Member News

Monthind Partner, Tony Felgate, and Business Services Manager, Andy Flatman, will be donning their walking shoes in October to support Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide.

CALM is leading a movement against suicide, the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK, through frontline services, including a helpline, corporate support schemes, and campaigns. Tony and Andy will be joining the crowds to support charity’s first event, the Lost Hours Walk on 26th October 2019.

Starting at 11 pm, the night-time walk offers two routes, covering 20 miles or 8 miles. Both start at Greenwich, the shorter route finishes at Big Ben, the longer one circles back to Greenwich. The charity chose the date as it is the end of British Summertime, and says: “As time goes backwards, we’re walking forwards to campaign against feeling rubbish, against struggling in silence, against being alone, against living miserably. 16 people take their own life every day, leaving behind thousands of friends, family and colleagues. On the one day we are given extra time, we walk for all those for whom there wasn’t enough.” 

Tony says, “CALM is looking to raise awareness of suicide amongst men, something that seems to be ever-increasing. As a business, we are always looking to improve our health and wellbeing support for staff and CALM enables organisations to tap into a wealth of resources for their staff. Although CALM is not one of Monthind’s nominated charities, we believe it is important that we support them in their fundraising efforts. Our JustGiving links are Tony and Andy, any donations are greatly appreciated.”

Six Weeks of Summer Special – just £49 for two players! Includes:

• 18-holes of golf on the Hill course for two people
• Use of golf buggy
• Voucher for two bacon rolls in the Sports Bar

To reedem this fantastic offer, simply visit the post on Facebook (click here) like this post, tag the person you would bring with you and quote on booking the code. *HILLB2B* To book call 01603 757505, email golfshop@barnham-broom.co.uk or pop into the shop! Valid Monday-Thursday from 10am until Sunday 8th September 2019. Terms and conditions apply. Subject to availability.

Last week’s record-breaking temperatures were welcomed by some but for others the unprecedented heat created serious problems.

For local charity, The Benjamin Foundation, it threatened to destroy a ground-breaking art installation, called Flight for Youth, which consisted of thousands of glazed pottery butterflies which had been put in place at The Assembly House to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary.

Every single butterfly was attached to the structure with a glue backing but thanks to the extraordinary hot weather a few butterflies decided to try and escape the installation when the glue melted causing the fixings to come away from their ceramic backs. Which is where Abate leapt to the rescue…

We went to site to install a giant butterfly net measuring 22 metres by 7 metres to capture any falling butterflies and prevent further damage.

Colin Lang, Project Manager for the Benjamin Foundation said “We needed to act very quickly to secure the butterflies and I thought netting would be an ideal solution. I contacted Jon Blake the MD of Abate Pest Management who dropped everything to assist. Within hours, Abate carried out a survey, they then sourced specific netting from one supplier, ties from an electrical contractor and was ready to implement a solution to completely secure the butterflies and remove any safety issues.”

A team of three people from Abate between them carried out 11 hours of work in-between a wedding and the Run Norwich 10k race. Jon Blake from Abate said “We suspended and cable tied bird netting to the pre-existing scaffolding to create a barrier to prevent any further butterflies from falling. We were delighted to help, especially as the charity has done such a great job with the amazing spectacle of colour.” 

Colin added, “Abate were heroes in my eyes, they went to all the trouble of helping in true community spirit and to top it all, Jon said that Abate would pay for all the works and materials. Sadly, despite everyone’s best efforts, with the temperatures continuing to soar and more butterflies falling, it was felt that the installation was a potential danger, so it has been moved to ground level but we remain so grateful to Jon and his team for leaping to our rescue at our time of need. I would personally like to thank such a great company for their support.

The Benjamin Foundation is an independent charity operating in Norfolk and Suffolk. They bring hope, opportunity, stability and independence by supporting people through the challenges that life may bring them, including homelessness, childcare, bullying and abuse. They have a team of over 200 staff and each person plays their part in helping around 2,500 children, young people and families each year.

Abate Pest Management is an award winning pest control company based in Morley near Wymondham. They provide domestic and commercial pest control, including audited food grade premises, hotels, schools and for Housing Associations. Abate has multiple accreditations and certifications including CEPA, BPCA, Triple ISO, SafeContractor and CHAS. They were awarded the small company of the year at the 2019 British Pest Management Awards and recently became a local Future50 company. Visit www.abatepestmanagement.co.uk, email sales@abateltd.co.uk or call 01953 603390.

The first of Greater Anglia’s brand-new trains entered passenger service this morning – heralding the start of a new era of rail travel in East Anglia. One of the train company’s new bi-mode trains set off for its maiden passenger voyage on the 07.47 service from Lowestoft to Norwich.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “This is an important and significant day for us – and one we have all been looking forward to. Our first new train has now entered passenger service and it’s the start of a new era.

 “We were committed to beginning our transformation in Summer 2019 and we’ve done just that. This is an incredibly exciting time for everyone involved with East Anglia’s railways – customers, communities and all the team here at Greater Anglia.

