TopicUK Business Magazine May 2020 Issue

A C R O S S

Y O R K S H I R E

M A Y 2 0 2 0

WWW.TOPICUK.CO.UK

C O M P L I M E N T A R Y

No43

BI-MONTHLY

BUSINESS MAGAZINE

JamesMason

Travelled the world but always returns to Yorkshire

Looking after locks in lockdown With Andrew Barton Retired Policeis stillofficer solving crime

The power of us We believe that when businesses work together, we can achieve amazing things. Together, we have that power; the power to change the status quo; the power to create a better future for your business, your employees and your customers.

Change rarely happens in isolation, but when businesses work together, anything is possible.

Just imagine what we could do together.

Integrated Marketing

fantasticmedia.co.uk

2

0113 246 4425

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR UPDATES !

N E W S U P D AT E

This issue

Group Editor Gill Laidler

Design

Our cover this issue features James Mason

Rob Blackwell

Business Executive Mandy Taylor

ASSOCIATE EDITORs

Ed Asquith Perry Austin-Clarke

Distribution Manager James Longbottom

Official Photographers

Roth Read Photography

Legal Matters

Ramsdens Solicitors Chadwick Lawrence

Food & Drink

Kevin Trickett MBE

Recruitment

Cover : James Mason Image : Andrew Taylor @marketing

Stafflex

Information technology

James Mason Travelled the world but always returns to Yorkshire We will eat again

page

Reece makes a welcome return to our screens

Barclays Bank

Travel

Laura Bartlett

To Partner TopicUK

Tel: 07711 539047

page page

Printed By: Charlesworth Press Wakefield

4

Banking

page

Retired Police officer is still solving crime

Subaru is boxing clever

18 22 60 92 120

page

Paul Heigham, Bellingham IT

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those held by the publishers and therefore, no responsibility can be held by the publisher for misinterpretation. Reproduction of this magazine without the express permission of the publisher is prohibited. Whilst every care is taken in the production of this magazine, the publisher/ editor and staff cannot accept any responsibility for errors in articles, advertisements or programme schedules. To subscribe to this magazine contact 07711 539047 or email editor@topicuk.co.uk. Published by Ghost Publishing Limited, Paragon Point, Paragon Business Village, Red Hall Crescent, Wakefield WF1 2DF. Law pages are written by Chadwick Lawrence & Ramsdens Solicitors LLP and TopicUK is not responsible for any advice given.

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

Editors notes

by Group Editor

It was difficult writing the last issue’s editors notes as during this pandemic, we’re all unable to be out and about as usual.

OUR PARTNERS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Dakota Hotel Leeds Yorkshire sculpture park RJ Burgess CONNECT YORKSHIRE GOLD RABBIT Community Foundation Calderdale The Piece Hall Applied Digital LS Live Ramsdens Solicitors Chadwick Lawrence Bellingham IT KC Communications Wakefield College / Wakefield Council Leeds Council (Ad:Venture) CityFibre Jordans Solicitors Eaton Smith Solicitors Hansons Bramleys Stafflex Fostering to Aspire Wakefield Theatre Pontefract Hospice Scriba PR Kirklees College Buttercrumble University of Law Avenue hq/Barclays Eagle Lab Yorkshire Payments Easy Fireplaces Welcome to Yorkshire Contedia BeVic Town Hall Dental Associated waste management Fantastic Media WAKEFIELD HOSPICE

On a normal week there would be meetings to attend and functions to dress up for. So this one is even more difficult, I did think we would be getting back to normal by now, but this looks like it is just beginning to happen as I write this.

One good thing that has come out of this pandemic for me is to see how resilient, determined and resourceful Yorkshire businesses are. We have continued to work throughout, supporting our partners making sure they are still receiving promotion, albeit digitally and most of them have continued to work extremely hard. They are either now open or preparing to open and we will ensure that we are here to do everything we can to help.

It has been good to hear stories of parents baking with children and taking to growing their own food, let’s hope these skills continue once the lockdown is over. It seems houses have had a full spring clean and all those niggly decorating jobs have been finished.

During this lockdown we created a new business magazine, Yorkshire Businesswoman. We have some incredible woman across our region and we wanted to provide a platform for them to shout about what they do. We have been inundated with success stories, tips and ideas and have welcomed some fantastic guest editors. Do check out the website www. yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk and please get in touch if you would like to be a part of it. It is our intention that there will be a printed magazine to accompany the website later in the year.

In the meantime, a section dedicated to women will remain in TopicUK. As things start to get back to normal, we are looking forward to getting back out there and meeting people, albeit from 2 metres.

We would like to know how you have all got on and welcome your lockdown stories. Have you diversified, indeed, has your business grown, we know a few who have actually benefited from the lockdown. Drop us a line if you have a story to tell: editor@topicuk.co.uk I will be heading to Middlethorpe Hall as soon as it is safe to do so, to review not just the hotel but the restaurant and spa facilities. Something to look forward to. Hopefully I will be able to share that with you next edition, which we hope will be back in print!

Despite the lockdown, we have some fantastic stories for you this edition.

It has been six months since James Mason took up his post as CEO of Welcome to Yorkshire and he shares his experience with us.

We also spoke with celebrity hairdresser, Yorkshireman Andrew Barton who has also agreed to work with us on a regular basis with Yorkshire Businesswoman and chatted with Matt Haycox who appeared on a recent Rich House Poor House TV show. Matt decided to help Anna who’s house he swapped with, by setting her up in her own dog walking business and we will be sharing her story with you in a forthcoming edition.

Contents & Comments

N E W S U P D AT E

Our next edition publishes at the end of July so if you do have any stories, do share them with us.

Gill TopicUK May 2020

5

N E W S U P D AT E

New appointment for Beverley Building Society

Beverley Building Society is delighted to welcome Esther Morley to the Board as a Non-Executive Director.

Esther has 20 years of financial services experience, and in particular the lending knowledge she gained during her time as Managing Director of challenger bank Secure Trust’s Mortgage Division.

Society Chairman Stuart Purdy said of her appointment: “It’s great to have Esther further bolster our highly experienced Board team. I’m confident she will bring fresh ideas, and her own

6

unique brand of dynamism and energy, to our board. Her arrival is particularly timely, given our strong focus on growing our lending as part of our Building Better Futures strategy. Esther’s knowledge and experience, gained working with a leading specialist lender, will be invaluable as we further develop our ‘commonsense lending’ approach.”

And Esther’s first impressions of the Beverley, which represents her

first non-executive position, are equally positive.

“I was attracted to this role because of the opportunity it represents to work with an organisation with such a history and presence in its region, which balances real potential with a genuinely warm and friendly approach to customer service.

I think there’s a huge opportunity for the Beverley to further engrain itself within its East Yorkshire community, in particular, as well as reaching a wider national customer base, by offering more

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

in terms of lending. I’m hoping that, with my skill set, I can help the Society in its desire to grow and further serve its membership.

“My background is in specialist lending and, in particular, serving those customers whose needs aren’t currently met by high street lenders. These people are an ideal target market for the Beverley because of the knowledge and experience within its lending team, and the fact it can take the time to support customers individually.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Karl and the team to help them bring that to life.”

N E W S U P D AT E

Ramsdens expand with partner hire care packages to most vulnerable Ramsdens Solicitors have appointed Will Trust and Estate Disputes specialist, Nazia Nawaz as Partner in their contentious probate team.

Nazia brings with her a wealth of litigation and dispute Resolution experience of over 20 years, specialising in all types of inheritance disputes and contentious probate matters as well as land and farming disputes, including will validity claims, removal of executors and trustees and financial abuse claims.

She joins Ramsdens having previously led the Will Trust and Estate Disputes team in the Manchester office of a national top 25 law firm where she helped establish the team. Nazia has also spent most of the past 6 years working at a highly reputable North West law firm where she developed the firm’s contentious probate offering.

Nazia commented: “I have always admired Ramsdens as one of the most reputable and leading law firms in Yorkshire and am honoured to be joining the firm. I look forward to being part of and to contribute to Ramsdens continued journey and success story.

Evolve Paul Joyce , Managing Partner added: “We are delighted to welcome Nazia to Ramsdens. She has a wealth of experience

that will boost our Contentious Probate practice. We’re always looking for opportunities

to strengthen our offering and support to our clients, to ensure that we evolve with their needs.”

AWM support Bradford ambulance station Associated Waste Management, trade waste manager, James Perkins and UK group marketing and PR Manager, Mike Robinson delivered face visors to Bradford ambulance station recently, In response to their request for help.

“The waste industry was classified as an essential service very early in this crisis and we know through our teams that there is a pressure for people to work under very different circumstances at the moment.

West Yorkshire ambulance service is under great pressure during these difficult times, but continue to provide the general public with a phenomenal frontline healthcare service.

“We assisted an NHS trust and shared our contacts within supply chain to help them secure 80,000 disposable aprons for use within the hospital,” Mike continued. “Later that week we had an enquiry through our local MP to see if we could help a residential care home with PPE for their staff. Unfortunately, a number of their residents had the virus and due to problems with logistics, staff accessing protective equipment was difficult. Through our channels we managed to get them 150 face visors which were delivered the same day.”

“We all know only too well how difficult it can be to procure equipment especially protective equipment when there is so much demand.

Thankfully we had available supplies that could be distributed to the ambulance service,” Mike told us.

The Beauparc Group has worked hard to ensure they support all our stakeholders through these very challenging times.

Their group technical teams have been working night and day 3D printing face visors which have been distributed throughout the UK to hospitals. The adaptability of the technology that they use in everyday work in life has been repurposed to assist.

TopicUK May 2020

7

N E W S U P D AT E had a much wider impact across the Bradford region beyond the business community. Lockdown during the pandemic has highlighted the needs of those who are the most vulnerable, those who are isolated and those who are suffering.

Ramadhan is a time for connection, being together and for family time.

Whilst lockdown disrupts the way that we celebrate it provides time for contemplation and reflection. As with those across the Muslim community, it is important that to reach out to those who are less fortunate.

Chadwick Lawrence deliver over 250 care packages to most vulnerable The COVID-19 Response Group has been set up by businessman Naveed Khan to deliver food and safety packages across Bradford to the most vulnerable in society during Ramadhan. Working with the Bradford Foundation Trust the aim is to reach out and to provide support to those most in need.

On Saturday, some members of the Chadwick Lawrence team gaveup their spare time to deliver 270 care packages to those struggling in the Bradford area to get food, medication and PPE during the pandemic.

Asma Iqbal, Partner at Chadwick Lawrence commented, “Our business is based at the heart of the Bradford business community. As an insolvency specialist, I understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on business across Bradford and the wider Yorkshire region.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, my colleagues and I have worked non-stop to provide support to business owners struggling to plan for the unknown in uncertain times.

But the impact of coronavirus has

8

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

It is a privilege to support Naveed Khan’s COVID Response initiative.

Chadwick Lawrence has 9 offices across West Yorkshire providing legal support to a diverse range of clients across the region. Through our partnership, not only can we contribute directly to those who need help but we can provide support by calling on our network of valued clients and contacts within the business community.

This is a sacred time for the Muslim community. We have to have faith that we can pull together to survive these difficult times. My hope is that with the help of my Chadwick Lawrence family we will be able to help the people of Bradford support each other.”

Naveed Khan also commented on the partnership “With the support of Chadwick Lawrence on Saturday we were able to deliver 270 care packages across the Bradford region to those most vulnerable.

However, as families struggle through lockdown and with Eid approaching myself and those from Chadwick Lawrence also wanted to ensure that we provided something for the children. I am pleased to say that on Saturday, with each care package, we were also able to deliver a gift bag of toys and puzzles for children.”

Halifax’s iconic Georgian cloth hall goes global

ADVERTORIAL

as digital upgrade creates The Virtual Piece Hall

Visitors from around the globe will now be able to take a ‘virtual’ dive into the fascinating history of the multi-award winning Piece Hall in Halifax with the launch of ‘The Virtual Piece Hall’ - a new digital platform which offers a host of educational activities and exclusive archive material.

‘The Virtual Piece Hall’, which is now live, can be found on https://thepiecehall.co.uk/virtual and features an abundance of digital activities courtesy of the Heritage & Learning team created in partnership with artists, including those from Dean Clough, as well as The Piece Hall tenants and volunteers. The new online portal includes video content from The Piece Hall Story, a popular feature of The Piece Hall for many firsttime visitors, and an accessible way to learn about the building’s incredible heritage which has made it one of the North of England’s most striking landmarks.

Comments Nicky ChanceThompson DL, Chief Executive of charitable organisation The Piece Hall Trust: “As we’re not able to open to visitors at the moment,

we wanted to find a way to make all the brilliant resources we have available for people to use at home, so it made sense to launch them in a digital capacity. Obviously, nothing beats the experience of seeing the building in person, but we know there’s still a huge amount of support for The Piece Hall online, as demonstrated by it winning regional tourism agency, Welcome To Yorkshire’s “World Cup of Iconic Buildings” which was voted for on social media by members of the public. This way we’re able to give something back and offer a virtual experience of The Piece Hall’s rich heritage with a fun range of activities for all ages.”

Creativity Virtual visitors can also explore the colourful ‘People Play’ sculptures,

with a ‘tour’ of the works which currently grace the grand courtyard, background information about the project and artist Alice Irwin, and creative activities related to the vibrant exhibition. For those missing their regular creative sessions and drop-in arts and crafts activities, there is a ‘Crafty Cupboard’ for young people which features a range of fun family activities and ‘Crafts for Adults’, offering a variety of imaginative craft projects which can be done online, using everyday materials found in the home.

Added Nicky: “Not only is it a fantastic resource for parents looking for new ways to incorporate history and creativity into their home schooling, with videos, step-by-step guides, fun ideas and interesting narratives, but we also have lots of ideas for creative adults who are missing our usual craft events. We hope that everyone, from locals who visited us weekly to people around the world who may not who may not have experienced this spectacular building - will enjoy this new platform and we look

forward to welcoming them to The Piece Hall again when we reopen in the future.”

And it’s not just The Piece Hall’s dynamic heritage that has gone ‘digital’. Its eclectic mix of independent retailers were quick to respond to the lockdown, pivoting their ‘bricks’ offering toward ‘clicks’ and they are also being supported by the new virtual portal. With a huge rise in consumers actively looking at ways to support local retailers, The Virtual Piece Hall offers a place to shop for gifts, books, homewares, records, fashion and more.

For a full list of retailers’ digital activity visit https://www. thepiecehall.co.uk/virtual/trade

TopicUK May 2020

9

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Unsung Heroes

Under medical advice reluctantly I along with my wife were advised to socially isolate to protect my own health. I don’t have any immunity therefore I am at high risk of catching any infections or virus that are lurking about.

By Robert Burgess - Managing Director RJ Burgess

“18th March 2020 brought something I could never every have envisaged or ever contemplated”.

The business of RJ Burgess was established in 1995 and over the years we have served thousands of families helping them through very distressing times. The cards and letters of appreciation have always been received with heartfelt gratitude that our efforts have been worthwhile.

I have a team of people who all bring their own strengths and collective we pride ourselves on doing our best to serve the community that we live and work in.

Having to leave the team was heart wrenching for me. I felt that I was deserting my team and the communities that we serve at a time when I was more than ever needed.

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the whole of society and the funeral profession is changing rapidly to suit the demands that are being forced upon us.

