Member News

East Anglian accountancy firm, Aston Shaw have been warming up and doing their stretches in preparation for Run Norwich, a 10km run through the fine city! As proud sponsors of Run Norwich, the comapny has been busy planning for this highly-anticipated annual event.

Aston Shaw has been sponsoring Run Norwich since the inaugural race in 2015. Now in its fifth year, the event has gone from strength to strength. This year, places sold out within just four days and seven hours!

Run Norwich returns to the city on Sunday 21st July 2019. And as usual, Aston Shaw will be at the halfway point to cheer on the runners. The run itself promises to be bigger and better than ever and so too does Aston Shaw’s cheer station. Music will be played by a live DJ, to help you give that much-needed boost at the 5km mark! If the music isn’t enough to make their presence known, keep an eye out for the signs, flags and balloon arches & columns!

Just as with previous years, Aston Shaw will be live streaming the whole thing in glorious HD on their social media channels, the footage will later be made available to watch on the firms website, so be sure to keep an eye out for the camera if you’re running!

Run Norwich is a major date in the city’s calendar, it attracts all kinds of people from all over. You’ll find both novice runners and seasoned professionals here, residents as well as international participants. The race itself will take runners on a scenic journey through Norwich, passing some of the city’s most iconic landmarks such as Norwich Castle, Cathedral and Norwich City Football Club.

https://www.astonshaw.co.uk/

Breakwater IT are delighted to announce that they have achieved their Microsoft Gold Cloud Productivity competency.

What is the Microsoft Gold Cloud competency?

The Gold competency shows Breakwater’s capabilities in building, integrating, securing and deploying Microsoft Office 365 solutions – including Exchange, SharePoint, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams and Yammer.

It is hugely important to continuously develop technical expertise and, at Breakwater, Engineers are supported through additional qualifications, including completion of the Office 365 exams required for the Gold competency.

What it means for organisations

Breakwater IT are able to provide the highest level of technical know-how when it comes to advising on and integrating Microsoft Office 365 solutions.

Part of the accreditation process involved the completion of assessments, demonstration of technical competency and the provision of positive client feedback – ensuring an excellent quality of service and effortless transition to the cloud.

Stuart Moll, Technical Director commented that: “Achieving our Gold Cloud Productivity competency is a fantastic accomplishment for the team and demonstrates the dedication each of our Engineers has to expanding their skills set and employing this knowledge to deliver excellent client service. Office 365 provides the security and productivity tools clients need to operate effectively in the cloud and we look forward to helping more organisations utilise all it has to offer.”

Producing a robust business plan with a good chance of achieving success!

Join Rachel Blackburn on Tuesday May 7th at 18.30 for an opportunity for entrepreneurial women to develop their business plan in a supportive master class environment.

Rachel is the Director of US2U Consulting Ltd, a forward thinking Management Consultancy offering an enormous range of key solutions to develop and manage your organisation. 

This event is free to attend, please register your space here

The Agenda for the evening event is as follows, beginning at 18.30 and ending at 20.30: 

• Producing the vision, values and your unique selling proposition

• Identifying clear goals

• Deciding priority actions for the short term, medium term, long term

• Review of the external environment

• Compiling competitor analysis

• Understanding your company Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

• Producing the marketing plan

• Developing your elevator pitch

• Creating key job descriptions and processes

Please bring pens/paper/tablet etc so you can develop your own strategic recipe during the 2 hour session

The event will be held at No.8, 8 Thorpe Road, Norwich NR1

This event is kindly sponsored by Sarah Daniels at No.8  Please note this event is Free to attend 

Vision Va va voom! 

Whilst running an independent, family run busy Coleman Opticians David Tuthill and his amazing team found time to collaborate with us, and host an open evening to share and celebrate how fantastic their patients, team and community are. 

Recent winners of the Family Optician of the Year 2019 – there is alot to celebrate! 

With an important message from David on the damaging effects of blue light, a tour of the inner workings of the practice, and a stunning array of Neubau eyewear glasses – it really was a fantastic evening.  The delightful Spring evening was toasted with sparkling fizz and delicious canapes from The Feed.

Whilst blue light may be the sabre of choice of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, the blue light that emanates from every single electronic device we use, has as we discovered on Thursday far more serious repercussions.

What is blue light?

As technology advances, so our working day evolves to incorporate the latest  gadgets and gizmo’s, all to make our jobs themselves easier but it doesn’t, and shouldn’t, need to be at the cost of our health. The impact of blue light on melatonin production was only confirmed in 2001, when scientists discovered that light in the blue spectrum-the 415 to 445 nanometer range-disrupts melatonin production.

