endorsed with helpful editorial explaining what makes it special, and who it might be most appropriate to give it to.
Be original this forthcoming Mothering Sunday (Sunday 22nd March), by showing your devotion with Scarlett Willow's HOT MAMA apron.
Priced at £26.00 - the apron is made of 100% thick plain white cotton, with adjustable neck/waist tie and hemstitch detail on the double pockets. The HOT MAMA logo is beautifully embroidered in pink and guaranteed to put a smile on the face of any deserving mother who likes to cook up a storm in the kitchen!
To arrange arrival anywhere in the UK by Saturday 21st March, orders should be made by 12pm on Thursday 19th March via Scarlett Willow online: www.scarlettwillow.co.uk or phone: 0207 751 0865
The HOT MAMA apron will arrive perfectly packaged in Scarlett Willow's signature luxury red box with blue ribbon.
Scarlett Willow is a unique mail-order company selling tableware, kitchenware and gift accessories. Almost every item in the collection is available to be personalised, allowing their customers to create their individual and bespoke look. The company, which was established over 4 years ago by friends Anna Blakey and Clare Gradidge, has built up a solid reputation for their high quality products and efficient customer service.
The government must introduce compulsory breeding standards to penalise non-registered dog breeders.
Blaming the Kennel Club, which overseas all pedigree matters and organises Crufts, is not the answer. So says pet behaviour specialist Debbie Connolly, star of the BBC television series Dog Borstal and founder of www.SafePets.co.uk.
To coincide with this week’s Crufts event, Connolly is calling for new legislation which includes compulsory health testing, not selling before eight weeks old and lifetime responsibility clauses.
“It needs to be made illegal to breed, sell or give away puppies unless you are a registered and responsible breeder,” says Connolly.
With the BBC, the RSPCA and Pedigree noticeably absent from this year’s Crufts, the debate around responsible breeding is more prominent than ever.
The 2008 BBC documentary, Pedigree Dogs Exposed, showed many dogs suffering from genetically induced illnesses as a result of breeding, including a Spaniel whose skull was significantly smaller than its brain.
But blaming the Kennel Club for all irresponsible breeding is not the answer to improving animal welfare, says Connolly.
“If you look on any free ads site, there are hundreds of people breeding dogs with no registration papers, no proof of the dog’s pedigree and absolutely no health tests,” says Connolly. “I estimate around 50 per cent of dogs on these websites have no Kennel Club papers at all.”
“So to blame the Kennel Club for all of the ill and badly bred dogs in the UK is ridiculous. All breeding – pedigree and crossbreed – should be accountable to a compulsory registration scheme.”
Connolly, who founded the SafePets project, is one of the few rescue workers who supports breeders and Crufts.
“What seems to have been lost in translation is that there are good breeders out there and that the Kennel Club is working towards better and healthier standards of breeding,” says Connolly.
“However, without government intervention there are always going to be bad breeders who produce mutant puppies and get off scott-free.”
A motor trader from Staines who tried to distract Customs sniffer dogs from finding 40 kilos of cocaine he was trying to smuggle into the UK, by packing the drugs with fabric freshener sheets was jailed for 13 years today. The £4.8 million seizure of Class A drugs was one of the largest ever detections of cocaine at Newhaven Ferryport.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Assistant Director Criminal Investigation, Peter Avery said: "Drugs devastate lives and communities and we are determined to prevent them reaching UK streets. Our investigations will not only focus on those transporting the cocaine, but also those that finance and mastermind this illegal trade. Anyone with information relating to smuggled goods or other illegal activities should contact HMRC's 24 hour hotline on 0800 59 5000."
Geoffrey Slade, 48, of Penton Hook Farm, Staines, Middlesex, was stopped by UK Border Agency (UKBA) officers at Newhaven on 6 July 2008 after he arrived on a ferry from Dieppe. The drugs were found concealed in 40 packages wrapped in silver gaffer tape in the boot of his BMW car. The packages were covered by a number of tumble dryer freshener sheets in order to put sniffer dogs off the scent.
Following the detection, Slade was arrested and the investigation passed to HMRC officers. The trial commenced at Lewes Crown Court on 5 January 2009 and Slade pleaded guilty to the importation of cocaine on the second day.
At Lewes Crown Court in passing sentence, His Honour Judge Tain said: " I am sentencing you as a courier and nothing more. A courier of a substantial amount of a dangerous class A drug ".