I have been able to set up a home office and I have been able to deal with the

| C A R E , C O M PA SS I O N, C H O I C E

10

arranging of funerals and the paperwork that accompanies them. Having the facility to be able to have video calling has made such a difference now that we are advised not to have face to face meetings. Legislation, recommendations and guidance has constantly been updated or implemented. I was charged with absorbing the information and ensuring that the team were aware of what changes were taking place but also to keep the public informed of what was happening.

Whilst I am busy locked up in my house the rest of team are working in unparalleled circumstances providing support and dignity for the deceased. They are working long hours often without a break in the most difficult and sometimes frightening situations. During the Easter Holiday break when most people were having time with their loved ones my team were working together, planning work and looking for ways to help alleviate the immense pressure they were facing.

When faced with attending a death in the community they have to

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

establish if Covid-19 has been prevalent. If it has and the numbers are increasing daily then they have to attend to their duties if full personal protective equipment.

This PPE is essential for their own personal protection but also to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Not all bodies are confirmed Covid-19 but the respectful formalities of this process is hidden underneath the PPE.

Proud Despite being under enormous pressure the team continue to support each other whilst maintaining a calm professional approach to the work in hand.

They are all aware that families are relying on them to help and support them through very difficult and distressing circumstances. The team at times exhausted continue to work in a calm and professional manner. They continue to ensure that each family and their deceased loved ones continue to have the respect and dignity that they all deserve set against great levels of restrictions and guidelines.

As this pandemic continues to bring

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

an ever increasing number of deaths we continue to plan and prepare for more deaths and the team continue to offer reassurance and comfort to

the families they are dealing with. I am immensely proud of every single member of the team. They have given everything of themselves to

help and support bereaved families.

Day after day they face difficult and challenging decisions when handling deceased persons but

they have carried them out with the utmost respect and dignity.

They are fully aware of the risks that continue to face them yet continue to turn up for work day after day never complaining and making sure they don’t leave until all the work has been completed.

No words will ever be enough to express my appreciation for the work that these unsung heroes are doing every day under the most challenging circumstances.

Please show your support for the team in anyway you feel able to. I know they will appreciate it. They will continue to serve others during the most difficult times of their lives.

To arrange an appointment call 01924 894017 or visit the website www.rjburgess.co.uk TopicUK May 2020

11

ADVERTORIAL

Yorkshire fashion designer says ‘slow’ may become the fashion

By Daneile Moore – AD:VENTURE Marketing and Communications Officer.

Sonya said: “In the current situation, if you look at the sales figures, consumerism seems to be changing and it is more about buying less and buying better quality that will last longer.

People are slowly moving away from the fast fashion of the high street and buying investment pieces that transcend seasons.

“As a brand we also strive to work with sustainable fabrications from natural fibres where possible, created with less chemicals. So, the environment benefits too.”

Celebrity

A top fashion designer who came back to her Yorkshire roots to launch a high-end brand says the current lockdown may change the way people shop.

Sonya Bachra-Byrne, who is originally from Bradford, travelled the world working at top fashion houses for 18 years, before coming back to West Yorkshire to launch AVIE with her husband Liam last year.

12

Based in Leeds, the company specialises in ‘slow fashion’, or clothing that is stylish and lasts, as opposed to the ‘fast fashion’ of many high street brands.

AV I E , w h i c h w a s n a m e d ‘Eme rging Brand of 2019’ in the prestigious Drapers Inde pe nde nt Awards and invited to exhibit at Paris Fashion Week 2020, has been given business support by AD:VENTURE, a programme for new businesses in North and West Yorkshire funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

AVIE manufactures ethical luxury clothing aimed at women professionals, particularly those in the creative industries, with samples made in London and manufacturing in Europe. But Sonya hopes one day to move the manufacturing nearer to home.

The original idea for the brand started when Sonya was working in New York with celebrity clients like Demi Moore, Jessica Alba and Helen Hunt. The plans slowly grew as she travelled the world, working in countries like Spain, Italy and Denmark, before finally ending up in Australia as head of global design.

“My own experience gave me the idea for the brand. At the level I was working at I needed to look the part to be taken seriously as I could be presenting to a

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

board of directors who were all men for example. I needed to have authority and style without looking like a fashion victim.

“And then I took a little bit from each country I had worked in. For example, New York is polished with an attitude and Denmark is effortlessly edgy and minimalistic. So, when I came back to the UK, I had a clear idea of where I wanted the business to be and who I was targeting.”

But as a start-up business, AVIE needed to make the right impression to be taken seriously.

This is where AD:VENTURE came to Sonya’s aid with advice and funding. The company was given a grant to pay for topend portable photographic equipment, which meant Sonya and Liam, who is a photographer and videographer, could set up professional photoshoots in impressive locations.

The pictures from those shoots literally opened doors for the company, with the invitations to Paris Fashion Week and an invitation from an exclusive online German marketplace for sustainable fashion.

AVIE also trades online via its own website and, when they

Sponsored by

The award-winning public relations business specialising in B2B communications

Design professionals collaborate with Huddersfield’s University students following successful £0.25m bid Design professionals collaborate with Huddersfield’s University students following successful £0.25m bid

The Engine Room – based in Mirfield – has been entrusted to help deliver the proposed initiative to help unlock students’ design thinking potential.

The University of Huddersfield has secured a quarter-millionpound grant from the Office for Students (OfS), following a successful knowledge exchange bid to drive innovation between enterprising students and the region’s business community.

Entitled the Innovation and Creative Exchange (ICE+), the inte rdisciplinary e nte rprise challenge programme will be rolled out to at least 750 undergraduates and postgraduates o ve r the next two years.

And strategic design consultancy

SMEs from the Leeds City Region will be invited to pose real, complex

business problems for the students to solve. Concepts will then be pitched back to the organisations, and the winning teams will secure internship opportunities to implement the innovations. It is also hoped that the process will lead to wider knowledge transfer

partnerships and ideas for the students’ own start-ups.

already and a lot of that is thanks to the support from AD:VENTURE. Working with them was a catalyst that propelled us forward as a busi n ess. My A D : V ENT U RE mentor was amazing at putting us in touch with the right people and the grant really helped us get to the next level. Without that support I think I would have struggled for the next four or five years.”

give exciting local businesses the tools they need to grow, which in turn creates jobs and prosperity for the region.

Fantastic AD:VENT URE funding and delivery partners are from across the Leeds City Region and include the regions nine local authorities.

are open, through independent boutiques in Leeds and London.

Sonya said: “I can’t believe how far we have come as a business

Company of the Month

Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council said: “Avie are a fantastic example of how business support programmes can

Furthermore, the project utilises a self-assessment tool (from the company Innovas) to monitor students’ development of key enterprising skills and attributes.

“With the current challenges affecting businesses, we would urge them now more than ever to g e t i n to u c h a n d a c c e s s programmes like AD:VENTURE, and make sure they are taking advantage of support available to the m to put the m in the best possible position to thrive and find ne w ways through these unprecedented times we find ourselves in.”

To find out more about Avie, visit avie-studio.com.

Find more about AD:VENTURE visit www.ad-venture.org.uk

13

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Reaching for the stars

By Chris Worsley - Managing Director Easy Fireplaces

As a man who suffers from Depression, my view on things have changed drastically over the last few years, after a lot of self preservation, sole searching, repairing of myself and creating a much better mindset in order to cope with every day challenges and the world we live in today.

Being brought up in Manchester in the 80s, as a lad my team was Manchester City when everyone else in my class followed the other side known as Manchester United.

To d a y , m y c h a r a c t e r a n d personality go back to the age of 8, when I discovered Manchester City. At that time, they were a team to avoid and for sure not to support! My mum and dad were separated, so on weekends, my dad used to take me to work. He was security guard at Maine Road keeping his eye on the trophy room and main entrance which didn’t have many trophies in! On Saturday’s I was walked into the stadium, given a bag of chips and a drink and told not to move from the seat in the stand until he came back for me. I was treated to the finest of loyalty in football where the fans cheered for a corner and celebrated every goal like it had won them the match!

Personality Free transfers came into the club and they became the new heroes.

Youth lads came through the academy and they became the fans prized possession and new

14

family member! We had a manager at the time that arrived and said hello and departed just as quick in Steve Coppell lasting only 33 days!

All in all, it was a club based on nothing more than false hope, instability but a heap load of love and for some reason, I fell in love with them which was the start of my personality and love of the underdog and fighting to prove people wrong!

“I write this article in regard to a view from the outside.

I wanted to put down on paper and share with a wider audience, key things like depression”.

journey to Sarajevo. Had several near misses in helicopter flights but all in all, I loved it and only when digested, I think it made me a better person.

When I left the Royal Signals, I really struggled settling into society. A lot of former ex forces end up on the streets and I can see exactly how it happens, you really are only one mistake away from disaster. The mindset of a soldier to a civilian is very different and acceptance of average results and average performance isn’t acceptable and hard to overcome.

Situations

I set up my business in 2006 after At the age of eight, we had a few saving 6 months of wages, in order issues with health in our family to try for myself what I believed losing my grandad to Cancer and was the perfect opportunity. Since the passing of my then, I have built a Nana who I found successful business “I felt fine and dead when I was that I am proud of had no idea just 9 years old. and with a team what was about around me that I During my time in am very happy to the army, a time I to happen. I hit work with. My wife really enjoyed as rockbottom...” a n d f a m i l y h av e it allowed me to been key to this. travel the world, doing a tour of Bosnia, Kosovo Big changes happened around 6 and Croatia, spending time in years ago just before our second Cyprus and based in Bath and child arrived. I didn’t see that Blandford, I experienced many I had been carrying an issue things that made me the person around with me for years and I am today. I was held hostage not dealt with situations in the on a bus in Croatia, got stuck past. I felt fine and had no idea on a mine field when our driver what was about to happen. I had fallen a sleep during a long hit rock bottom!

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

Work was great, family life was great, money was great, but I had just hit rock bottom emotionally!

Why? I had no idea and couldn’t pick myself up. My family tried everything, but I requested to be sectioned after I had decided my life wasn’t worth living and had selected a point on the motorway where I would run my car up an embankment into a wall. Causing no harm or issues to anyone else.

The moment I realised what I had planned I realised I was ill.

I paid for private counselling, this didn’t work. I took time off, that didn’t work. I went on holiday and tried sport, that didn’t work. I had no idea what was wrong!

I went to see my doctor, instead saw a locum as mine was off ill.

This doctor helped to save my life.

My wife and I sat there and told her all the issues and she said, don’t worry I have the perfect person for you! I was introduced to a doctor called Martin – now known to me as Doc Martin. Doc Martin had just completed a new course at Manchester University on mindset.

We gave it a go and wow after 10 weeks I was amazing. Within 18 months I was off medication and self-medicating with controls that Doc Martin had helped me to learn.

Working on yourself and your mind gives you thinking space and room to breathe.

PA R T N E R U P D AT E Mindset work allowed me to create coping mechanisms for when times get hard and when things go wrong! The point I am making is talking and working on yourself was my key, medication is a temporary solution in order to help you get your mind ready and working for you and in the way, you need it to work. Mindset – the best coping mechanism you can ever wish for.

Enjoying Depression isn’t something dark and dirty, but society still doesn’t talk about it enough. To some, it sits quietly and underneath the layers of people’s personalities causing quiet issues preventing you from being the best

person you can be. Start to talk and start working on your mindset today.

Catherine TyldesleyActress

B u s i n e s s a n d Pe r s o n a l Coaches I class as the same, as all they work on in the end is your mind and you as a person. Give yourself a pat on the back and an MOT and start enjoying life the way you can.

The one thing we all have in common is a passport.

Your passport allows you to travel and without it you can’t leave the country.

It’s the same situation with your mind. If you don’t allow it to travel, you will remain closed off and won’t express yourself in the correct manner. Your mindset is your passport to life!

Testimonial Easy Fireplace came highly recomme nded b y a frie nd. I have to say the y completely lived up to the hype and then some. Right from the start their customer service was second to none. Taking e verything into consideration from a style and safety point of view. Easy Fire place created our dream fireplace.

I never thought I’d say this but we love it when it’s chilly in the evenings , as having our fire on makes our lounge look so beautiful.

We’re truly thrilled with their work and their sound advice! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone. A genuine, honest, hard working company.

TopicUK May 2020

15

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Stand out PR moments during COVID19

It’s been said that businesses will be known for what they did, and probably more so, what they didn’t do during the COVID19 outbreak.

To help mitigate you from a PR disaster, the team at Huddersfield based PR and Marketing agency, KC Communications, share some of their standout moments over the past couple of months to keep you on the right track.

16

Katrina – Managing Director Motor insurance firm Admiral announcing plans to give all customers a £25 refund was a wow moment. Equating to a total pay-out of £110 million, it’s hardly The standout PR hero of likely to put the pandemic is the newly a d e n t i n appointed PE teacher of Admiral’s the nation, Joe Wicks... coffers considering they announced record breaking profits of £479 million in 2018.

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

However, it’s likely to leave customers feeling positive about the insurance firm for  editor@topicuk.co.uk

the unexpected pay-out which has resulted in calls for other insurers to follow suit.

That being said, it is a fantastic PR stunt having achieved coverage from Which? BBC, Telegraph, Express and even LadBible in a move that has probably resulted in significant brand awareness.

Sentiment on Twitter is high, with some donating their £25 to NHS charities and others commenting on how they plan to stick with the firm upon renewal.

Ellis – Account Director For me, the standout PR hero of the pandemic is the newly appointed PE teacher of the nation, Joe Wicks. The celebrity personal trainer, whose following pre-pandemic consisted of fitness fanatics, thanks to his high-intensity workouts and viral recipe videos, has brought fitness to the masses through his PE with Joe YouTube videos, designed to act as a stop-gap for children to keep active during the lockdown.

The popularity of the videos is absolutely unprecedented,

amassing more than 23 million views in the first week, as families around the world tuned in. The popularity of the videos has spanned across all his social media platforms, with Socialblade showing a 243.4% increase in Instagram followers over the last 30 days- showing the true power of adapting your USP for a mass market. Joe truly has won the nation’s heart, particularly after announcing all ad revenue from the PE with Joe videos will be donated to the NHS, which as of the 20th April is a staggering £91,000.

Kayleigh – Junior Account Manager

PA R T N E R U P D AT E publicising a public relief fund which asked for people to donate to Amazon’s contract employees working during COVID19. With Amazon valued at $1 Trillion, (with Mr Bezos himself worth $114 Billion), and Amazon set to profit significantly from the increase in online shopping, this campaign caused a major backlash with consumers not understanding why Amazon could not pay their own staff wages.

With many people struggling financially as a result of job losses, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (the world’s richest man), obviously didn’t consider this when

It remains to be seen if his donation to bricks and mortar booksellers has smoothed things over.

Megan – Junior Account Manager Companies and organisations have needed to pay particular attention to their PR efforts during the COVID19 pandemic.

Effective crisis communication is paramount to ensure brands’ reputation and credibility stay intact. Liverpool FC received its share of negative publicity during the pandemic after it announced it was planning to furlough its non-playing staff. This statement received a huge backlash from the public and even its fans.

However, Liverpool managed to turn it around by scrapping its furlough plans and admitting it had made a mistake.

The situation was handled with honesty and integrity.