Because it’s so bright, blue light is used widely in pretty much all LED devices, including phones, tablets, laptops and TVs.

It’s also very hot, and it appears to be wreaking all sorts of havoc on our eyes, melatonin, and consequently, on our health!

Anyone who uses a device is at risk, regardless of age.

Being in the presence of light at night disrupts the body’s natural circadian rhythms by suppressing the production of melatonin, a sleep hormone. But melatonin does more than just make you sleepy, it’s also an antioxidant that appears to play a pivotal role in slowing the progression of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even cancer. 

Findings from latest research

Research shows an undeniable link between blue light exposure and migraine headaches. In some cases, optometrists are even seeing high levels of retinal stress in children that could lead to early onset macular degeneration, which can lead to near blindness!

What doesn’t need research: 415-445nm is super-hot light, and if focused and brought up close, say a tablet screen 6 inches from a child’s face, the long term damage will be significant.

An ophthalmologist says he’s recently seen a few 35 year old patients whose lenses, which are typically clear all the way up until around age 40, are so cloudy they resemble a 75 year olds.

A consultant says children as young as 2 are suffering from chronic insomnia, which in turn affects their behaviour and performance at school and day care.

A scientist finds that women who work night shifts are twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those who sleep at night.

Blue light is considered a ‘carcinogenic pollution’ that in mice correlates with higher cancer rates. A lack of melatonin is linked to higher rates of breast cancer, while blocking those blue rays with amber glass or a ‘blue blocker’ is linked to lower rates. Exposure to blue light in people seems to have a direct link to depression. Blue light exposure, along with poor UV protection compliance, may be playing a role in the higher incidence of cataracts and macular degeneration seen today. Too much exposure can cause retinal toxicity.

Follow these hints and tips to minimise the damage For those using DSE, occupational lenses are available to help the eyes focus at an intermediate and near range for prolonged times, available with a blue-light filter to reduce exposure and drastically reduce the harm done to your eyes and health.

Clean your screen: A dust, smudge free screen reduces glare. Dim surrounding lights: To reduce the amount of light competing with your screen. Increase font size: Try increasing the text size to help better define screen content and to make reading more comfortable. Limit screen time: Especially for children and especially within 2 hours of bedtime! Blink more often: Staring at a screen can effect the number of times you blink, causing dry eye.

No matter your age, vocation or occupation, limiting your exposure to blue light and protecting your eye sight by making a few slight adjustments to your day will ensure that you enjoy many more years of vision health.

Norwich law firm Hatch Brenner has appointed Solicitor Varsha Goyal-Wright as Head of Residential Property.

Ms Goyal-Wright is a Residential Property specialist, with expertise including purchases of freehold and leasehold new build properties, Help to Buy equity loans, sales and purchases of part of land, sales and purchases of freehold and leasehold properties, dealing with unregistered titles, transfer of equity, re-mortgages, right to buy and first registrations.

In addition to working with clients on their conveyancing transactions, she will oversee the Residential Property team, and help to strengthen local relationships with Estate Agents, mortgage and financial advisors and other professionals.

Hatch Brenner Managing Partner Dawn Parkes commented: “We are delighted to welcome Varsha to Hatch Brenner. Her extensive experience combined with her outgoing and friendly nature will ensure she fits in well with our focus on developing strong interpersonal relationships with our clients and contacts.”

Varsha has a special interest in Human Rights and has worked with NGOs and Academic Institutes. She is fluent in English, Hindi and Punjabi.

Scam Alert – Telephone cold callers offering advertising including ‘online listings’ – April 2019 We are warning businesses about telephone cold callers claiming to be offering advertising including ‘online listings’. This approach is a typical scam targeted at businesses and often, following the call, a demand for payment for the proposed advertising will arrive even if no agreement has been made during the call. We would remind all businesses to ensure that all employees dealing with telephone contacts are aware of this type of cold calling scam. If you or anyone within your business receives one of these calls, do not give or confirm any information about your business. Hang up and report it to us via our partners the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.

Tuesday, April 23 was the Maids Head Hotel’s quarterly Vision and Values staff awards day. The hotel’s vision is to be known as the finest for hospitality in Norfolk and staff receive awards for being nominated by fellow team members, for work that has supported achieving that vision.