 “Our new trains will transform rail travel across the region, bring wider economic, social, business, tourism and environmental benefits. It is the largest wholescale replacement of trains by any train company in the UK. A formal launch for the introduction of the new trains is due to take place later in the summer, as the phased entry into service for the new trains starts to pick up speed.

The company will also mark the introduction of new trains on each of its routes over the coming months, highlighting the benefits not just for customers, but also businesses, the economy and the wider region.”

 Greater Anglia is getting 38 regional bi-mode trains (24 x 4-carriage trains and 14 x 3-carriage trains) which switch between electricity and diesel power, from international rail vehicle construction company Stadler, headquartered in Switzerland. They will offer a positive step change on regional routes across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and parts of Essex – mainly the Marks Tey to Sudbury line.

 Every train is longer, with many more seats, and other features including air conditioning, plug and USB points and improved accessibility.  They will also improve reliability and resilience with three and four carriage trains replacing a fleet of one, two and three carriage trains, many of which are over 30 years old.

Thomas Ahlburg, group chief executive of Stadler, said: “The roll-out of the new trains into passenger service is a momentous occasion not just for our business, but for passengers and local communities alike. The contract, signed less than three years ago, was our first for mainline rolling stock in the UK. It signified our entry into this this important market and blazed a trail for orders secured subsequently for the Liverpool City Region and Wales & Borders.

 “The new trains for Greater Anglia are FLIRTs, our best-selling product which we have sold 1,700 of in 17 countries. Like all the trains we build, the FLIRT relies on state-of-the-art technology to ensure safety, reliability and comfort for the benefit of passengers. We hope that the travelling public in East Anglia will like them.”

 In the early stages of the roll out, a small number of services between Norwich and Great Yarmouth and Norwich and Lowestoft will be operated by new trains, followed by some services between Norwich and Cambridge. The programme should then gather pace and the majority of the regional bi-mode trains should be in service by the end of 2019.

 They will be maintained at Norwich Crown Point depot, which is benefitting from a £40 million upgrade to prepare it as the base for the new regional, intercity and Stansted Express trains.

Autumn 2019 will see the first new intercity train enter service and the first suburban train, built by Bombardier, is also due to enter service later this year. The bi-mode trains are part of a £600m investment in new Stadler trains for the region which have been financed by Rock Rail East Anglia and will be leased to Greater Anglia for the life of the franchise.

 Mark Swindell, chief executive officer Rock Rail, said: “Rock Rail is delighted to see the second of its fleets enter passenger service and mark the start of a step change in the travel experiences for rail passengers across Greater Anglia. It follows the introduction of Rock Rail’s first fleet on Great Northern routes earlier this year. These new, state-of- the art trains for Greater Anglia are some of the first to enter service in the UK financed through pension funds and insurance companies. This long term, highly competitive funding enables significantly better value for money to rail passengers and tax payers over the life of the trains, along with significant improvements in passenger, environmental and operational features.”

The children of Ingoldisthorpe Primary School became nature detectives for the last day of their summer term on a visit to Anglian Water’s new natural wetland at Ingoldisthorpe near King’s Lynn, which they helped to plant a year ago. 

Stocked with native flora, the wetland is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. It has been created in partnership between Anglian Water and the Norfolk Rivers Trust as a simple, natural solution to remove unwanted chemicals, including phosphates and ammonia, from water treated at Anglian Water’s water recycling centre there, rather than needing to rely on a traditional built facility with the associated energy consumption and carbon production.

After passing through the water recycling process, millions of litres of water every day filter through four large, interconnected pools, planted with a range of native plants. The plants remove the chemicals before high-quality water is returned to the River Ingol.

The children, aged between five and 11, were on site not just to learn about the wetland and its role in the water treatment process, but to help with Ingoldisthorpe’s first ever Bio-Blitz, which saw experts from Anglian Water’s biodiversity team, the Norfolk Rivers Trust, the British Dragonfly Society and wetland plant provider Verdant Solutions spend the day surveying the species which have made the site their home.

After just a year, the wetland is already a haven for wildlife, including bees, breeding birds, amphibians, dragonflies, bats and water voles. More than 120 species were spotted on the day, with the final tally still being calculated. It’s hoped that the number of species to be found at the site will grow over time, with the 2019 Bio-Blitz providing a benchmark for future years’ measurement.

This ambitious initiative exemplifies Anglian Water’s commitment to making a positive difference to its local communities and the environment, recently enshrined in a ground-breaking change to the company’s Articles of Association which ensures that public interest is embedded in the heart of the company’s constitution.

Following the success of this flagship site at Ingoldisthorpe, Anglian Water hopes to build more than 30 similar wetland sites across its region in its next business plan, which will take the company through to 2025.

Adept Supply Chain Solutions are pleased to offer a free no obligation ‘Business Vitality Health Check’.

Our ‘starter-for-ten’ document generates an overview of your business’s current status and our criteria differs according to the market sector your business operates in. Adept’s takeaway from the business review is an understanding of your business goals and objectives and an overview of your key operating processes. From this, we then generate a scope of work and quotation. Our solutions are bespoke to you and we adopt the most appropriate problem-solving tools and implement effective counter-measures to improve levels of productivity and profitability.