Hollie – Account Executive Brands are taking matters into its own hands when it comes to ensuring its employee’s safety and wellbeing during the global pandemic. One standout brand for me was Coca-Cola, who was among the first to release a statement explaining how they are implementing the

social distancing measures within the workplace for their employees. Amongst other well-known brands, such as Audi, Volkswagen and McDonalds, Coca Cola have implemented the social distancing measures within their logos to enforce onto the public.

Lana – Operations Manager

It can be easy during these times to be stuck within a negative mind frame, with a lot of the news reported at the moment being bad news. Brands that are actively communicating a positive message are of great benefit on social media feeds right now. I think that innocent drinks are doing it right by bringing humour to what is a bleak situation for many. With their light-hearted tweets particularly the reminders of what day it is each day. We’d love to hear what’s stood out to you, tweet us @kccomms TopicUK May 2020

17

SP A P ER C T INAELR FUEPADT A UTREE

We will be launching ‘Walkshire’ which will celebrate Yorkshire’s reputation as the place to walk in the UK...

Afte r leaving school, James attended Newcastle University to study psychology and philosophy. He then took a gap year and travelled across the world incorporating as many sporting events as possible, such as cricket and rugby in South Africa and New Zealand, football in North and South America and even managed to squeeze in a trip to the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

On his return to the UK, it was James’ love of sport that led him on to a career in sports journalism.

“I did a postgraduate degree in journalism at Leeds Trinity then worked as a sports and news reporter for both television and radio predominantly for the BBC. Working for the BBC World Service broadcasting to the world was a career highlight!”

Success

James Mason

travelled the world but always returned to Yorkshire Born and raised in Bradford, James Mason had some very well-known shoes to fill when he took over as CEO of Welcome to Yorkshire in January this year, but six months on, in what can only be described as very challenging times, he seems to have settled nicely into the role.

18

I have always had a keen interest in business and prior to returning to study I worked in sales for an Italian joinery firm for a year to save up for my tuition fees “I enjoyed this role so much that I set up my own e-commerce selling their products. For the next ten years I worked both as a journalist whilst doing the PR, sales and marketing to build my own business. This proved to be a success and we developed a national sales network and even sold our own bespoke products across the world. I later brought a partner into the business as it grew, adding more staff and showrooms.”

I n 2014 it was James’ love of sport and business that presented him with a life-changing opportunity to help run his home town football club Bradford City. “The club had enjoyed some phenomenal success

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

reaching a major cup final as a fourth division side and promotion in the same year. The then chief executive David Baldwin (who has since become a good friend) was leaving to take up a similar role at Burnley F.C. and I approached the Bradford chairman to offer my services initially for free for a 6 week period. I stayed for four and a half years and had the best time of my life! Thankfully I was paid for the last four years!”

James’ marketing and business skills came to the fore when ticket sales at the club grew from around 11,000 to 19,000 thanks to some creative marketing campaigns and continued success on the pitch.

James, a father of two added, “We

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E and it was obvious that changes were needed to drive it forward.

With Peter Box (former Wakefield Council leader ) as chairman, we are keen to ensure that the organisation operates in an open and transparent way. We are notfor-profit and funded by both the public and private sector so it is important we bring everyone along for the journey. Overall, I am very proud of our staff. 2019 was a difficult year for them all and 2020 has forced my hand to rationalise even further with many events postponed or cancelled.

This wasn’t the plan! However, the plan was to move towards a growing digital and online presence and this work is well underway,” he added.

had built a really engaged online community and large membership base and it was this understanding of membership that helped me secure my role at Welcome to Yorkshire as we also need to grow our customer base. I have travelled the world extensively and spent a year as a sports agent which enabled me to understand tourism marketing from a business traveller’s perspective. This has helped enormously with my approach to this current role.”

Transfe rring those skills of working in sport worked very well with his role at Welcome to Yorkshire where he hopes to bring energy and further creativity. “We are set to introduce a new business membership model as well as a

first-ever personal membership offer to attract people with a Yorkshire connection from all across the world. We of course will continue with the hugely successful Tour de Yorkshire, but Yorkshire and Welcome to Yorkshire have so much more to offer than just cycling. We have a strong team of staff and a really supportive board of directors. I think the future with our many new initiatives for the remainder of 2020 and 2021 is an exciting one” No sooner had James, a shrewd businessman, taken the helm at Welcome to Yorkshire when COVID-19 struck and the doors h a d to c l o s e , c a u s i n g h u g e problems for the tourist industry.

“It has been incredibly sad to see the region’s hotels, restaurants, bars and tourist attractions close. Many events planned for spring and summer have had to be postponed and rescheduled but Yorkshire folk are resilient and creative and the industry will bounce back I am sure of that.

Keen “Welcome to Yorkshire staff have remained upbeat and positive even though like many other businesses, we have had to furlough a large number. When I took over the reins, I spent an hour with each member of the team, looking at each of their roles and made a few changes that were necessary. The organisation has had problems

“We sadly had to postpone Y20 (the UK’s largest onstage tourism show), and of course the Tour de Yorkshire, plus the Great Yorkshire Show was cancelled, all of which raise awareness for the organisation and our region, not just in the UK but on a global scale. On a positive note, I think we all have a new appreciation of what is on our doorstep and working with all our partners across the county.

We will be launching ‘Walkshire’ which will celebrate Yorkshire’s reputation as the place to walk in the UK. I also hope to develop a Yorkshire App so that when lockdown is lifted and businesses can once again reopen their doors, we will be there to support and promote our many members and those wonderful towns, villages and amazing visitor attractions across our region, country and globe. Coronavirus has presented us with a setback but look out for Yorkshire’s comeback. We’re ready to take advantage of this opportunity,” he concluded.

TopicUK May 2020

19

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Tailored IT support from Bellingham IT for landlords West Yorkshire based technology solutions specialist, Bellingham IT provide support for businesses throughout the Wakefield and Leeds districts, specialising in hardware, operating systems and application software.

Along with a proven track record of supporting landlords who are looking to offer managed workspaces, Bellingham IT are also experts in establishing a network infrastructure that enables organisations to operate in a safe environment.

Live at Production Park Among other clients, Bellingham is responsible for the provision of all IT services for Production Park, the UK’s leading live events community that brings together technology, creative space and education.

Providing a dynamic infrastructure for its team, and for those businesses that operate throughout, Production Park required a robust IT infrastructure which offered segregated networks for each individual tenant that were safe, secure and simple to administrate.

With extensive experience in working with landlords, business centres and those that operate shared office space, Bellingham delivered a bespoke package for Production Park. The solution not only increased network security, performance, and manageability but also future-proofed systems to support further growth and ambitious plans of the business.

Paul Heigham, Director at Bellingham IT, comments: “We have a great deal of experience working with segregated networks and our dedicated team of professionals have developed a clear understanding of the unique requirements that come with managing multiple tenants.”

20  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

In addition to implementing a tailored solution that meets the needs of the business, Bellingham are also directly responsible for managing all day to day support for Production Park employees.

“We both recognised the value of delivering onsite IT provision,” explains Paul. “The beauty of this is we provide all the benefits of an in-house department, without the headache of managing one! This isn’t a contract, but a long-term relationship that supports future growth for Production Park and for Bellingham as we support new clients and continue to offer varied IT related services.”

Lee Brooks, CEO at Production Park,

PA R T N E R U P D AT E risks and kept data safe for multiple users at all times.

The installation of such an intricate and complex IT network required expert consideration and so presented the Bellingham team with an opportunity to collaborate with an external consultant who specialises in all network switches.

Paul comments: “Our sector is constantly evolving, working within IT is unlike any other industry, and often specialists are required. We take pride in always identifying best in class partners who can assist in executing complex IT support for clients.”

The unique requirements of South Parade were recognised by the Bellingham team who successfully installed a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) solution, which enabled all users to be separated into individual network segments, ensuring a high level of security.

The Bellingham IT team, settling into their new office at Production Park.

IT installation at South Parade Business Centre In addition to Production Park, Bellingham IT has also recently completed the installation of an entire IT infrastructure within a business hub situated in the heart of Wakefield; South Parade is a multi-occupancy building.

adds: “IT is integral to supporting our future growth. Recognising this, we made the commitment to invest in our infrastructure but knew that finding the right partner was crucial.

We did not want a supplier that

would work at arm’s length, but one that was willing to understand our business inside and out.

“Bellingham, through their bespoke offering, can do just that.”

When the decision was made to refurbish the building in early August 2019, Bellingham IT were called in to help with repurposing South Parade into a business centre.

To support this vision a robust network was required, one that ultimately eliminated security

“Implementing an IT infrastructure within an old Georgian building wasn’t without its own set of challenges,” adds Paul. “As an example, when we installed the wireless network, we had to ensure that the signal was not significantly affected by the thick walls inside.

Fortunately, the chosen infrastructure that was not only efficient but also complemented the architecture.”

By recognising that creating a smart office environment was crucial for the client to attract and retain tenants, the Bellingham team was able to deliver IT support that fulfilled the brief.

To find out more about Bellingham IT and the services they offer, visit www.bellinghamit.co.uk or alternatively contact the team by telephone on 01924 253 205 TopicUK May 2020

21

R E S TA U R A N T U P D AT E

We will eat again!

Unable to dine out because of lockdown, Wakefield Civic Society President Kevin Trickett MBE looks back to happier times.

Do you remember when we used to go out to eat at cafés and restaurants? When we could sit in bars and pubs having food and drink freshly prepared and served for us by others?

As I write this at the beginning

of May 2020, and over six weeks into ‘corona lockdown’, the hospitality and catering trades are in crisis with many staff furloughed or laid off. Dining out seems all so historical and the prospects for anything like a return to normal are currently unknowable.

And, gosh, we do miss eating out! It is, after all, such an enjoyable, sociable, and convivial way to spend time together with friends and family while catching up on all the latest news. It doesn’t have to be an evening meal, of course; lunch, afternoon tea or even coffee and cake in a café can offer plenty of scope to taste good food while chatting amiably and people watching.

Some people are taking their dining experience on-line using one of the video conferencing apps to keep in touch with friends while sharing a meal or just a drink from the comfort of their dining rooms, kitchen tables and sofas, but the great thing about eating out, rather than in, is that you don’t have to worry about having to cook or cater for special diets (and other people’s faddy likes and dislikes!). Just ask for the menu and let someone else worry about the details! On top of that, there’s no washing up to do afterwards. And doesn’t food

22  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

taste better when someone else has cooked it and the pressure is taken off your shoulders?

Enjoyable When I suggested that we set up a monthly Dining Club at Wakefield Civic Society back in 2010, I little expected that, over 10 years later, the Club would still be going strong, but (the current problems aside) we still get a decent turnout of members – anything from around a dozen to maybe 30 people meeting up once a month on a Thursday evening to have a meal together at a different venue each time. The Club has made an occasional appearance in my articles for the magazine, but the continued success just shows how great is the appetite for shared dining experiences.

I was lucky enough to squeeze in two restaurant meals just before lockdown started. A night out with the Society’s Dining Club at the beginning of March when we met at Dolce Vita, a new Italian restaurant which had recently opened on Smyth Street in Wakefield.

There were 30 of us who sat down to dine that evening and we had a great night, so much so that I thought I might return in due course to do a proper review – I guess that will have

R E S TA U R A N T U P D AT E to wait now. A week later, I had dinner at Duchniak’s, a Polish restaurant in lower Kirkgate. This time there were only three of us, so it was a much quieter night; made all the more so because by then many people had started to stay at home because of the virus and we were the only customers present. Nonetheless, we had a most enjoyable evening.

With no restaurant to review for this edition of the magazine, I’ve been looking back through my archive of articles and see that, since starting to write for TopicUK in 2013, I have contributed nearly 40 reviews, including some articles where I have written combined food with travel pieces.

Usually, my restaurant reviews are arranged with the establishment in advance and my partner and I dine as guests of the restaurant, but there have also been occasions when I’ve been somewhere at my own expense and thought it worth writing about. Some people come back from holiday and show you their holiday snaps: I get to write articles about what I had to eat!

One such article was about a trip I made to London in 2016 to have dinner at the House of Lords with members of the Yorkshire Society. Another was my visit to the Art Deco Midland Hotel in 2019 where dining in the hotel restaurant overlooking Morecambe Bay was a fabulous highlight.

My travel items have been based on adventures aboard trains and ships. One item I wrote was about a black-tie ‘Dining with Distinction’ event on board an East Lancs Railway steam special from Bury station. It was hauled

The New Inn at Walton

by a splendid maroon-liveried locomotive while we were seated in Pullman-style heritage railway carriages.

Steam trains also featured in my reports of the excursions I made on the Settle-Carlisle Railway (brunch and five-course dinner with wine in first-class heritage coaches) and when I had dinner aboard Le Train Bleu Foncé, a unique train run by the Nene Valley Railway in Peterborough using authentic Orient Express carriages from the 1920s and 30s (the carriages were also used in an episode of Poirot!). For my 60th birthday treat to self, I was able to experience the ‘genuine article’ when I had the good fortune to travel back from Venice to London on board the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express as part of a cruise and rail holiday. A day out on the Northern Belle

in 2019 re-captured the spirit of that trip as the train was until recently owned by the company which runs the VeniceSimplon train before being

And, gosh, we do miss eating out! It is, after all, such an enjoyable, sociable, and convivial way to spend time together... bought by a Wakefieldbased businessman.

My only other travel and food item in the series was a report of a holiday I had on board the Queen Mary 2. This was an exceptional occasion to celebrate Cunard’s 175th anniversary. The company had arranged for all three of their ships, the QM2,

the Q ueen Elizabeth and the Queen Victoria, to meet in Live rpool.

Yes, I was aboard the QM2 that day back in 2016 when thousands of people assembled on the quayside to watch the three ships move to the centre of the River Mersey and pirouette in perfect synchronicity just after the Red Arrows flew overhead in a spectacular fly past.

Specialising Most of my reviews were, though, restaurant based.

There was no gentle rocking as the train wheels rattled over the points nor any motion of the ocean for these: you don’t get many opportunities for sea views in and around Wakefield.

TopicUK May 2020

23

N E W S U P D AT E

Like so many towns and cities, Wakefield now offers an increasingly cosmopolitan choice of restaurant.

Whereas two decades ago you would have probably found little more than a limited range of, say, Indian, Italian and Chinese restaurants with the fallback option of pub food, these days you can pick from all those (and in increasing number and variety) plus Brazilian, Greek, Polish, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, and even Abyssinian, as well, of course, as fine British cuisine. We’ve also seen a smattering of American-themed restaurants, and ones specialising in African, French and Russian food although

24  @

topicuk-magazine

these have since closed.

So let me finish by saying a big thank you to all those establishments that have invited me in to do a review and for their generosity in treating me to lunch or dinner and working with me on my articles. In the order that I reviewed them they were as follows – all in Wakefield city centre except where shown: Iris, Felice’s Bella Roma, The Castle (Sandal), Delphi, Grill 31 (since closed), Gaskell’s at Wakefield College, Malagor Thai (at Ossett), Valentino’s (Outwood), Duchniak’s, Olive

and Mezze, The Brown Cow (Ackworth), Capri Bar and Restaurant (Horbury Bridge), Café Create (a special Cocktail Master Class evening for Wakefield Civic Society Dining Club), Orlando’s (Grange Moor), Cedar Court Hotel (Calder Grove), New York Italian Kitchen (since closed), Street Food (now trading as Sofra Turkish Grill), José’s Tapas Restaurant, Qubana, Ego (Horbury), The Hepworth Wakefield Café, Robatary, The New Inn (Walton), Mocca Moocho, Bar Biccari (Horbury), Corarima, Dakota Hotel (Leeds), The Pledwick (Sandal) and, last but not least, Fino.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

Of course, they are all closed for now (though some are offering take-away and home delivery services during the lockdown period), but let us hope that it won’t be too long before these businesses can re-open fully and we can once more renew our acquaintanceship.