Simon Dean, Junior Sous Chef, was named Employee of the Quarter, awarded to the member of staff who receives the most nominations. Simon has been at the Maids Head for six months. He is a graduate in Culinary Arts Management from University College Birmingham, a four-year course, which included a work placement in the United States. Simon moved from Cambridgeshire to Norwich for his new role; his third job since leaving university.

He won the award for brightening the mood of the kitchen, for constantly being cheerful and friendly, for being a team player and very approachable and always being willing to help staff and answer any question.

Simon said: “It is great news for me to be Employee of the Quarter. I would like to thank my colleagues for their nominations. It can be quite stressful in the kitchen when we are very busy and I do my best to keep the mood up. I also think it’s very important for the kitchen brigade to have a good working relationship with the front of house team and I work hard to ensure that our communication is as smooth as possible.”

Some 150 awards were presented to staff on the day by Andy Orchard, Sales Director, Eastern Daily Press and Edward Doe, Director of John Doe. Staff ‘cash’ in their award vouchers for a reward and can also save them until they have enough vouchers for a particular reward e.g. an overnight stay at the Maids Head’s sister hotel, The Gonville in Cambridge.

Examples of award nominations:

“Staying behind after completing to shift to help at a wedding.”

“Excellent feedback for service at the 74th Squadron dinner.”

“Covering the desk when reception was busy.”

“Getting a mention in the groom’s speech at a wedding.”

“Coming in outside of work hours to fix the water supply in rooms with no water.”

Andy Orchard and Edward Doe, who had been the judges for the Norfolk & Suffolk Tourism Awards Investing in the Future category, also officially presented the Investing in the Future award and the Best Independent Hotel award to Maids Head Chairman, David Chaplin.

Edward Doe said: “I can tell by the atmosphere today, how engaged staff are with the Vision and Values Awards. They are an excellent incentive, getting everyone involved and heading in the same direction”

Andy Orchard said: “When we visited the hotel to judge the Investing in the Future category, the dedication of staff throughout the hotel shone through. It was a genuine pleasure to spend time here listening to the hotel’s story of evolution rather than revolution.”

David Chaplin, Chairman of the Maids Head Hotel said: “Congratulations to all our team for their passion and commitment in helping us achieve the two Norfolk & Suffolk Tourism Awards, along with the Employer of the Year category at the Norfolk Business Awards, and for all you have done to make Norwich a great place for hospitality.”

Welcome to REEPHAM19! This year’s festival is extra special… we’re calling it Reepham19 ALL STARS!!! We’ve hosted so many brilliant acts over the past 11 years and you keep asking us to get them back. Well, just go to our Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/groups/108509879182142/   https://www.facebook.com/reephamfestival/ and tell us who you would like to see return to play at R19 (and don’t forget to share).  AND… if that’s not enough, we will also be introducing a loads of exciting new acts to the Festival, so keep checking the ‘Line Up’ page to see as we add to the list. Remember, our ‘EARLY BIRD’ Tickets are on sale now. Don’t forget to let all your friends know about us… we’re THE MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR EVERYONE!!! and we’re really looking forward to seeing you on 10th – 11th August. Reepham Festival passionately believes in providing a great, affordable, community festival with all our profits being re-invested and being donated to local charities.

If you are interested in Rocking your Business profile by sponsoring our event we would love to hear from you. Our Sponsorship Packages are avaible on the attachement below. 

Now in its 11th year, East Anglian recruitment agency Cooper Lomaz have released their annual Salary Survey and Recruitment Trends report.

The report, which presents findings from over 2,800 individuals across the East of England working within the technical and professional sectors, is now available to download from their website – https://www.cooperlomaz.co.uk/salary-survey-2019/

Simon Brown, Managing Director of Cooper Lomaz, said:  “In producing this annual report our goal is simple; to provide an unrivalled and unbiased insight into recruitment trends from the past twelve months from across our region.”

In addition to salary statistics for the Accounting & Finance, Engineering, Food Manufacturing, IT, Sales & Marketing, and Supply Chain sectors, this year’s report also highlights recruitment trends and hot topics including the gender pay gap. We found an alarming difference between the amount of money earned by men and women in the sectors we operate. Shockingly, we calculated that September 19th 2019 will be the day that the average women will stop earning their annual salary compared to men.

Simon added “This year we’ve discussed in more detail some challenging and thought-provoking trends. There are insight and analysis within the report which I suspect will make some feel uncomfortable, challenged and even possibly lead to difficult conversations. However, I believe that such debate is good for business, good for employees and ultimately good for the region.”