This case was successfully prosecuted by the Revenue & Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). RCPO is an independent prosecuting authority that reports to the Attorney General, and is responsible for the prosecution of all HMRC cases in England and Wales.
• Credit crunch confusion strikes Britain’s fair-weather mortgage gurus, as 37% lose confidence in guiding friends through the mortgage maze • 10 million (36%) would-be DIY borrowers now more likely to seek advice themselves • Find a mortgage adviser at www.Unbiased.co.uk to discuss your real options
Research1 by professional advice website www.Unbiased.co.uk reveals that while 62% of Britain’s homeowners would normally feel comfortable offering mortgage tips to friends, family or colleagues, today’s confusing lending market has sapped the confidence of more than a third (37%) of this group.
Men are most likely to dispense advice on what is best for a friend’s next mortgage deal, with 44% still confident to offer their opinion (down from 66% 12 months ago) compared to 30% of women (down from 45% 12 months ago).
This loss of confidence is unsurprisingly also reflected in homeowners’ ability to identify their own best options. 36% of homeowners who would normally be comfortable choosing their own mortgage would now instead look for professional advice, while 28% of homeowners are clear they would never try to negotiate the mortgage maze without expert advice.
Richard Winder, spokesperson for www.Unbiased.co.uk, which runs a ‘find a mortgage adviser’ local search service, comments: “Throughout the property boom, homeowners felt far more comfortable swapping mortgage or property tips over Sunday lunch, since a competitive and fairly clear-cut lending market meant borrowers were less fearful of losing out. Credit crunch confusion in the mortgage market has since sapped borrowers’ confidence in choosing the right approach or products both for themselves and for friends or family.”
www.Unbiased.co.uk’s research also shows that women are more affected by the ‘confidence wobbles’ when making their own decisions, with one in four (25%) feeling less confident than a year ago about making their own mortgage decisions, compared to a drop of 21% among men. Nearly a third (31%) of women also say they would never make a mortgage decision without professional advice while only a quarter (24%) of men wouldn’t seek a new mortgage without this advice.
Richard Winder adds: “In today’s fast-changing mortgage market, borrowers can no longer count on general rules, and this is where professional, personal mortgage advice can make a clear difference. Only a whole of market mortgage adviser will be able to search the entire market to help borrowers find the best deal for their circumstances, helping them buy a first home, reduce their monthly mortgage payments or review their property investment options.”
Friends Provident is warning people that the clock is ticking and there are only 30 days left to buy back missing National Insurance (NI) contributions to top up their State pension before the Government hikes up the cost by 49% on 6 April. Friends Provident’s handy guide to help people decide whether to act now before it’s too late is available at www.friendsprovident.com/membersite.
From April 2010 the Government is changing the way that entitlement to the basic State pension is calculated. People will require fewer ‘qualifying years’ but the cost of buying any missing years will increase at the end of this current tax-year.
Currently, the full basic State pension for a single ‘qualifying’ person is £90.70 a week. Worryingly 70 percent of women and 15 per cent of men do not qualify for the full amount, yet more than half (57 per cent) of adults are planning to solely or partly use the state pension to fund their retirement, according to recent research conducted by Friends Provident.
To buy back each missing year (up to a maximum of six years) today costs £421.20 but from 6 April it will cost £626.60.
Martin Palmer, head of corporate pensions marketing said: “Up to half a million women who took career breaks to raise a family in the 1970s or people who worked abroad for a number of years could be affected by this cost increase. If you do not think you will have accrued enough NI contributions to qualify for a full basic State Pension by the time you retire you might want to think about acting now to avoid increased expense, disappointment or hardship in the future.”
Hogwarts is a long way from Hyde, Cheshire, but long-standing skills honed by staff in the North West town have helped with costumes for the legendary Harry Potter films.
Shirley Dyeing and Finishing, part of the British Textile Technology Group (BTTG), hasn't just helped the adolescent wizard and his friends to look good - it is also responsible for another, totally different kind of attire: a major contribution to the production of millions of pairs of outdoor and walking shoes a year.
The company has a 90-year history, and experience that spans everything from dyeing stage costumes to dyeing Cambrelle, a lining that is found in footwear, specifically outdoor and sports shoes - and is inserted into around 10 million pairs of shoes across Europe every year.