To all our restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs: we’re missing you and we need you back in our lives! We will, I am sure return in droves once your doors re-open and it is safe to venture out.

I don’t know quite when, but we will eat again.

ADVERTORIAL

The Practice picked up eight national awards in the past year

How Town Hall Dental became one of the UK’s premier dental practices Based in the Old Town Hall, Brighouse, Town Hall Dental have been providing cosmetic and general dentistry for the Yorkshire area since 2012. The awards top off a period in which the practice has undertaken a large amount of charity work across Yorkshire and announced plans to add three new treatment rooms and create several additional jobs in the area.

Town Hall Dental have been active across Yorkshire in the past 12 months, announcing their partnership with Leeds United Football Club, providing treatment for the players and staff. Through their non-profit, The Town Hall Foundation, the team have been regularly involved in charitable giving and fundraising activities throughout the year. Their activities including volunteering with the homeless in Leeds, providing oral health education in schools and

Brighouse based private dental practice, Town Hall Dental, have reason to celebrate, having been awarded eight national Dentistry awards in the past 12 months.

trips to Calais to assist with those impacted by the refugee crisis.

Prestigious The awards come from two of the most recognised e ve nts on the industry calendar, The Dentistry Awards and Private Dentistry Awards. Town Hall were recognised as Practice of the Year, providing the Best Patient Care and organising the Best Charity Project. Practice Manager Rachel Dilley and Dental Nurse Kayla Noble were awarded Most Invaluable Team Member and Best Dental Nurse in the North of England respectively.

In addition to these, the practice was awarded the prestigious CSR Gold Award for their work through their foundation, and winner of the Best Dental Practice UK at the M&A Gold Awards.

we’ve proved ourselves as one of the premier practices in the country. We can’t wait to welcome patients, both old and new, through our doors when the current pandemic is over”.

Town Hall have significant plans in place for the end of current lockdown measures, hoping to continue to expand their charitable work and range of treatments for patients.

Three new treatment rooms will be installed in their Brighouse headquarters, and they are seeking charitable status for their non-profits.

Rachel added “With our new treatment rooms currently being built and launching a specialist aesthetics clinic to go alongside our dental work, we can now deliver the same standard of service to even more people. We’ll still continue to help those in need and support our local community.”

Practice Manager and award winner, Rachel Dilley, commented “The past year has seen an awful lot of work go into Town Hall, with our patients and our work in the community. It’s a pleasure to have recognition from our colleagues that the work we’re doing is appreciated.”

The Old Town Hall, Thornton Square, Brighouse HD6 1EA Tel: 01484 723788 Email: info@townhalldental.co.uk Web: www.townhalldental.co.uk

“We’ve done more than ever to help others this year, and we felt like we’d achieved a lot, but with these awards

TOWN HALL DENTAL BRIGHOUSE

TopicUK May 2020

25

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Town Hall support patients and the community with COVID-19 response Situated in the Old Town Hall, Town Hall Dental have been providing cosmetic and general dentistry for the Yorkshire area since 2012.

Recently, the practice made headlines after picking up six national industry awards, including Best Practice and Best Patient Care. The team also act as the official dental partners for Leeds United, providing dental care for their players and staff.

Focus4Hope is a local community

group founded in September 2016.

Their work involves fundraising events for the local homeless, elderly and isolated in West Yorkshire, as well as fortnightly outreach events to help the homeless in Leeds city centre.

Delivered Due to their regular work with the isolated, and partnerships with numerous organisations who refer

Town Hall Dental Commercial Photography Halifax - Danny Thompson

Brighouse based private dental practice, Town Hall Dental, in partnership with nonprofit Focus4Hope are providing emergency care packages, including food and toiletries, for vulnerable members of the community and NHS workers fighting on the frontline to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

26  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

individuals to them, the team are producing care packages for those most impacted by the virus. These deliveries are being made available for the elderly, disabled, vulnerable and most at risk of infection. The packages themselves include food and home essentials such as toilet paper. Volunteers have also been collecting prescription medicine for those who cannot leave their homes.

As well as their services for the vulne rable, Focus4Hope are producing packages for NHS workers fighting the virus on the frontlines.

These are being delivered to local hospitals and distributed to doctors and nurses who may not be able to access the supermarket during normal working hours or are being told to isolate outside of work.

In addition to these measures, designated ‘coronavirus leads’ have been appointed at the practice.

These trained staff members will be able to provide guidance for individuals seeking guidance on whether they are able to visit a dental professional, as well as the resources available to them.

Fo c u s 4 H o p e a r e c u r r e n t l y delivering over 100 parcels a week, a number which they expect to see rise as isolation measures continue into April.

Rachel Dilley, Practice Manager at

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Town Hall Dental, commented “Our role now as a practice is to provide support for as many people in need in the community as possible, while taking the stress from the NHS and the amazing workers fighting the virus on the frontlines. Being able to provide consultations for patients remotely ensures that people can stay home and prevent any unnecessary social contact”.

Consultation “Never has the dental industry, or indeed the world, dealt with anything like this in our lifetimes. There’s no manual to tell you what to do,

and as professionals in leadership positions this must be one of the greatest challenges we have faced.

All the skills we have learnt over the years have enabled us to protect staff, patients and be able to adapt to a new situation quickly and efficiently.”

The practice is now rolling out a video consultation service, where patients can speak directly to their dentist either by phone or video chat, who can diagnose any oral health problems remotely and prescribe the best actions or medications to take. The practice has pledged to continue doing what they can to help those in need.

Rachel added “As a practice, we are well equipped and able to help our community at every opportunity, and our experience from helping groups such as the migrant refugees in Calais is invaluable in situations such as this. We’re continuing to monitor the situation and provide aid wherever we can.”

to those who need it the most, and is our priority in these difficult times. Naturally we’re upset that we can’t hold events for the isolated like we have in the past, but we feel that there is an even greater need now, when many cannot access the essentials they need to survive like food”

Frontline

Speaking on their parcels for the NHS, Louise added “To help the frontline workers in any way is hugely important to us. They are risking their lives to make sure all of us stay safe, and we appreciate any donations of food, supplies or money to help them now”.

L o u i s e R e e d , Fo u n d e r o f Focus4Hope, commented “Before the crisis, we worked regularly with the homeless and isolated in our community. Providing a service like this now is incredibly important

TopicUK May 2020

27

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

How an apprenticeship can work for you An apprenticeship is an ideal way for people to gain a qualification while working to learn the skills needed for their chosen career.

Both now and in the future, apprenticeships will provide the next generation of workforce and many business benefits.

Kirklees College offers the widest range of apprenticeships in Calderdale and Kirklees and train approximately 2,000 apprentices over 30 occupational areas who are employed at over 1000 companies in West Yorkshire.

With opportunities in sectors from Construction and Engineering, to Hair and Beauty and Hospitality and Catering, the college is committed to supporting the personal and professional development of all its students.

The college also works closely with hundreds of employers to make sure the skills that students are learning are tailored to suit their business’s needs.

Tyler Roberts, aged 20, is a Level Three Motor Vehicle apprentice at Kirklees College who is currently working at Arrow Self Drive in Wakefield, who lease commercial vehicles on a short term, long term and contract hire basis to local businesses.

Since starting his apprenticeship, he has gone on to achieve the accolade of Apprentice of the Year at this year’s Kirklees College Outstanding Learner Success Awards and his employer has praised his positive attitude to learning and work ethic.

Kirklees College spoke to Tyler to learn more about his experience as an apprentice and what advice he would give to other students considering the apprenticeship route.

Q: Why did you decide to do an apprenticeship at Kirklees College?

I’ve always had a passion for cars,

28  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

PA R T N E R U P D AT E particularly old school ‘90s models, and had an interest in fixing, repairing and modifying cars from an early age. I decided to apply for an apprenticeship because it seemed like a way to fast-track into the job I wanted to do, and I get to learn while I earn. I chose to study at Kirklees College because it’s different to a school environment, as it’s more flexible and laid back. The tutors are also supportive and help you to achieve your goals in life.

Q: What does your role as an apprentice involve?

My day to day role involves maintaining and se rvicing the 2000 vehicle fleet. I am responsible for everything from changing brakes and tyres, to carrying out inspections. As an apprentice, you get to work on something different every day so you’re always learning new skills. I enjoy this apprenticeship as I get to do what I love and work for a great company with a supportive team.

Q: What are your plans for after you complete your apprenticeship?

Once I finish my apprenticeship, I plan to continue to work for Arrow Self Drive. It’s a fantastic company to work for and I have great prospects for the future here with career progression opportunities.

Q: What advice would you give to someone considering an apprenticeship?

My advice would be don’t be afraid to ask because if you don’t ask, the answer is always going to be no.

We also spoke to Tyler’s employer, Chris Brian, Area Workshop Manager at Arrow Self Drive for

his opinion about the benefits of hiring an apprentice.

Q: How did you go about finding an apprentice that was the right fit for your business?

Tyler was recommended to us

by Kirklees College as his tutors spoke very highly of him and we were asked if we would give him a chance. This turned out to be a fantastic decision for the business, as out of all the apprentices we’ve hired over the years, Tyler is one of the best we’ve ever had.

Q: What attributes do you look for in an apprentice?

I started at Arrow Self Drive 21 years ago as an apprentice like Tyler. Since then, I have worked my way up the business and

am now Area Workshop Manager. The values that we look for in an apprentice are the same that we adopt

I decided to apply for an apprenticeship because it seemed like a way to fast-track into the job I wanted to do, and I get to learn while I earn. in the business; teamwork, hard-working, loyalty and quality of work.

Q: Would you recommend KC to other employers?

We have a long-standing working relationship with Kirklees College, and I would recommend them to any other employer

conside ring hiring an apprentice. They have been supportive through each stage of the process, from choosing the apprentice through to training them to a high standard so they are well equipped to work in the industry. Over the years, the college has consistently provided us with highquality apprentices, which in turn has allowed us to keep delivering the best possible service to our customers.

If you’re a prospective student or employer and would like further information on apprenticeships at Kirklees College, please visit https://www. kirkleescollege.ac.uk/ apprenticeships/. info@ kirkleescollege.ac.uk.

TopicUK May 2020

29

ADVERTORIAL

Post coronavirus survival tips for businesses Huddersfield firm Core Facility Services has been helping local businesses improve their bottom line for the past 20 years so when the coronavirus pandemic struck, its team immediately got to work contacting clients and offering free video support to local firms.

“Helping firms save money and improve sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and the economic impact of lockdown has suddenly made this more relevant than ever,” explained managing director Colette Watts.

Core Facility Services offers businesses one central point of contact for IT, estates, waste and energy services. It helps clients achieve best value from their energy and waste suppliers and plan for a sustainable future.

IT

to reduce your business’s impact on the environment and can save money. We can look at a range of efficiency initiatives, set up and oversee consumption and demand reporting and even carry out feasibility studies on energy saving technologies such as renewables.

WASTE Better deal Changing your supplier could q u i c k l y c u t y o u r b i l l s. We independently assess over 30 UK suppliers to find the best deals.

ENERGY

One point of contact Multiple waste streams can mean multiple suppliers, contracts and invoices. We provide a single point of contact for all your waste, recycling and compliance, freeing up your people to enhance your productivity. We handle general waste, recycling, confidential waste, clinical waste, electrical disposal and hazardous waste.

Smarter purchasing We help you take advantage of current low oil prices to buy ahead.

Buying energy more proactively is key to managing your energy budget.

As an independent energy adviser we take an unbiased look at the whole market to find the optimum solution for your business.

Using less Using energy more efficiently helps

Suppliers and contracts Are you on the best deal for your needs? You might benefit from changing supplier or reviewing your contract. We explain different contract options and help you make informed choices. To get things underway, we’ll arrange a call with you to get some basic information ab out you r curre nt supplie r and energy usage.

Waste audits Our strategy is always to make your waste management simpler, safer and more cost-effective. A full review of all your waste and recycling streams helps to make things simpler and more cost effective. Our experts simplify every stage from collection, sorting and disposal, to recycling and selling waste. We assess the feasibility

30  @

topicuk-magazine

Recycling We’re experts in helping you to reduce your landfill targets to zero, or discover more profitable ways to recycle everyday waste.

We work alongside a nationwide network of recyclers and provide a cost-effective solution for all your recycling needs.

Core’s IT team has helped lots of local businesses move their operations from workplace to home during lockdown.

Bill checking Billing errors can result in significant overpayments. If you are being charged too much we can quickly identify this from your invoices. You could be entitled to rebates or credits. We can claim those back for you. We also handle changes of occupancy, invoice reminders, disconnection notices and other queries.

Here Colette shares some of the key things businesses can do to minimise their overheads and improve their bottom line as they emerge from the coronavirus crisis.

of compactors, bailors and other technology and deliver optimum service for minimum cost.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

Pay as you go tech support Right now we’re offering local businesses technical support on a pay-by-the hour basis. You don’t need a contract with us.

Managed IT Services Core acts as your dedicated virtual IT department, managing your hardware, software, repairs and upgrades.

Data protection and security We’ll help you establish safe, off-site data backups and shield your data from viruses, hackers and other potentially costly threats.

To find out more about how Core can help your business keep costs as low as possible as we emerge from this crisis, call 01422 880180 today. www.corefacility.co.uk

31

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Say ‘hello’ to the Scriba PR word nerds Didn’t an old song once say that a picture paints a thousand words?

Yet, for one Yorkshire comms agency, they believe quite the opposite – that words can paint a thousand ‘images’.

What started out as a onewoman operation in 2013, Scriba PR has grown into a 10-strong team of awardwinning communicators, specialising in complex and technical briefs. Here, founder and MD, Katie Mallinson, tells her story.

As our name suggests, Scriba (pronounced sc·ree·ba) is Latin for writer – and words are our thing. Yet, had someone told me seven years ago that we would have ten employees and 42 retained – plus dozens of ad hoc – clients by 2020, I would have probably freaked!

I never set out to be a company owner – in fact, when I graduated, my career had pretty much been mapped out already.

But slowly, learning about what could be improved within the comms industry

Luci Ownsworth Katie Mallinson

showed me that I wanted to really challenge the norm of a ‘typical’ PR professional – and deliver media relations how I thought it should be done.

It was 2013 when I set up Scriba PR, and from day one I knew I wanted to demystify the world of public relations.

I’ve always believed in providing results-driven communication strategies for organisations that, unfortunately, believed their stories were ‘too complex’ to tell.

A l l -to o -o f te n , peo pl e told me they were their industry’s ‘best kept secret’ – and I made it my mission to change that.

Business took off quicker than I could have ever imagined, and I soon got to the point where I had to turn work down if I was to maintain the high standards I’d set for myself. As such, this led to reshaping my original, one-woman business vision.