We don’t compile glossy reports and then leave you to sort the issues for yourself!

Instead, we have a ‘learn by doing’ approach. We go straight to the coalface and start implementing measurable improvements immediately, primarily focusing on Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) metrics. However, our approach is structured and some of our tools such as a Continuous Sustainable Improvement Plan (CSIP) and improvement Project Charters are generic to every improvement activity that we undertake, regardless of the business type.

We focus on all aspects of your value-chain(s) to ensure alignment of products, processes and people to your strategic plan and that all processes are efficient as possible. 

The key to success is ensuring that everyone understands their place and contribution as an internal supplier and/or customer!

For more information contact Steve Grace at enquiries@adeptscs.co.uk or 07890 657047

The Trading Standards Institute has issued some information for businesses about Alternative Dispute Resolution which is applicable to most businesses.

For an in-depth look at the information , please go to the Trading Standards Institue website ( Business Companion) at:

https://www.businesscompanion.info/focus/adr

The Maids Head went back to 1549 and Kett’s Rebellion to mark Norfolk Day on Saturday 27 July and raised £89 in donations from guests for the hotel’s charity of the year, Break.

In the morning, Rob Knee from the Paston Heritage Society, dressed as Tudor courtier, Sir Thomas Paston gave a full account, in the Oak Room, of Sir Thomas’ response to Kett’s Rebellion  in Norwich during the summer of 1549.

This was followed in the afternoon by a Shardlake’s Norwich tour led by Maids Head tour guide, Paul Dickson, dressed as Matthew Shardlake. The tour celebrates CJ Sansom’s best-selling novel, Tombland and looks at Norwich at the time of Kett’s Rebellion.

Vacancy: Director of Charitable Operations, Big C

Senior position available with pioneering Norfolk cancer charity.

We are looking for an exceptional individual to join our Executive Team to strategically develop and lead our Charitable Operations across Norfolk, Waveney and areas of East Anglia.

This includes our Support and Information services, Big C’s Research and Equipment Grants process and also Big C’s Education Programmes. I

f you are a registered professional, with specialist knowledge of cancer and could use your leadership experience and creative thinking to help us forge ahead with our programme of strategic growth and positioning, we would love to hear from you.

For further information or to apply, please see www.big-c.co.uk/vacancies

Close: 18 August 2018

The Flagship Group have kindly sponsored a 24 Hour Boxathon.

The event will promote the benefits of exercise and boxing to mental well being.

Staff from Gasway started warming up for a 24 Hour Boxathon to be held at Redwell Brewery on Norfolk day, July 27th. Volunteers from Gasway will be taking part on the day as teams plan to box through the night and deliver a knock-out blow to the stigma surrounding mental health.

It has been organised by Sharon Plummer, a personal trainer, along with Norfolk Day ambassador Charlie Hodson. Ms Plummer said “People can come along to watch or  to speak to us, we would love to use the event as a way of saying to people ‘if you’re struggling then you can come in and talk to us’.

To take part in the Norfolk Day Boxathon or for further details email sharon@norwichfitnessclub.co.uk

Friend In Deed would like to invite you to their Norfolk Day Picnic and Party on Saturday 27th July 2.30-5pm.

With plenty of free entertainment, come and celebrate Norfolk Day by showing off the kindness and intergenerational friendships that our county boasts.

Bring along your picnic items and a blanket, there will also be some seating available and shaded areas, especially for our older friends. Bring your babies, children, grandparents, neighbours and friends. Enjoy free entertainment from Sam the Magic Man, Norfolk Wild Encounters, Ami Bondi, Rugby tots, garden games and more.

Norwich School are also giving us access to two of their car parks but please note the parking will only be available between 2.15pm and 5.15pm and is strictly for those attending the event.

A massive thank you to their corporate sponsors Black Swan Care Group, M+A Partners and Flagship Group for helping us bring the community together on Norfolk Day!

The event will be taking place at Norwich School playing fields, 71a The Close, Norwich, NR1 4DD

New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership are looking for volunteers who would be willing to be filmed as part of a new Norwich Opportunity Area project aiming to raise aspirations. Can you help?

We are planning two filming days in Norwich on Wednesday 14th August & Tuesday 20th August with the intention that the filming team visit various Norwich based employers for about an hour to film 10-15 people each.

We are looking to create short film clips of careers stories from 100s of people across Norwich from all sorts of different backgrounds/ages/journeys.  The aim of the project is to create an online mosaic of local stories to raise awareness of different types of careers and opportunities available in Norwich from a range of sectors.  We would ideally be looking to use a quiet meeting space or breakout area for the filming.

Questions will be along the lines of … What were your career aspirations as a child?  How does that differ from what you do now?  Without using your job title, can you describe what you do?  Looking back, what do you wish you knew before choosing a career? Please confirm to Katie White – katie.white@newanglia.co.uk – whether you are interested by the end of the week.  And if so, whether you have a preference for either of these dates?