"We dye in the region of 400,000 metres of Cambrelle a year to suit the colour requirements of Camtex Fabrics of Cumbria - the owners of Cambrelle," said Andrew McVey, Operations Director, Shirley Dyeing and Finishing Ltd.
"That lining ends up in around 10 million pairs of walking boots and sports footwear across Europe - often combined with Gore-tex to ensure a high quality product.
"Dyeing is our mainstay, but we also produce bespoke nonwoven fabrics as well as 'roving' material which is used in up to 80 million pipettes across Europe every year," said Andrew McVey.
"We have many different types of customers - we can dye very large scale jobs like the Cambrelle, or we can also help with smaller niche jobs dyeing only 100 metres of silk for example.
"The team at Shirley can turn their hands to most jobs and we've had some interesting ones over the years; we've dyed everything from stage costumes to material used to make flags - matching the exact colour from the customer samples for the flag."
Shirley Dyeing and Finishing offers both standard commission and specialist application processing of all fibre types, all woven fabrics with the dyeing and finishing of nonwoven fabrics too. It specialises in dyeing silk, and small runs often for fashion or furnishings.
Fabrics from as light as 40gm² and as heavy as 1200gm² can be processed; ranging from different types of silk to heavy belting fabrics.
Full laboratory and colour management service and support is provided for customers, offering both sample dyeing shade prediction and quality control. A library of past dyeing is also maintained for all customers ensuring accuracy and repeatability of future dyeing.
Dyeing equipment includes pressure beam, jig and winch. Spinning and nonwoven equipment includes full scale short-staple spinning line and medium sized dry- laid nonwoven line.
>Can the wisdom of crowds help us navigate the choppy economic waters? Google believes that people working together can help one another through even the most difficult times, tapping collective minds to find answers on how to make small changes that save the pennies.
We'd like to put these beliefs into practice. That's why Google has created Tip Jar (www.google.com/tipjar), an experiment powered by Google Moderator that Google hopes will help people discover the most effective ways to save money.
There are lots of money-saving tips scattered across the web, but even if you found them, it would be hard to know which ones were worth trying. Tip Jar gathers tips in one place and invites people — i.e., you, me and everyone else — to rank them in order of usefulness and even add their own tips to the list. Over time, the best and most useful tips will rise to the top.
So go ahead: Take a Tip. Share a Tip. We'll all be a little bit richer for it.
Linguistic diversity at the service of professionals
Since February 2009, the web site of the PARFIP LEASE group is available in 7 languages: French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
Operating in eleven European locations, the group has a single policy based on linguistic and cultural diversity. In Paris, Brussels or Lyon, all the teams are devoted to the success of the group partners. From Brussels head office, a polyglot team assists companies-partners in their commercial development both locally and at the European level.
From today, all partners will be able to use www.parfip-lease.com in the selected language. The group aims to extend its experience in serving the specific field of the financial leasing without being restricted by linguistic barriers. Thus PARFIP LEASE shares its non-material capital with all its present and future partners.
The new site’s “Press room” is intended not only to provide a service to its partners but also inform journalists of the latest company news. Now each new press release or published article will be immediately accessible in RSS feeds.
European commercial dynamism
This linguistic diversity is also translated into commercial dynamism. Thus in 2008, the group received nearly 100.000 financing requests for the total amount of 400 million euros over all its European locations. This 50% increase in requests compared to the year 2007 shows that companies seek quick financing especially adapted to their needs wherever they are. A service on which PARFIP LEASE has built its success by consolidating its position as a market leader.
One shopper has become so discouraged by online reviews that she has launched her own independent review site, already attracting hundreds of hits every day by users appreciating the sincere approach to product and service reviews, despite only having been live for under a week.
Research of 1,176 Brits has found that 92% of online shoppers search for and read product reviews before making purchases, but 64% of those polled said they didn’t always trust site reviews, given the recent Belkin scandal where the IT firm paid individuals to write positive customer reviews.
One shopper became so discontent with online reviews that may or may not have been honestly written, that she launched her own review site, www.MyShoppingTips.co.uk, which will focus on avoiding the fluff that is so often find in product and service reviews.
As part of its launch market research, MyShoppingTips.co.uk commissioned research to investigate the public’s perception of online shopping reviews. Half of the participants, 52%, said that the current economic situation meant that reading other people’s thoughts on products was “more important than ever”, but 64% said they no longer totally trusted online customer reviews.