Louise Jaggar

Growing from one to ten Paige Catton

Hayley Paterson

Ruth Harrison-Davies Beverley Mallinson

Amy Lloyd

32  @

Alice Kelly

topicuk-magazine

Jenny Gibson

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

While I probably left it longer than I should have to make my first hire, I knew it was important to add value where I couldn’t – such as in finance and admin. Operations manager Louise Jaggar came in as a PR assistant back in 2015, and once we became a ‘two-man’ team, it was  editor@topicuk.co.uk

then much easier to identify when the time was right to add another person.

Fast-forward to now, and we’re a group of 10 hardworking communicators that brings together PR, marketing, journalism, English language and even law experience. If you look at the Scriba collective on LinkedIn, for example, every one of our band of ‘word nerds’ has a completely different CV, and that brings a wealth of skills to the table. I also think it’s one of our stand-out differentials in a crowded sector.

PA R T N E R U P D AT E we’re working in sectors such as engineering, manufacturing, demolition, tech and recycling, we must be creative! We have to learn the lingo, understand the challenges and opportunities that clients face, and deduce which channels will open most doors.

O n a day-to-day basis, this means that if a business needs words – be it internal or external comms – for a press release, blog post, awards entry, social media campaign, whitepaper or guide, we are there to help.

These might be technical briefs that other agencies shy away from, but for us – the tougher the better!

Bringing the Northern Soul

to protect. I believe it’s extremely important to invest in staff morale and development, and as such, we dedicate a day a month to learn something new together – on top of everyone’s individual personal training plans.

What does Scriba PR do?

People often ask why we’re an all-women-crew, and honestly – that’s happened by chance. When it comes to hiring new talent, I never look for carbon copies of my colleagues – instead we focus on

strengths, integrity and soul, not just experience and qualifications.

It sounds clichéd, but our team is Scriba’s greatest asset, and something I work incredibly hard

If I had to describe the business to someone’s grandma, I’d say that ‘we help organisations of all shapes and sizes – throughout the world – to tell their story. In turn, this means that more people can benefit from their products and services, and they create jobs in the process.’

As you can imagine, when

We’re not ‘yes men’ either, and are honest with organisations, journalists and external partners, and we’ll tell firms when – and when not – to spend money.

We’re very open about passing prospective customers on to different PR companies that we know and trust, should the brief not fit our ethos or skill-set. Not all agencies would do this, but our reputation has grown because of the niche we’ve carved.

Finally, I’d hope we’re far more than ‘just another Yorkshire agency’.

We currently look after accounts across the length and breadth of the UK, as well as in France, Austria, Germany, Poland, Australia, the USA and more.

We’re proud to bring much-needed ‘Northern soul’ to the sometimes misunderstood and mistrusted world of PR though. You’ll find no ‘dark arts’ or spin here. Instead we shed light on the amazing abilities of our fantastic clients through our core speciality – the power of words.

TopicUK May 2020

33

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

How to avoid a marketing meltdown So, the first half of 2020 is certainly one for the history books…

By Vicky Clapham - Managing Director BeVic

‘Unprecedented’ must be one of the most used words of the year thus far, given the magnitude of change and consequence the coronavirus has had on every aspect of our lives, not least our businesses.

It’s been a challenging time for nearly every single employer, director and employee: From those who have lost the majority, if not all their revenue and income, to those who have seen record demand on services or total change in business direction and operations.

For many organisations, it will not be business-as-usual when things go back to ‘normal’. People’s attitudes, habits, spending power, needs and wants, have been impacted on some level, both from a consumer’s perspective and as an employer or employee. Whether it is the implementation of flexible working conditions, online conferencing, additional digital offerings, clarity on brand purpose or new partnerships – lots has changed. These changes will undoubtedly impact your service and product offerings in the future.

34  @

topicuk-magazine

Reassessing and defining your target markets, brand position, pricing strategy, communication channels and messaging, can help you avoid a marketing meltdown.

A meltdown could see wasted resources that result in consumers lost to competition, disengaged audiences, and poor profits when you can get back to business.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

Here’s my top five marketing tips to help your business to survive and thrive the post Corona-era.

Review your brand mission, values and positioning Now is the time to reconnect with your brand’s purpose and why you do what you do. Be clear and committed to the values that are the foundations of your

PA R T N E R U P D AT E and service with their needs and wants. Regular research will also give insights and understanding of your consumers’ attitudes and beliefs towards your brand.

Be clear on your strategy How is your product/service differentiated to its competitors?

What is your pricing strategy in the market? Decide how you will provide your product or service to your consumers, for example, providing an online provision as part of your core strategy. Also look at your focus for engaging consumers, does cause related marketing feature more prominently or a crossmedia approach to raise brand awareness, for example.

Clarify your messaging W h a t i s y o u r c a l l to a c t i o n to your audience or desired outcome? Mixed messaging, and too many messages confuses the consumer and dilutes your core communication. Be clear and succinct and make sure it aligns with your brand’s positioning and target audience. The content you produce either on or offline all form part of your brand’s identity.

Re-asses your communication channels

business and why consumers should choose you above the competition.

Know your audience When was the last time you undertook any research and obtained feedback from your target market? Being focused on who you are looking to reach will enable you to better align your products

Once you have identified your target market and determined your strategy, you can focus on the most effective communication channels to fulfil those objectives.

A mix of several channels will increase your potential to make the biggest impact. Whether it’s a combination of PR, digital advertising, social media and networking, or direct mail and events, you can determine a budget, timeframe and resource around it to monitor effectiveness.

Marketing and communications planning workshop If you’re struggling to define your market, clarify your strategy, decide which communication channels to use, or really want to increase your visibility in the media, my two hour workshop will provide you with ideas and focus to kick start your next steps.

Your bespoke workshop will include: • • • •

A PRE-QUESTIONNAIRE AND CALL TO FIND OUT YOUR NEEDS AN INTERACTIVE, IDEA PACKED TWO-HOUR WORKSHOP A 5-POINT PLAN OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS A FOLLOW UP TO CALL TO LOOK AT PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

"The workshop process Vicky provided was superb! It broke down barriers, focussed on target markets, communication channels and key messages. It was just what I needed.”

David Anderson, MD Fess Group Ltd.

All for an inclusive price of £299 Book your place by emailing Vicky@bevic.co,uk or call 07748 10269 5

I’m Vicky Clapham, founder of Bevic Marketing Services. A Chartered Marketer, I’ve worked in marketing and communications for over 15 years for a variety of sectors including media, retail, public sector and IT. I left corporate life, having reached Director level after my second child, and set up my freelance consultancy business 18 months ago servicing a fantastic variety of SMEs. The name Bevic is actually a combination of my own moniker and my children’s initials (Ben and

Elizabeth), given they were a key reason I set up on my own, plus my focus is all about supporting and encouraging business to ‘Be’ what they want, and can ‘Be’.

I’m very much a people person and love being part of a team. I get such a buzz from seeing my clients achieving success, from raising their profile in national and local media, to increasing profits from creative campaigning, and developing effective partnerships that grow and develop the business and the people within it. If you’re looking for outsourced marketing expertise to support your business, I’d love to chat.

C L IEN T R EV IEW “Vicky is great value. She produced a great process to get to understand more about what we wanted and our firm’ relationship with our clients.

She is a rare find.”

Alan Lazenby, Managing Director Lazenby Financial Services TopicUK May 2020

35

N E W S U P D AT E

The rise of volunteering

PROUD TO PROVIDE FOOD FACTORIES WITH EXPERT ENGINEERING AND SUPPORT SERVICES With over 30 years’ experience in the food processing, manufacturing and ready meal sector, we know first-hand what the industry can achieve.

But we also understand its challenges.

We are dedicated to delivering business success by providing: • Resource support • Project management & implementation • Consultancy support and advice For capital projects, process systems, utilities and sustainability strategies.

Get in touch to find out how we can help you and your team.

E: info@fessgroup.co.uk W: www.fessgroup.co.uk T: 07540 236077 P E O P L E

36  @

-

P RO C E S S -

topicuk-magazine

P RO D U C T I V I T Y

“Three months ago if you’d have said I’d be doing more volunteering than I already was doing, I’d have laughed at you” Gareth Baigent reflected.

“However, when I spotted a need for food parcels and prescriptions to be delivered in Sowerby Bridge, I quickly coordinated volunteers, got funding and liaised with Calderdale Council to make sure we could look after everyone in our community.

I’m still working one day a week and spending the rest of my time leading the Sowerby Covid 19 team.”

Photographer Danny Thompson volunteered to capture the work Focus 4 Hope are doing. “I wanted to be able to use my skills to do something to help. I wanted to document this. It gave me a sense

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

of purpose too; I feel that by giving photos to use I’ve been able to help in some way.”

Charlotte Bingham was due to start her first year of University in September and asked CFFC if she could volunteer. “By volunteering, I’m getting some great work experience which I can put on my CV, build professional connections and am learning how to write press releases, case studies, and using social media which is great as I want to work in journalism.”

If you’d like to volunteer, visit https://www.calderdale. gov.uk/v2/residents/jobs-andvolunteering/volunteering

C O M M E R C I A L P R O PNEERW TY S U P D AT E

Ready Steady Go!

by Mark Hanson BSc FRICS Hanson Chartered Surveyors.(A Walker SingletonGroup Company)

So at the point of writing we are near enough 8 weeks into the lockdown and we have a conditional route map to our new reality whatever that is going to be.

The statistics are mind boggling and the tragedies numbing. Others can crawl over the wreckage in due course (that has already started) but we have to look forward. We will work out the practicalities until a vaccine is produced (the capacity of a double decker bus may shrink from 75 to 18) and pay for it as we did WWII over more than a generation (final payment made under Tony Blair)

Will we pop out or ooze out of the apocalypse? What will be the state of business with warnings of massive business failure?

The High Street was already suffering, what next? What of pubs, clubs, and theatre?

Lockdown and remote working has given the environment a

But we are in Yorkshire. The Northern provinces have suffered massively over the last 50 years with seismic changes to industry and working practices generally.

Sure there will be failures but also opportunities. The Northern Powerhouse is very much alive and we are told by Downing Street that the pandemic has made the capital investment in rail and communications generally all the more relevant and important.

This puts us four-square in the cross hairs for private as well as public sector investment.

Since these changes, the North has recovered and weathered many disappointme nts and setbacks but we are hardened to change and expect it which puts us in a good place as we emerge.

The doomsayers will still be out there with their certainty that we will be in a miserable state indefinitely but they will be in the minority of those I know. Most are busting a gut to get back at it.

boost. It has also shown how many of us can work well without the need to commute quite so much. Working savvy will become increasingly important.

✓ Commercial and Industrial Property Consultants ✓ Business and Asset Valuers and Auctioneers ✓ Property Managers ✓ Residential Sales and Letting Agents ✓ Registered Property Receivers

Oak House, New North Road, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD1 5LG 01484 477600 huddersfield@walkersingleton.co.uk Property House, Lister Lane, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 5AS 01422 430000 halifax@walkersingleton.co.uk Raven House, Kings Gate, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD1 4SJ 01274 452000 bradford@walkersingleton.co.uk No. 1 Aire Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 4PR 0113 848 0000 leeds@walkersingleton.co.uk

walkersingleton.co.uk hanson-cs.co.uk TopicUK May 2020

37

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Back to the Future The way in which the world operates has been pretty much spun on its axis but it presents a huge opportunity for businesses to re-evaluate how they communicate and sell to their past, present and future customers.

When Fantastic was first established we often used the saying “nice landing, wrong airport” and the ethos of this has stuck with us throughout our years of helping clients to market their business. All too often a new marketing initiative might look good, but in reality it totally misses the mark of what a business was trying to achieve. Doing this can be costly, frustrating and counter-productive.

Often it comes down to businesses simply operating from gut instinct or doing what they’ve always done. In reality, without undertaking bias-free research and planning that is based on a proven set of principles, you have the potential to waste a

38  @

topicuk-magazine

lot of time and money by getting your message wrong and relying on marketing tactics, backed by little to no marketing strategy Traditional doesn’t need to mean old fashioned

marketing have always been the same, it’s just the techniques and platforms that have evolved. Despite the speed of change I always look back to the solid foundations from which the principles of marketing were born, often referred to as “The 7 Ps of Marketing” or The Marketing Mix. I do this because these principles make me ask the important questions, they keep me tactics neutral and they make me look at the full picture.

To a large extent the principles of

The old adage that traditional

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

doesn’t always mean something is old fashioned fits perfect here.

Absolutely there has been an evolution in the way in which brands communicate but in reality, if you go back to the 7 Ps of Marketing you have a solid base from which to work.

Only Dead Fish Go With the Flow As we settle upon the new version of normal why not take a look at the 7 Ps for your business and see whether you have a real marketing

PA R T N E R U P D AT E strategy in place or whether you’re just painting by numbers. After all, only dead fish go with the flow so isn’t it time to see whether you’re fishing in the right streams?

THE 7 PS OF MODERN MARKETING Product – now is the time to evaluate which of your products and services can be delivered remotely and effectively through a digital platform as well as the changes needed to do so. A case in point is the work we’ve done with an industrial retail client who was already trading effectively on and offline. However, as their B2B orders became affected by lockdown, we worked with them to quickly adapt and expand their B2C product range to meet the needs of customers looking to do more DIY and homebased fitness. The expansion of their product range has opened up new long-term opportunities because they were prepared to adapt and change the products they supplied.

Price – as you explore new routes to market you can also adjust your pricing strategy and perception of value. Convenience, speed of delivery and 24/7 ordering capabilities are all areas we’ve seen affect value perception. Many of our clients have maintained a premium price because they can solve the new problems their customers are facing, primarily through areas such as online ordering methods and delivery options.

Place – businesses can look to establish multiple routes to market including online, offline, app based, field sales, e-mail & phone ordering or even using pop-up retail facilities.

Don’t be restricted to bricks and mortar and bring your products and services to the end user as much as you can. We’re currently developing a system that acts as a virtual showroom where customers can book one-way video calls with a

member of the sales team and they can be shown around the products, asking all the questions they need.

This allows for a greater amount of rapport to be built and for the sellers’ expertise to be optimised in the sales process. Ribble Cycles do this excellently and we think there’s a huge scope for this to be expanded across our varied B2B and B2C client base.

the business. Being set up to deal with enquiries, sales, queries and complaints from multiple locations is imperative. Face-to-face, live chat, phone, e-mail, chat bots as well as FAQ sections, video tutorials and step-by-step guides are all great ways to deliver a consistent set of messages. This compliments the power your team has when selling and servicing customers.

Promotion – a truly integrated promotional plan allows you to quickly and cost effectively adjust your media spend and promotional activity. Create a campaign, create collateral, execute the campaign, evaluate the results and start again.

Also, we’d recommend not restricting yourself by thinking that digital products and e-commerce can only be promoted online and vice-versa.

When Google launched Chrome they utilised a huge outdoor campaign, proving that promotion can and should go across multiple platforms.

Process – processes in place for things such as delivery, servicing, product returns etc. will have a huge affect on a customer’s overall experience, brand advocacy and lifetime value to your business.

Process also offers competitive advantages when made 100% clear and with the needs or desires of the customer at its very heart.

Due to their well established and adaptable processes, an e-commerce client of ours was able to quickly and effectively implement social distancing and remote working whilst still maintaining a next day delivery service. The result was record turnover and new advocates for their brand.