The effect of salary on satisfaction levels is another topic which showed some interesting insight. Can money buy love? According to the data, it appears not – well, at least not on its own. The report shows that training actually plays a key role in supporting a satisfied workforce.

The strong growth seen in the IT sector shows no sign of abating and we’re seeing an ever-increasing demand and competition for skilled candidates. 2019 will also see the continued rise of Digi-Tech start-ups and SMEs with Norfolk actually outstripping Suffolk and Cambridge for growth in the sector. It’s these companies who stand the greater chance of attracting top talent as they tend to offer more flexible working hours, the latest technologies and project ownership. It’ll be vital for established organisations to remain competitive by embracing modern working preferences and by recognising the value of their current IT and infrastructure employees.

For the first time in over 5 years, nearly one in four people do not feel secure in their current roles. The reason? While it would be easy to blame this trend on the wider economic and political landscape, it’s clear that businesses should be communicating with their employees about how any changes could affect them personally. For more insights into recruitment trends, download your copy of the Salary Survey and Recruitment Trends report now by visiting https://www.cooperlomaz.co.uk/salary-survey-2019/, or speak to one of their consultants on 01284 701302 | 01603 766760 | 01206 984321

We are absolutely thrilled as our great friends at our local authorities have confirmed some of our vital funding for the year ahead from this April. We are delighted at the long term commitment and support of these, and the vital support which has been so valuable in itself and given confidence to others to fund us.

The Norfolk Culture and Heritage team have awarded us £4,170. Assistant Director Steve Miller said, “I would like to emphasise our continued commitment to supporting your excellent and highly valued work and its contribution to ensuring a vibrant cultural offer throughout Norfolk”.

The Norwich Customers and Culture team have awarded us £10,000. Director Nikki Rotsos explained she particularly wished to “encourage the participation of Norwich residents who may be less likely to be engaged with the arts currently”.  We will continue to work with these communities and strive to do even more, especially in the areas highlighted on the attached map.

We shall come back with more news about our future fundraising and programming soon. As both local authorities point out, they are “continuing to face considerable financial challenges so it would be sensible for you to look at a broader range of funding options for the future.”

You can find out more about our work at our website https://www.puppettheatre.co.uk/index. Our new brochure is now available at many tourist information outlets around the City and the County, or from us at the Theatre.

I do hope you will come and see us, and discuss how you and your family can enjoy our work and perhaps how you can help, at our theatre, at Norfolk and Norwich Festival Garden Party on 18th to 19th May https://www.puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/outandabout/, or at a Norfolk Chamber Networking Event later in the summer!

The Aviation Skills Partnership are very pleased to support one of our training partners, Rusta UAS and their upcoming course. We are planning to run a 2 day CAA Approved drone course at the Academy between 21st and 23rd of May. 

RUSTA is one of the original drone and UAV acadamies in the UK and has been in operation since 2014, and have trained over 1000 individuals and entities. 

This course is designed to help commercial drone operators obtain their Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO) approval from the UK CAA.

The course is aimed at people looking to set up a commercial drone operation and/or companies who already utilise drones in their daily business or are looking to utilise this technology to enhance their business offering. 

If you are in the following sector, this course may be of interest to you. 

• Agricultural businesses
• Surveyors and Estate Agencies
• Photographers
• Film / TV / Media companies
• Civil Engineering businesses
• Facilities Management Companies

All RUSTA instructors are former aircrew instructors from aircrew instructors from the RAF and Army Air Corps with thousands of hours of flying experience.

Click here to book your place today 

Celebrate this year ‘s Norwich City of Ale Festival at the launch of the Maids Head Hotel’s new Wine Press Supper Club on Saturday, May 25 at 7pm.

Head Chef, ‘Magic’ Marcin Pomierny has collaborated with Mike Deal, Head Brewer of Wildcraft Brewery at Buxton to choose beers to complement the flavours of the five course tasting menu.

Mike will also be present on the evening to share his passion for beer and will talk about the brewing process.

Tickets are £42 per person to include supper and selected beers.

Menu

Wild Eye Pale Ale slow braised neck of Dingley Dell pork, aubergine puree, yoghurt and wild garlic oil

Amuse Bouche

Treacle cured beef fillet, wild garlic pomme puree, pickled kohlrabi, baby leek, broad bean and chanterelle mushroom fricassee

Lemon and elderflower sorbet

Dark chocolate marquise, banana and passion fruit ice cream and cocoa tuile

To book t. 01603 272008, events@maidsheadhotel.co.uk,