The site is a separated into simple product categories, and the user can also search for keywords to read about the best and worst products out there. Since launch, over 100 reviews have been posted on the site, ranging from clothes and games to wine and showers. Users can comment and recommend products for review.
Jill Tovey, MD of MyShoppingTips.co.uk had the following to say,
“I’ve shopped online for over 10 years, but have recently become increasingly frustrated by the customer reviews that have so obviously been written by people with an interest other than informing potential buyers. The recent Belkin scandal is the tip of the iceberg unfortunately, as many online are aware.
“As a website designer, I have taken it upon myself to create an independent review site which in my mind can and will look at everything from beans to holidays – if I and my team do not believe in a product’s value to my readers, I am under no obligation to say otherwise, which I think has been missing from review sites.
“I hope MyShoppingTips.co.uk will grow into a compendium of up-to-date and honest reviews, with a real community feel.”
Hitwise have just announced their Top 10 most visited Employment and Training websites in the UK for the year 2008.
And the results are:
1. Jobcentre Plus (No surprise there); 2. Jobs NHS (The UK’s top employer); 3. Total Jobs (pleased to help your sister sites Caterer, CW Jobs, Salestarget etc); 4. Reed (pleased to help); 5. Monster; 6. Jobsite (pleased to help); 7. Guardian Jobs; 8. CV-Library (pleased to help); 9. S1 Jobs … And at number 10… the UK’s number 1 search engine - www.1Job.co.uk
Julian Felstead M.D. of 1Job said: "It’s great that we’re again recognised as the best job search engine in the UK. The fantastic Hitwise accolade award is great to receive. What’s really gratifying though, is to have helped 4 of the top 7 commercial Job Boards in the UK achieve Top 10 status too. 1Job is a great source of candidates to the jobs on their sites and we’re pleased to help them do the best for their job advertisers.
"In 2008, 1Job.co.uk sent over 12 million candidate click-thrus to Job Boards and Recruitment Agency sites. Our “Google, but for jobs service” helps candidates go directly to the vacancies they’re looking for in the UK’s internet job advertising space. Our clients receive high quantities of great relevant candidate applications and CV registrations.
"2009 is going to be an important year for Job Boards and Agencies. Those that can exceed their clients expectations will be the winners. Our service helps them to do that by getting candidates to the right jobs faster.
‘We charge on a low cost performance pay-per-click basis and our vertical jobs search engine gives our clients far better results at lower costs than any other job, or generic search engine in the UK."
For more information contact 1Job on: 0870 3500 230 or email: sales@1job.co.uk
The 1Job - Jobs Search Engine displays over 300,000 job opportunities each day. Over 1 million candidate referrals are sent to the job sites it lists each month. The business is operated by Direct Recruit Ltd, Swindon, Wiltshire. The search engine technology and algorithms were custom built in the UK and offer a unique job searching system for job hunters and a unique job advertising and traffic acquisition system for job advertisers in the UK and Ireland.
Getac’s new generation GPS PDA enables pinpoint positioning and instant visual data capture for GIS surveying applications.
MiTAC Technology Corporation, specialist rugged mobile computer manufacturer, is set to unveil the latest offering from its comprehensive portfolio of rugged solutions, the Getac PS535F, a next generation fully rugged GPS PDA featuring an auto focus camera, altimeter and E-compass. These new features will enable field-based employees to capture field data on-site and transmit data back to headquarters in real-time, as well as provide pinpoint navigation support to improve location based productivity.
The PS535F is perfectly designed for GIS surveying applications across different sectors, including; utilities, oil and gas, forest patrol, and surveying and mapping of geology and mineral resources. The built-in 3 mega pixel auto-focus camera enables instant visual data capture in the field, and the VGA touch screen display with sunlight readable technology enhances the viewing quality of graphic intensive files and detailed maps. To enhance its navigation support, in addition to built-in GPS, the PS535F also offers built-in altimeter and E-compass, allowing pinpoint positioning of longitude, latitude and altitude, as well as providing the directional relation between the targeted subject and the user’s position. The PS535F also features comprehensive wireless connectivity options, including integrated Bluetooth V2.0 and 802.11b/g WiFi. Users can connect the PS535F to a GIS server to transmit data or process data in the field using a Getac Bluetooth modem or a mobile phone.