People – your biggest asset should be on brand, educated and kept up to speed with all elements of

Physical Evidence – perception is reality so it’s imperative you make sure every component involved in the product adheres to the same brand values as the product itself.

This can include elements such as websites, office and store design, packaging, supporting collateral, vehicle livery, uniforms and any other physical manifestation of your brand. Place User Experience at the centre of everything you do both on and offline. Use clear and accurate product descriptions and make them easy to find. All of this gives a great opportunity to remind the consumer that they’ve made a clever and correct decision buying from you and negates the possibility of post purchase dissonance.

The concept of the 7 Ps has been around for many years and the Marketing Mix is still very much applicable to the work we do to market products and services. It’s about adhering to a proven set of principles and learning to adapt the theory so it fits with modern times as well as your very own business model.

TopicUK May 2020

39

SPECIALIST DEGREES & SHORT COURSES FOR THE LIVE EVENTS INDUSTRY. Based on Production Park near Wakefield, Backstage Academy is a specialist higher education and professional training provider focused on the live events industry.

AREAS OF STUDY • • • • • •

Lighting Design & Programming Live Sound Engineering & Mixing Visuals Production (projections, LED walls & video) Event, Stage and Production Management Stage Pyrotechnics & Rigging Event Safety Passport

BACKSTAGE-ACADEMY.CO.UK

bit of breathing space until things recover, it’s worth having a sensible conversation with suppliers to see if you can temporarily extend their payment terms. Moving from paying bills at 30 days to 45 days can make a real difference and a sensible compromise approach is needed from all companies until business and the economy can get back on to an even keel.

If you are negotiating with suppliers have in mind both your perfect outcome and a compromise that you’d be willing to accept. And recognise that if you’re entering into these negotiations with suppliers, you might be on the receiving end of similar requests from your clients. Pragmatism is needed from everyone in the current situation.

Keeping control of cashflow In uncertain times it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on your cashflow and to maintain a bank balance that’s as healthy as possible.

Keeping on top of cashflow gives you confidence that your business continues to be viable and allows you to make informed decisions about spending as well as to plug any gaps you identify.

But what can you do to influence your cashflow? Here are five practical steps you can take.

Review your monthly outgoings What are you paying for on a monthly basis that you might no longer need? It’s easy to let subscriptions accumulate and to forget they are being paid for, so assess your monthly outgoings to identify anything you no longer use.

At the same time, you might identify bills that could be brought down with a bit of negotiation.

Get invoices out on time Strong processes that ensure invoices go out on time matter whether you have a finance team

or are doing it yourself. Don’t save invoices until the start or end of the month, get them out when the piece of work is complete as this will mean they are paid sooner.

Understand your client’s payment terms so that you can issue invoices at the right point in the month to be paid as soon as possible.

Identify your worst debtors Using your accounting package, you should be able to see which clients or customers take longest to pay. Put together a plan to target them with reminders before invoices become due to increase your changes of

being paid on time and consider whether a price penalty is needed for those customers which routinely take too long to pay. You could also look at a solution like GoCardless which (for a small fee) allows you to set up a direct debit so money is requested automatically, rather than having to wait for an invoice to be paid manually each time.

Our accountants are always on hand to help – for a no-obligation chat about our services, please contact us on 01924 669500.

Use support to chase debts If an invoice is very overdue and you’ve done a bit of gentle chasing it might be time to call in support in the form of professional debt management firms. They are skilled at securing payment while preserving your personal relationship with the client and tend to charge a percentage of the amount recovered plus a nominal set-up fee. Sometimes just a call or email from a different company on your behalf can be enough to prompt payment.

Negotiate terms with suppliers If you can see you’ll have cash issues in certain months, or just need a

Ian Parsons is managing partner of Parsons Accountants in Wakefield.

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

COVID-19 and the law : What does it mean for your business? ULaw tutor’s answer some of the questions you might be asking While the health and wellbeing of your workforce will be at the forefront of your mind, the pandemic also brings with it a range of particular legal issues. Businesses will need to keep on top of changes to legislation, as well as working out how existing laws apply in these exceptional circumstances. Many areas of law are affected, including commercial landlord and tenant relationships, directors’ duties, competition, employment and contractual obligations. These topics will be familiar to the University of Law’s students and, in this article, our academic tutors take you through some of the important legal consequences of COVID-19.

ULaw tutor’s answer some of the questions you might be asking.

and the government has published guidance on how the scheme operates. However, it is worth noting: furloughed staff cannot be required to do any work for their employer; if furloughed staff become sick they may still be paid at the furlough rate; and any annual leave taken while on furlough should be at their usual (not furloughed) rate of pay.

The furlough scheme: how does it affect your workforce and how long will it last? Clare Young, Tutor With the social distancing and lockdown measures in place your organisation will no doubt have had to deal with a range of employment law issues.

You may have heard about the UK government’s furlough scheme, whereby employers can apply to the government for support toward paying the wages of staff who cannot perform their jobs because of the measures in place. The benefit of this scheme is that employees who may otherwise have been made redundant can keep their jobs and continue to receive up to 80% of their salary, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. There are a myriad of issues that may arise with furloughed staff,

42  @

topicuk-magazine

The furlough scheme is only temporary and is currently due to expire at the end of June 2020. Given confirmation that social distancing measures may be in place for a substantial period of time it remains to be seen whether this end date will shift. There will no doubt be some businesses that remain closed after the immediate lockdown ends, and employment law will continue to be a key area of focus for organisations in the months to come.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

Can we get out of our contractual obligations? Jennifer Brooke, Tutor The rapid spread of COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on the global economy and has led to numerous businesses struggling to fulfil existing contractual obligations.

One such example is in the field of construction, where a number of projects have been put on hold due to delivery issues caused by a shortage of available materials and limitations on workforces. Ordinarily, programme delays would most likely result in the contractor being liable to pay damages to the employer for breach of contract, unless the reason for the delay could be attributed to an employer event.

Ho w e v e r, i n t h e p re s e n t circumstances, where the reason for the non-fulfilment of contractual obligations is a global public health emergency, who is liable? Well, the answer may be found in the contract itself.

A business finding itself in such a position should firstly check its contract terms in order to identify whethe r the y contain a “force majeure” clause. A force majeure clause is an express pro vision covering events outside of the control of the parties, which will explain how any loss caused should be borne.

Whether or not the current pandemic constitutes a force majeure event for the purpose of any given contract will depend entirely on the wording of the contract itself and needs to be carefully considered.

If no such clause exists, parties may be able to rely on the doctrine of frustration to argue that the COVID-19 pandemic, an unforeseen event, has made fulfilment of the contract impossible (and therefore escape its

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

future obligations). This route is a lot less certain. Frustration is notoriously difficult to prove and businesses must be aware that it cannot be used simply to save a party from a bad bargain.

tenants had hoped and reports of some commercial landlords taking “aggressive action” (albeit entirely lawful action) to recover rent has led to the more recent announcement on 23 April of further emergency measures which, when enacted, will: •

• Help for commercial tenants?

Rachael Donnelly, Tutor With little or no income coming in due to lockdown restrictions, businesses are struggling to discharge their ongoing liabilities including substantial rent and other payments due under commercial leases.

Ensure that winding up petitions cannot be presented where the company’s inability to pay is the result of COVID-19. It is unclear what evidence a tenant would need to present in this regard.

Prevent landlords using CRAR unless 90 days or more of unpaid rent is due. This is a significant amendment as originally CRAR only required 7 days’ rent to be overdue.

This will be welcome news to commercial tenants struggling to pay their rent but a blow to commercial landlords, many of whom rely on the rental income.

If a business tenant failed to pay its rent pre-lockdown, its landlord had a variety of options available to it including: insolvency action, instigating Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (“CRAR” - a procedure enabling a commercial landlord to take tenant’s goods equivalent to the outstanding re nt arrears) and forfeiture (terminating the lease allowing the landlord to evict the tenant).

I n i t i a l l y, t h e G o v e r n m e n t announced that restrictions on forfeiture would be introduced in simple terms, business tenants cannot be evicted from their commercial premises until at least 30 June 2020 as a result of non-payment of rent and other sums due under the lease.

However, the initial measures were not as far reaching as some

company in insolvency proceedings knew (or ought to have concluded) before the winding up began that there was no reasonable prospect of the company avoiding insolvency.

In these circumstances, the court can order the director to make a contribution to the company’s assets unless it is satisfied that the director took every step to minimise losses to creditors.

The risk of breaching the wrongful trading rules is understandably a very real concern for directors when businesses are struggling.

However, the Government has announced that these provisions will be suspended for 3 months (operating retrospectively from 1 March 2020) to help directors keep companies afloat without fearing potential personal liability if they continue to trade.

The new legislation required to enact this change is not yet in place, so the details are unknown.

It should also be noted that other directors’ duties remain unchanged, so directors should continue to seek specialist advice to ensure they are complying with their legal responsibilities.

Can businesses work together to ensure essential medical products are supplied?

Jennifer Brooke, Tutor

Help for company directors?

Hannah Scott, Tutor A month into lockdown, company directors across the country are increasingly under strain, with many difficult decisions to make.

One measure announced by the Government to help ease this strain is a temporary suspension of the wrongful trading rules.

These rules apply if a director of a

EU Competition Law (which continues to apply to UK businesses during the transition period) hit the headlines recently in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted in guidance, dealing with its application and enforcement during the crisis, being issued by the EU Commission in April 2020.

This guidance was required to allay fears that action would be taken, pursuant to Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU

PA R T N E R U P D AT E (TFEU), against businesses planning COVID-19 related cooperation with its competitors, in order to ensure the supply and distribution of essential products in demand, such as PPE. This sort of cooperation, under normal circumstances, could be problematic, with Article 101 TFEU prohibiting certain anticompetitive agreements.

Ho w e v e r, t h e g u i d a n c e acknowledges that during this current public health emergency, coordination between competitors could ultimately be for the benefit of consumers. It therefore sets out revised assessment criteria in relation to business cooperation and also introduces a temporary, exceptional “comfort letter” regime to provide additional certainty to businesses.

Businesses considering entering into a cooperation initiative aimed at addressing product shortages can seek specific guidance and comfort from the Commission in relation to the legality of their actions via a dedicated webpage (https:// ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/ coronavirus.html) and mailbox (COMP-COVID-ANTITRUST@ ec.europa.eu).

Despite this, the guidance concludes by reiterating that it is important now, more than ever, that consumers are protected against anti-competitive conduct.

The Commission is therefore likely to come down hard on any business attempting to take advantage of the pandemic, by, for example, charging prices above normal competitive levels to the detriment of consumers.

You have been warned! *The information in this article reflects the position at the time of writing and does not constitute legal advice.

TopicUK May 2020

43

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Charity distributes grants to vulnerable communities Flood hit areas were in crisis at the end of January when Storm Ciara caused devastation to homes and businesses across Calderdale.

The Community Foundation for Calderdale (CFFC) raised over £381,000 very quickly in order to give out grants to help people, charities and businesses. Just weeks later Coronavirus struck and we were quickly in lock down.

Many of the projects we fund during normal times are there to help the vulnerable people in our society, and lock down has increased the need for these charities to help people and also the number of people who needed help has risen.

We worked quickly to do two things, firstly launch another appeal, this time asking people to donate money so that we could redistribute it to charities and organisations helping the vulnerable on the front line, and secondly to let these organisations know that we could give them funding. At the moment, we are managing two grants relating to Covid19. The Calderdale Community Resilience Fund is available to charities that we have worked with before and a Calderdale Council fund which is available for groups who might have set up in response to helping people due to Coronavirus and haven’t got a bank account or constitution yet. These groups can email rob@ cffc.co.uk and we will broker relationships to enable grants to be given out of up to £1,000.

44  @

topicuk-magazine

We really are saving lives, some people haven’t eaten or seen anyone for days and our brave volunteers are helping us provide that valuable lifeline...

On a day to day basis, we distribute over £1m of grants each year to organisations helping vulnerable people in our community. Often theses people are in an even more vulnerable position due to the lock down and it has been incredible to see how quickly these groups have changed the way in which they work so that they can still help people.

Amazing One organisation we have given a grant to is Focus 4 Hope who are delivering food parcels and prescriptions to vulnerable people who are self isolating. Founder of Focus 4 Hope, Louise Reed commented, “We really are saving lives, some people haven’t eaten or seen anyone for days and our brave volunteers are helping us provide that valuable lifeline.”

This is just one of he many organisations that we are giving grants to that are doing

amazing and selfless work including foodbanks, mental health support, donating baby food and supplies, supporting asylum seekers, working with disabled children and adults, and supporting older people.

Steve Duncan, CEO of CFFC commented, “The individual stories of how these charities have touched peoples lives and restored their faith in humanity are coming in thick and fast. We just want to be able to support charities not only in the next few weeks, but also in the months following lockdown as we think there will be many more vulnerable people who need help.”

At the time of going to press we have raised £112,555, already smashing our initial target of £100,000. We have received funding from the National Emergency Trust and have increased our target to £250,000 as we quickly realised that we would need to fund projects for longer and that more groups needed grants.

If you would like to donate to help the community in Calderdale, please visit https://localgiving.org/appeal/

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

N E W S U P D AT E

LOCAL RECYCLING LOCAL RECYCLING SOLUTIONS SOLUTIONS

With 5 sites throughout Yorkshire and a network of trusted partners, we are best placed for supplying your business with nationwide waste services.

With 5 sites throughout Yorkshire and a network of trusted partners, we are best placed for supplying your business with nationwide waste services.

Skip & Trade Waste Collection Services Skip & Trade Waste across Yorkshire Collection Services across Yorkshire

• • • • • •

RECYCLING WHEELIE BINS RECYCLING ROLL ON/OFFs WHEELIE BINS RELs ROLL ON/OFFs SKIP RELs HIRE WASTE TO ENERGY SKIP HIRE

• FOOD WASTEWASTE TO ENERGY • HAZARDOUS FOOD WASTEWASTE • GLASS COLLECTIONS HAZARDOUS WASTE • GLASS COLLECTIONS

CALL US ON CALL US ON

0113 307 1107 0113awm.uk.com 307 1107 awm.uk.com

N E W S U P D AT E

Addressing the skills gap in your business What is the skills gap?

in economic output by the end of the next decade.

Skills gap refers to the difference in the skills required for a job, and the actual skills possessed by the employees. These gaps can vary widely depending on the job and skills required.

In terms of your business, reducing the skills gap can drastically improve your own productivity and output taking off the shackles and unleashing the catalyst for growth.

For example, an employee who comes into the workforce lacking the sales skills needed to perform at a high level can learn these skills through sales training and coaching programmes. However, until the employee learns those particular skills, there will be a gap between the skills they possess and those required to perform well on the job.

What can your business do to close the gap?

Why is it important?

1. Identify skills needed

A recent study by the Local Government Association (LGA) estimated that the potential cost of not dealing with the UK’s skills gap could lead to a loss of £120 billion

Look at each employee and assess

A skills gap analysis will need to be conducted by your business.

This tool is used to assess the gap between the current skills and the future skills needed for an employee to perform in their role more effectively.

what skills they need in order to carry out their job – how important is this skill in contributing to the success of the business?

topicuk-magazine

• •

2. Measure current skills • There are countless ways to understand what skills your businesses utilizes such as group discussions, surveys, interviews, performance reviews and skills spreadsheets. Plus there are a number of skills management software available which although come at a cost, can be used to identify skills quickly and efficiently.

3. Create action plan

46  @

of the four methods:

It’s now time to act on the data and implement change using one

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

•

Hiring a new employee with the desired skills Mentoring or training an existing employee internally Exploring professional training courses options Outsourcing the work (this will depend on how long the skills are needed)

4. All in it together An important point to make is that although businesses must take responsibility for reviewing their own skills gap, it is also vital that the national as a whole collaborate resources and outline an action plan to tackle the issue – this includes the government, industries, trainers and learners.

CELEBRATING 20 YRS IN RECRUITMENT We’ve been powering Yorkshire’s workforce since 2000.

FILLED OVER

PLACED OVER

WORKED WITH OVER

POSITIONS

INTO WORK

COMPANIES

34,000

9,300

1,000

Contact us to discuss your staffing requirements…

01484 35 10 10

www.stafflex.co.uk

N E W S U P D AT E

The world as we knew it was turned on its head on 23rd March 2020 when the COVID-19 crisis escalated within the UK. The way businesses operated dramatically changed for everyone.

Working from home instantly became the norm and those that thought it was not possible to make this work, discovered that they could.

With solid processes and a robust infrastructure, Bellingham IT adapted to remote working.

Through their own experiences, and in discussions with other business owners, Paul Heigham, Managing Director, believes that there are two clear schools of thought in the matter of remote working.

“Home working has mixed reviews.

In some instances, everyone is doing their job but productivity is down and managers are spending a lot of time chasing the team.”

“The second paints a completely positive picture in that there are no real differences and productivity has increased.”

“Our belief is that those struggling have no framework and are operating on an ad-hoc basis that lacks clear channels of communication. This may seem a strange concept for many especially when structure and ways of working are clear features in a business, taking these principles from the office into our homes is not as easy as it sounds.”

“When we dissect the channels of communication in our workplace,

48  @

topicuk-magazine

Photo by Sharad kachhi from Pexels

A framework for home working

By Paul Heigham - Director of Bellingham IT they are vast and many informal ways have vanished. There are no quick chats at the photocopier, and we cannot pop our head around our colleagues’ office door!

•

Assign a designated workspace

•

Use a calendar or planning tool to remain focused and motivated

“ B u t i t d o e s no t m ea n t ha t structure and these natural, everyday ways of working cannot be recreated.”

•

Have a flexible approach which promotes wellbeing

•

Lead by example

To help establish a framework f o r y o u r te a m a n d r e i g n i te communication lines that will support a productive daily routine:

•

Create regular touch points, daily conference calls and end of week catch ups provide a platform for effective communication

•

Establish a secure way of working

•

Create non work social

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

ev ents o nl i n e to bring the team together Paul concludes: “When it comes to remote working, every organisation will have a different approach, however, to maintain a sense of structure, a basic framework is essential.

“Although a new way of working requires adjustments, we have a real opportunity to learn more about what works for us and our teams.

Using a framework for working from home, will not only support us now, but it has the potential of teaching us how we can help improve our office environment in the future.”

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Stafflex…

the recruitment agency going far and above in their community

Ever since Stafflex was established in 2000, managing director Brian Stahelin has instilled strong values ensuring the business plays an active role in the local community.

“A successful business always leaves behind a legacy of supporting their community.”

The family run recruitment agency based in Huddersfield has supported over 33 charities, initiatives and good causes over the last 12 months alone. As the business has grown, so have the contributions to community causes – success goes hand in hand with support.

We take an in-depth look into some of these activities and the positive effect they have within the community.

Stafflex Arena The flagship activity of Stafflex’s community work is through sponsorship of the Leslie Sports Foundation at Stafflex Arena Storthes Hall Park, Huddersfield.

The arena itself is home to more than 30 amateur football clubs including Shelley Community FC and Huddersfield Town Ladies, hosting regular league and cup games, end of season semi-finals and finals.

The foundation, established by businessmen Graham and Craig Leslie in 2013, provides affordable access to high quality training and coaching facilities for amateur sports enthusiasts.

Having initially pledged support for three years, Stafflex has signed a five figure, five-year sponsorship deal last year to help fund ground improvements and enable the home clubs to progress through the leagues.

Partnering with the foundation is a great fit with the company’s values and enables it to work with a growing family of likeminded local people passionate about not only sport but the local community.

This includes support for schools that deliver football sessions for children with special needs – an initiative that makes a real difference to young people’s lives.

Commenting on Stafflex’s involvement Nemi Alexis, marketing executive, said: “The commitment shown by the club in helping grassroots sports, community groups and especially the disabled is simply breathtaking and we know that every penny of our investment will go

50  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

in to making a real difference at grassroots level.”

Craig Leslie, chairman of the Leslie Sports Foundation, said: “I cannot speak highly enough about Stafflex’s contribution to assist our community sports charity. Stafflex have given us financial sponsorship support – affecting the hundreds of adults and children who enjoy watching and participating in sport at our complex.

It has helped us massively to maintain extremely high facility standards, thus increasing the number of people who can participate.”

PA R T N E R U P D AT E successful scheme to provide a custom-built stationary bike fitted with a blender to produce nutritious smoothies. A number of primary and secondary schools across Kirklees have benefited from using the bike.

The partnership promotes sustainable lifestyles in a fun, engaging way through encouraging exercise while reducing food waste. This underlines Stafflex’s responsibility as a local employer to support initiatives that educate young people on key issues in a fun and interactive way.

The Welcome Centre The Welcome Centre, is a local food bank and one of the largest in the north of England. They also provide additional services such as advice, guidance and support to those who need it.

The club has also been at the forefront of creating opportunities for adults with learning disabilities with the Employability Kirklees Pilot Project which launched in 2018. This 12 week course takes groups of adults not in education or employment and offers the opportunity to volunteer at Shelley FC games, and at events run by Huddersfield Town Foundation furthering their future employability prospects.

Huddersfield Live Another comunity initiative that has the backing of Stafflex is Huddersfield Live, a not for profit events company founded as a direct result of their sponsorship of the

Big Screen Weekends attended by thousands of people in August 2015.

The success encouraged Stafflex and other local businesses to create the events company with the aim of running community-focused sporting and cultural events to showcase the finest the region has to offer. Stafflex, as a ‘founding partner’ provided a significant share of the start-up cash required to get Huddersfield Live off the ground.

Huddersfield Live organizes the hugely successful Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival which has grown into one of the largest of its kind in the UK, regularly attracting 150,000 visitors.

Over the last couple of years Stafflex has focused its efforts on supporting the Artisan Zone which is a dedicated area of market stalls for small businesses at the festival.

The area offers discounted setup costs enabling them to sell unique, locally produced food and drink to the public, which would have otherwise been out of their budget.

Fairandfunky Stafflex teamed up with the not-forprofit organisation fairandfunky to deliver educational workshops on recycling, the environment and fair trade in local schools.

Togethe r, the y run a highly

Twice a year, Stafflex’s full-time team are given an afternoon away from their desks to undertake voluntary work with the majority choosing to help at the Welcome Centre. Stafflex is also a corporate partner providing annual funding to the charity which helps with running costs and stock purchases for client food packs.

Emma Greenough, Fundraising Manager at The Welcome Centre, said: “As a small charity, the generous support of the local business community helps us to keep up with the demand for our service. The Welcome Centre has grown year on year, and is now giving out more than 22,000 meals worth of food per month.

A donation of £1,000 means a lot to us, and we hope more charity minded businesses like Stafflex show their support.”

TopicUK May 2020

51

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Wakefield First offer support in challenging times

By Councillor Darren Byford

In today’s challenging times, The Wakefield First business support team are here to advise businesses of all sizes, of the help that is available to them.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began to make its impact felt, the service has responded to business enquiries on a daily basis, with the Economic Growth and Skills team and business advisers having offered one to one support to over 1,000 businesses in March and April alone.

The team has signposted almost all businesses to help with staffing issues, financial pressures, supply chain and import/export challenges, training needs, key partners, government grants and additional funding.

In these unprecedented times this contact is vital so we can tailor the offer accordingly, lobby for additional funding and respond to particular areas of concern.

The information gathered has given the team insight into which support services are needed and a local list of these has been sent out to businesses.

Support is also being given businesses who unfortunately may need to reduce staffing numbers as a result of the current challenges.

Our role is to make the process easy and simple and support their workers find alternative employment.

We are also encouraging businesses to upskill their workforce for the future to ensure some businesses can ride the storm whilst others can grow their business in the future.

Partnership working is key to ensuring we are able to fulfil the growing and changing needs of businesses, and where possible we are aligning with other providers to meet the support needs of businesses.

Our colleagues at Winning Pitch are running a series of free webinars, and we are encouraging our businesses where relevant to sign up to these to gain deeper knowledge and support.

52  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

PA R T N E R U P D AT E To ensure we are staying up to date and relevant in what businesses need today, tomorrow and next week, we have published a survey to capture feedback from businesses.

The information people provide will help us over the coming months as we review the district’s economic strategy. It will inform our economic recovery plans and support our economy in the longer term. To fill in the survey, or to find out what support is available for your business, visitwww.wakefieldfirst. com or call 01924 306 630.

We cannot judge what will happen in the short or longer term, at this stage, as we are in unprecedented times. But our teams will continue to support businesses and to work with them now and in the future.

We have distributed £55.3 million of business support grants to more than 4,800 businesses across the district.

In the meantime we continue to adapt services and support to businesses as they navigate the current situation.

Our district has the fourth largest economy in the Leeds city region, worth over £6.5billion. As part of our continuing work, we recognise the vital role small businesses play to create new jobs and opportunities which support our district’s economy. As many as 87.5% of the businesses have less than 10 employees, and even as the current crisis continues, we want encourage new businesses and entrepreneurs to be aware of the benefits of being based in our district.

Our usual ways of working have been adapted and whatever happens in the coming months, support will continue.

For example, The Wakefield First

team provides support to businesses to plan the next stage of their development - with advice on expanding their premises, accessing grants and training opportunities for staff. Practical advice is available to support with issues such as accessing finance, business growth and inward investment.

We have an excellent track record, as with support of the Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership over £4.5 million has been awarded for 78 businesses in Wakefield to grow their business through land or property purchase and capital expenditure through the Business Growth Fund.

Support for entrepreneurs is also available through our AD: VENTURE programme, which provides expert help and advice in the first three years of trading, as well as helping people planning to start a business.

Since 2016, the programme has

supported over 170 business and secured over £250,000 in grant funding.

Another key part of our long term economic planning and actions for the district is to

We cannot judge what will happen in the short or longer term, at this stage, as we are in unprecedented times... increase job opportunities and to encourage people to gain skills that employers need.

The Council’s Step Up programme is one example of how we are making a difference, by helping to reduce poverty amongst people in work, increasing the number of residents with

higher skills and reduce the number of people in the district lacking qualifications.

We’ve already supported 140 people into work and training. The support and advice is continuing in the current situation with phone consultations instead of faceto-face advice .Contact us to find out more at www. wakefield.gov.uk/step-up We do not know how long the present situation will continue, but we will continue to support businesses and to work with them. Our goal is to help our district to recover as quickly as possible and we remain determined and committed to supporting businesses through the current situation and beyond.

TopicUK May 2020

53

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Q: Was this something you always wanted to do/What was your first job?

Andrew Barton A few months ago, we launched a second publication currently digital, but with an intention to print later in 2020 aimed at business women across the Yorkshire region. www.yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk We have a number of professional’s guest writing for us and we are delighted that top hair stylist Andrew Barton will be sharing tips on how we can look after our hair, not just during lockdown, but on a regular basis.

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity however, to have a chat with Andrew and share with our TopicUK readers. Here’s what he told us: Q:What was it like growing up in Barnsley?

I’m very proud of my Northern working-class roots (excuse the pun!). I grew up in a small mining village and had a wonderful childhood growing up on a council estate with great memories of playing in the street with the other kids. My parents instilled values of care and compassion and a strong work ethic, which has inspired my career.

Q: Did you go straight into hairdressing when you left school?

I wasn’t academic at school but enjoyed art and design. I was destined for art school to study surface pattern design with the ambition to become a fabric designer. I did ultimately become a fabric designer - the fabric being hair.

54  @

topicuk-magazine

I apprenticed at a local Barnsley salon in the early 80s and was taught high standards. It was tough and there was no room for mistakes. I also spent time at Barnsley College qualifying and I’m so thrilled that now my hairdressing scholarship scheme, ABLE launched at the very college where I studied. ABLE (Andrew Barton London Education) bridges the gap between further education training and industry and inspires students that study the scholarship to a high skill set and ensures they are ABLE for salon work and to develop their career as a hairdresser. It’s great that this unique training programme launched in Yorkshire.

Q: When did you open your first salon and where was it?

I’ve spent my career working with the UK’s largest salon groups leading training and creative direction, working with the teams to build brand reputations. My career has taken me around the world, from royal palaces to fashion catwalks and celebrities’ homes, but being behind the chair in my salon with clients is still the most rewarding aspect of my work.

To make someone happy with their hair truly is a great gift. In business I’ve had to overcome many challenges and build the right I grew up in a small teams of people mining village and had around me. My a wonderful childhood first salon was in growing up on a council Covent Garden, estate with great memories of playing in the London, which street with the other kids... sadly had to close due to a huge rent increase which I’m sure many readers have been also been challenged in businesses with.

Q: How did you manage to get into television?

Working as part of the make-over team on Lorraine Kelly’s ITV morning show

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

was my first work in TV. It was thrilling to create live make overs and be the resident hair expert offering advice.

And then as the resident hair expert on Channel 4 “10 Years Younger”, which was a huge learning curve. It became an international TV success and showcased in the UK for 8 years.

It’s funny being recognised as that hairdresser from the TV. I love that people often say they recognise my voice, my Yorkshire accent.

Q: Is the Mayfair Salon your only salon?

I work as Creative & Communications Director for the high street salon group Headmasters. My work portfolio is diverse - from being the hair spokesperson for the brand to creating signature imagery, campaigns and hair trends as well as leading education forthe group. I am also the franchisee of the Mayfair branch where I see clients with my team. It’s an unusual and interesting business arrangement as work for the franchisor developing the brands initiatives as well as being a franchisee. I love the diversity of my work and the brands ethos.

Q: How did you get involved with the Little Princess Trust Charity and why?

Being involved with charity is a rewarding aspect of my life. Apart from working with industry related charities I’m involved with various causes that are dear to my heart. I was adopted as a child and without adoption my life may have been very different, I’m a Patron of Coram BAAF, the UK’s oldest children’s charity. Working as a Celebrity Ambassador with The Prince’s Trust is inspiring, supporting enterprise. I was bullied at school for a while, so I work with Kidscape, the UK’s leading anti-bullying charity as an ambassador. I am very proud to be the Hairdresser Ambassador for The Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides wigs for young children who lose their hair through disease and

N E W S U P D AT E

TopicUK May 2020

55

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E cancer related treatments. We are also the official hairdresser to the charity at Headmasters.

Q: There are terrible times at the moment and hairdressing is suffering most. How is this affecting you and what are you doing during lockdown?

Hairdressers are essential to any community and for many people are more than just somewhere for personal grooming but also offer a place of relaxation, pampering and time out. The COVID-19 crisis has elevated the position of the professional hairdresser and is at last being taken seriously recognised for the profession it is. UK hair and beauty salons alone contribute a turnover of £7,505,586 million to the UK economy and that doesn’t include freelance professionals or the retail figures from high street and independent stores.