“Enterprise customers today have come to expect seamless and accurate information exchange between head office and field workers to improve overall operational efficiency and productivity,” said Julian Willis, Senior Sales Manager, Getac UK Ltd. “For example, water, oil and gas companies need to send field workers out across the country to perform pipeline safety inspections or maintenance, and the inspection and maintenance reports, including accurate time, location and descriptions, must be transmitted back to the head office in real-time to make dispatch and repair planning; Forest patrols reporting the location and fire hazard conditions to a fire center to assist fire rescue planning is another good example of application for the PS535F.”
Getac’s PS535F features Window Mobile 6.1 which is compatible with a wide variety of software applications. It boasts a 300gramme lightweight design, 8 hours operational battery power and has been built and tested to withstand rigorous every day use as and use in harsh environments. The Getac PS535F is compliant with MIL-STD 810F and IP54 with safeguards against frequent drops and exposure to water, dust and extreme temperatures. It is optimised for both indoor and outdoor applications.
General Imaging today announced its new range GE digital cameras for 2009. Nine new models were unveiled at the Photo Marketing Association trade show in Las Vegas.
The range, which will arrive in the UK from April, offers exciting new features; auto scene detection, pan-capture panorama, and optical image stabilisation.
Now entering their third model year, GE digital cameras offer higher resolution and more powerful zooms than ever before. Each camera in the 2009 collection features at least 9 megapixels of resolution – with seven models boasting 12 or more – helping capture your life and tell your story with greater clarity.
Ready for your close-up? GE cameras certainly are, as seven of the new models feature zooms of 5x or higher, including an impressive 12x zoom in the X3.
Waterproof – and hard to miss GE cameras have always been a great fit for an active lifestyle, and the G3WP is no exception. It is waterproof to a depth of three metres and with a stylish design, it’s predicted to be a hot model this year.
Speaking at PMA, Katsuhiko (Vic) Watanabe, President of General Imaging Europe Ltd, said: “We are launching a fantastic new line up of cameras, ranging from budget AA powered models right through to a stunning bridge camera with 12x zoom and great features to match. All the latest cameras feature ‘Auto Scene Detection’ and ‘Pan-Capture Panorama’- two more great reasons to choose a GE camera.”
Features in detail Auto Scene Detection: this feature automatically determines the appropriate scene type and optimises exposure for sharp, vibrant pictures. It means you spend less time setting up your shot with more time to compose and frame it.
Pan-Capture Panorama: one of our most popular features just got even better. Our earlier panorama stitching feature allowed the user to seamlessly stitch together three photos into one extra-wide angle image. Pan-Capture Panorama is even easier, letting the user pan the camera across the scene while the engine automatically captures, determines overlap, and stitches the frames into a single panoramic picture.
Optical Image Stabilisation: while all GE cameras employ image stabilisation to overcome camera shake, General Imaging is including superior optical image stabilization technology in the E1276W and the X3.
Touch Panel LCD: the new E1250TW allows the user to control features by touching icons displayed on a three-inch LCD screen.
HDTV Output: The E1250TW also allows users to view high-definition photos connecting directly to their HDTV.
Most of the popular features from earlier models are back for 2009, including blink, smile and face detection, auto-adjust brightness LCD, and in-camera red-eye removal. Three of the new models also feature 28mm equivalent wide-angle lenses.
The 13th Human Rights Watch International Film Festival is set to take place in London between March 18th and 27th.
Described by its organisers as the best place to see politically and socially-engaged feature films and documentaries from around the world, the event also provides guests with the chance to meet the directors and producers.
A wide array of films will be screened at the festival and many of them will be making their U.K debuts. As such, it may be wise to buy tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.
Several different venues - including the Curzon Renoir and Mayfair - will host the films, but the majority will take place at the Ritzy in Brixton Oval.
The organisers state: "The works we feature help to put a human face on threats to individual freedom and dignity and celebrate the power of the human spirit and intellect to prevail."
Films set to be screened at the festival include Back Home Tomorrow, an examination of the way in which hope prevails in even desperate environments, as well as Afghan Star, which follows the story of reality TV in a country repressed by the Taliban.
Given the popularity of the event, visitors are advised to book their hotels as early as possible. LateRooms.com offers over 600 London hotels. The hotels range from luxury hotels to cheap London hotels.
In particular 4 star Beauchamp Hotel is offering superior double room for 2 adults from £94 per night. The normal rate for this room is £276. The hotel is located approximately 20 mins drive from The Ritzy where the opening ceremony is taking place.
pLegal Advice Helpline Limited, has announced the successful launch of their brand new website. The new Legal Advice Helpline site which, went live on 12th February 2009, has been created to help provide individuals and their families with support and help across a range of services where consumers are adversely affected.
The newly launched site is designed to provide individuals with reliable cost-free solutions to their legal needs and to deliver fast access to some of the most respected legal and debt experts in the UK.
The site has been created to help take the stress out of difficult situations and make it easy to connect individuals with the most appropriate advice specialists in a wide range of legal and financial service areas, including personal injury claims compensation claims, debt help and advice, and help with issues relating to payment protection insurance (PPI) policies.
Legal Advice Helpline is a modern, progressive business, which is regulated by the Ministry of Justice, and provides clients with the opportunity to discuss their case in confidence with a well trained and experienced adviser who will where necessary, refer the client to a legal or accountancy specialist for professional help to obtain the most appropriate legal solution to their problems. Moreover, clients can be absolutely certain that they are dealing with an ethically based company where security of information is respected and protected.
Keith Rowley, Director at the Legal Advice Helpline, stated "The ethos that underpins the business that is Legal Advice Helpline is based very simply on providing the best possible client service and always striving to provide the right advice at the right time. This way we hope that we will have a positive effect in helping people to restore their situation so that they are able to live their lives free from the stress and worry caused by debt and injury."
About Legal Advice Helpline Legal Advice Helpline is a new independent professional organization which is committed to providing individuals and their families with a highly ethical service to support and help them across a range of legal issues where consumers are adversely affected. The service includes advice and help on personal injury compensation claims, debt help and advice on issues relating to PPI policies.
The Directors of Legal Advice Helpline Limited and its stakeholders have many years of combined experience in Law, Marketing, Management Consultancy and Financial Services and have considerable experience in providing personal injury and financial solutions to many thousands of British consumers.
Legal Advice Helpline is a regulated business - regulated by the Ministry of Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities.
npower's Green Energy Fund has helped fund a new log-fired boiler, which has been installed at Carding Mill Valley in Shropshire. The log-fired boiler is expected to save £5,000 a year in fuel bills.
The sustainable system – which will provide the Chalet Pavilion with hot water and heating - will also reduce the property’s carbon footprint by 10 tons a year.
Around eighteen tons of logs, which are to be cut from National Trust woodland at Wenlock Edge, will be burnt annually, as part of its ongoing woodland management scheme.
The £43,000 project was funded by several partners including the National Trust West Midlands Sustainability Fund, npower Green Energy Fund, South Shropshire District Council and the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – Shropshire Development Fund.
Peter Carty, Countryside Property Manager for the National Trust, said: "This has been a major project identified in the Marches Energy Agency Energy Audit in 2006. It will save £5,000 in fuel oil and reduce our Carbon footprint by over 10 tons per year.
"Thanks to some hard work we currently have three years worth of logs cut and stacked by the trackside from where we can easily collect them. These are currently seasoning and a further five tons are cut and drying in our tractor shed at in Carding Mill Valley. A dozen volunteers and four members of National Trust staff were involved in this work which improves woodland management at Wenlock Edge."
Robert Harper, Sustainable Technology Manager at npower, said: "The National Trust is to be applauded for the sustainable nature of this project, which will ensure that Carding Mill need not ever rely entirely on fuel oil to provide heating for the property. npower's National Trust Green Energy Fund has contributed a significant amount towards this project and we are delighted that the project has come to fruition."
Kathryn Warren, National Trust Environmental Practices Adviser, added: "The boiler will provide the Chalet Pavilion with all of its heating and hot water requirements. It is a sustainable source of fuel, which promotes better woodland management and results in increased nature conservation."
She continued: "Installing the log-fired boiler will remove the need for heating oil at the property; it will significantly reduce its carbon footprint by moving to a carbon neutral fuel. The property will also be self sufficient for heating fuel and no longer exposed to increasing oil prices. More long-term sustainable energy initiatives are planned at Carding Mill’s Chalet Pavilion including hydro-electric power and rainwater harvesting."
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