And employing over 1% of the total UK workforce and internationally recognised as a leader in the field re training and trends the industry has been hugely impacted. Like many businesses there is a huge “come back” operation to be done and I’m currently using my time to shape strategy ahead and in particular consider all elements of the product that we deliver to ensure good value for our clients on our return.

Q: Who is the most famous person you have styled hair for?

My clientele is so wonderfully diverse from housewives to lawyers, critical workers to retired professionals and every age group - it’s what makes my work so exciting to engage with so many people, many who have become friends.

Working with a celebrity is always fun and comes with its own challenges, often working on sets preparing their hair for their professional work e.g a magazine shoot or TV appearance. I’ve worked with everyone from household names like Davina McCall to Hollywood stars like Eva Longoria and pop legends

56  @

topicuk-magazine

Robbie Williams and supermodels like Jerry Hall.

Q: Do you have a favourite hairstyle that you like to create?

My signature hair is all about hair beauty - it doesn’t matter what length, colour or shape. For me it’s all about making a woman look and feel her very best.

Healthy, shiny hair with a great cut and colour turns heads, and that’s what’s in my mind every time I design hair.

It doesn’t matter who the client is.

Of course, I’ve earned a reputation as an anti-ageing expert and it’s true that there is much that can be done to knock off the years.

Q: What awards do you have?

It was certainly a highlight of my career the night I was crowned the British Hairdresser of the Year. You can’t enter this award. Instead it’s nominated by the industry along with the British fashion and beauty press. I sadly lost my mum (my best friend) a few years ago but am so happy that she was with me that night at a glittering awards ceremony in London’s Park Lane.

However, as the first hairdresser ever to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Arts, which was given by Southampton Solent University was an incredible honour and recognition to hairdressing as an art.

PERSONAL FACT FILE Whatisyourfavouritefoodanddrink?

A James Bond Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred with a twist and I love fresh delicious oysters.

What car do you drive?

A Meredez C Class 200 cabriolet. I love a roof-off day.

Where is your favourite restaurant?

Ermmm tough one. I’m quite a creature of habit and am quite fussy when it comes to eating out.

I love the original Ivy in Covent Garden.

And love a good fish and chip supper at The Mayfair Chippy.

Where is your favourite holiday destination?

We learnt how to sail a few years ago so sailing in the Med is a fav with a group of friends or family.

I’ve being going to the quite rural parts of Ibiza for over 20 years so it’s a bit of a spiritual home to relax and unwind.

We have places in London and Hove and I love to spend as much time as possible by the sea.

What is your favourite gadget?

Much to my partners (a pilot) disgust I’m not very tech or gadget even prefer a knife to cut garlic than all those garlic crushers in the drawer.

What couldn’t you live without?

Health is everything isn’t it. I exercise religiously each morning, swimming, running, weights and some yoga so exercise is my meditation, my me time.

Q: You have a number of hair care products on the market, was this a natural addition to salons?

Launching my signature haircare 12 years sold exclusively in ASDA has not only been a huge business learning but I’m also proud that it’s won multiple awards, is an international export and it’s not only British-made but made in Yorkshire.

Q: What would you say to someone entering the industry today?

Getting the best training is essential to most professions and British Hairdressing as a great reputation for this. I work with various industry bodies to ensure exacting standards are delivered across the UK. There are some benchmark hairdressing businesses in Yorkshire. Hairdressing can be an incredibly rewarding profession and lead to many opportunities. I never dreamt that my career would take me into fashion designers studios, royal palaces or movie sets but I do know it’s my beginnings in Yorkshire that paved the way to my career aspirations and I’m often told my “down to earth” Northern attitude has been a gift.

Q: What are your future plans?

After three decades in the hairdressing industry I’m interested in how I can support the future of British Hairdressing. My ABLE scholarship in further education colleges is a huge passion. There is much to be done to grow its foundations as it launched in Yorkshire. If any readers are interested in supporting this initiative, then I’d love to hear from you. andrewbartonlondoneducation.co.uk/ @andrewbartonable Q: If you were to do it all again, what, if anything, would you do differently?

Q: How much input do you have in creating the products?

Like any business there’s been some financial decisions along the way that could have been better invested or better planned, but I’ve learnt how to focus on the learns.

It’s important to me that I understand all the challenges of the business and I

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

care passionately that it’s never been a “namesake” brand. I work on all aspects from creation to commercials, development and delivery. I’m proud that the brand is a value proposition with high quality ingredients and award-winning formulations.

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

WIN A HAIR MAKEOVER with celebrity hairdresser Andrew Barton Andrew Barton, the award winning celebrity hairdresser and our new resident expert at our sister publication Yorkshire Businesswoman, is offering one lucky lady a haircut make-over at his Mayfair Headmasters salon.

This fantastic prize is worth £229.00 and can be redeemed until 30th November 2020. So if you locks are

in need of refresh and you need a new style enter now.

All you have to do is tell us which charity Andrew is a hairdresser ambassador for.

(Hint: you will find the answer at www. yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk).

Email your answer to editor@topicuk. co.uk before the closing date of Friday 3rd July. To be eligible to enter you must also follow Yorkshire Businesswoman on Twitter: @Yorkshirebusin2. Good luck!

T&Cs: Prize must be redeemed before 30th November 2020 and is for a haircut only (not colour). Travel and accommodation is not included and the prize can not be transferred for any cash alternative.

Kirklees College moves to remote learning and everyday household items to create unique pieces of artwork.

The Hair and Beauty students have also continued to hone their skills, creating intricate and creative looks on their family and friends – a welcomed skill within households during these unprecedented times.

Kirklees College has moved all teaching, learning and working online for foreseeable future.

Whilst the Coronavirus pandemic has proved to be a challenging time for the education sector, staff and students at the college have been demonstrating innovative ways of working remotely to make sure that learning continues to be engaging and fun, including

To view some more of the remote learning images, please visit the Kirklees College Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ kirkleescollege. email: the marketing team communications@ kirkleescollege.ac.uk

The College has also placed the mental health and wellbeing of its students at the forefront of its agenda, engaging with students weekly through their counselling se rvice, Virtual Enrichme nt Programme and weekly newsletter.

Carmen Gonzalez-Eslava, Vice Principal, praised and thanked all staff on behalf of the College. She said:

online virtual sessions, quizzes, video conferencing and sharing uplifting song recommendations “All our staff have embraced the to keep learners motivated. nume rous communications, The creative students have also responded swiftly to all requests, been making the most of the worked together brilliantly and, natural beauty on their doorsteps above all, put our learners first.”

TopicUK May 2020

57

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Local business support to Wakefield Hospice

Wakefield Hospice is supported by many local businesses through membership to their business buddy and advocates schemes.

The business buddy club is open to companies of every size and sector that support the hospice financially by making a regular monthly or annual donation to be members of the scheme.

Business buddy members receive a framed certificate, their company details and logo are displayed on the hospice website with a link to their own website, and they receive invites to networking events, regular hospice news updates and an annual invitation to the hospice to meet staff and trustees.

Each year the hospice also invites businesses with whom they have a long-standing and valued relationship to become advocate

58  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

partners, businesses whose ethics and values complement those of the hospice. Essentially, these organisations support the hospice financially and work with the hospice to champion the work of the local charity. This year the hospice is celebrating its 30th anniversary and is proud to be working with Brewin Dolphin, Copiserv, Engie, Gallagher, Handelsbanken, Joliffe Cork, Juice Personnel, Kuhnel Graphics, MTS Plant and the Wilkes Group as advocate partners.

PA R T N E R U P D AT E Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 outbreak the business buddy and advocates have been affected as the hospice is not able to host their networking meetings and some events planned for the 30th anniversary have been cancelled or postponed, some now not likely to be held until 2021; having a massive impact on the hospice’s fundraising activities.

Helen Knowles, Director of Income Generation said “We are so grateful for the support we receive from the business community. So many businesses are under huge financial pressure since the Covid-19 outbreak; we are immensely thankful to our business buddies and advocates for their continued support during these most challenging times.

We recognise that whilst normal working practices are difficult to maintain at the moment we look forward to the time when businesses can get back to work properly and we can continue to work with our business partners beyond our 30th anniversary.”

Jolliffe Cork has supported Wakefield Hospice from its opening in 1990 to the present day and are one of the hospice’s most committed supporters; both a business buddy and an advocate partner since their inception, as well as supporting events such as the annual sporting dinner, golf day and other fundraising activities.

Tim Hill, who leads Jolliffe Cork’s support of the hospice added “My father passed away at a hospice in Leeds and it is only when you step over to the other side do you really appreciate the level of support, compassion, dignity and kindness that hospices provide. At a time when the coronavirus outbreak is depriving many people of these comforts in their final hours, it is

vital to preserve Wakefield Hospice’s ability to enrich the lives of patients and families whenever it can.”

ENGIE joined as an advocate this year and have helped to support the hospice in other ways; they provided a student work experience team to decorate at the hospice, with the cost of the paint and labour it generated a social value of £28,640 as a gift in kind to the hospice. Sarah Hopkinson, Social Value Manager at ENGIE, said: “As a business, we always look to ‘give back’ to the communities in which we work, wherever possible. Wakefield Hospice provides a vital service to people across the district, so we’re really proud to be able to support them in the fantastic work they do.”

For further information about the Wakefield Hospice business buddy and advocates scheme contact keeley.harrison@ wakefieldhospice.co.uk or visit www.wakefieldhospice.org TopicUK May 2020

59

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Retired police officer is still solving crime

Crime author Bob Bridgestock had a highly commended 30 year career rising to the rank of detective superintendent and during the three years before he retired, he took charge of 26 murders, 23 major incidents, over 50 suspicious deaths and numerous sex assaults. He was also a trained hostage negotiator with suicide interventions, kidnap, terrorism and extortion.

Together with his wife and coauthor Carol, the couple have almost 50 years police experience between them. The perfect recipe to write crime drama under the pen name R C Bridgestock.

Bob’s career began in 1974 as a beat constable in Huddersfield.

“Over the years, Bob has dealt with hundreds of dead bodies and has met cold blooded murderers who showed no sign of remorse,” Carol told us. “I often wondered if his early years as a butcher prepared him to deal with and take charge of the most heinous crimes in Yorkshire.”

His career took him through the ranks. When he was a detective inspector, he spent three years at the internationally acclaimed West Yorkshire Police Force Training School, where he taught detectives from all over the world, on the entire spectrum of investigative skills and the law. When he was promoted to detective superintendent, he was seconded to a protracted enquiry, investigating alleged police corruption in another force. He also worked on the high profile Yorkshire Ripper and Sarah Harper murders and received high praise for his work, including winning the much coveted Dennis Hoban Trophy.

“I loved my time in the force,” said Bob, “I never knew what was going to happen next but

60  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

in the end, I began counting down to finishing, at 51-years-old, I knew it was time for me to go.”

neither of them expected when they retired from the force and went to live on the Isle of White.

Carol began her career with the police as an incident clerk in the real Happy Valley station in Sowerby Bridge, where she stayed for 15 years. “During this time I was in charge of connected and miscellaneouus property (of crime), which included guns and drugs. I also worked at Halifax Police Station as office manager for the trail of ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) and aided putting case files together for court. I was also married to the ‘man in charge’, in real life,” she laughed.

“Involvement with a hospice on the island resulted in the head of fundraising persuading Bob to talk to volunteers about his career. Forty minutes turned into four hours and the audience didn’t want him to stop,” laughed Carol, “with several members of the audience telling him afterwards that he should write a book.

Fundraising Today, the couple work closer than ever as authors writing crime under the name of R C Bridgestock, a role

“I had kept a scrap book of press cuttings and other material from Bob’s biggest cases, hoping that some time in the future he would put pen to paper,” Carol continued, “but I wanted it mostly as a memoir for our children to explain why he had missed so many Birthdays and Christmas dinners.

“Not long after that talk at the hospice,

and on our return to the UK mainland, unbeknown to me, Bob had seen an advert to join a college course entitled ‘write your first novel’ and to my surprise, he enrolled us both.

At the end of that course, we had our first draft for Deadly Focus, 120,000 words in long hand!”

Little did Bob and Carol know that that novel would lead them to become authors of the popular Yorkshire based DI Jack Dylan series of crime novels. A perfect subject for them drawing on their years of police experience.

Success “We are often asked what we have found to be the most useful experience from our police days when it comes to writing,” added Bob “We have met some weird and wonderful characters over the TopicUK May 2020

61

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

years that you really couldn’t make up, so we have been lucky enough to draw our characters from some of those. For our lead character SIO Jack Dylan, having the knowledge of murder investigations, how they are carried out and how they affect people have certainly helped.I suppose Jack is based on me!”

“There is no magic formula to our novels,” added Carol. “Once Bob has a crime scene in his mind, he can then write about the enquiry until he captures the perpetrators, just he did We are regularly like in real life. asked what hen his advice we could W first draft is give to young he aspiring writers complete, then hands and more than it to me and anything we add the would say is ‘do Iemotion your homework’. that I draw from Bob, which is not always easy,” she laughed.

Of course Jack Dylan and his wife Jen, characters in their books are very loosely based on Bob and Carol and their lives. The couple write about what they know, which is why the series has been a huge success.

Adding to the DI Jack Dylan series, this year has seen the publication of

62  @

topicuk-magazine

Payback, published by Dome Press in January. This is the first novel in a new crime series with a fiesty female lead character, Detective Inspector Charley Mann, the newly promoted head of CID in Huddersfield.

The character of Charley is loosely based around Carol and set in the Marsden area and its police station, a part of West Yorkshire the couple know well. We will be giving some feedback on this new book as we managed to grab one of the copies before they sold out!

“We are regularly asked what advice we could give to young aspiring writers and more than anything we would say is ‘do your homework’.

Readers of police procedurals are more aware than ever of how it happens in real time.

Award “Thanks to the likes of real-life TV programmes where we are all up close and personal with an investigation,” added Carol. “Research, research, research is the key.”

It’s safe to say that this was not the life the couple intended or expected to be leading, but it’s clear that they both love it. Inevitably this second career is linked to the police but for

COMPETITION TopicK readers have the chance to WIN one of two books, or both if you’re lucky.

Bob and Carol are giving away two signed books (which can be dedicated) to two lucky readers. The new Charley Mann book Payback and Jack Dylan Poetic Justice.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is answer the following simple question:

What is the name of Jack Dylan’s wife?

To be in with a chance of winning, send your answer to editor@ topicuk.co.uk stating which book you would like. The competition closes on Friday 24th July.

There is no cash prize alternative and the editors decision is final. The winner will be the first correct entry drawn after the closing date. No personal details are passed to third parties and will be deleted from our records when the competition closes.

Bob it seems to have broken some of the emotional shackles.

Writing has given the couple a

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

platform to support many charities that are close to their heart, several thousands of pounds to be exact.

And aside from writing novels, Bob and Carol are credited as being consultants for award winning TV dramas such as the BAFTA winning Happy Valley and Scott & Bailey and were voted by WH Smith readers as the #8 Best Crime Writers of all Time.

The couple pride themselves on being up-to-date on past and present day UK police procedures and as a result, Bob is regularly sought by UK televison, radio and national newspapers for commentary on developing major crime incidents.

Together, they are regularly seen on the speaker circuit at a variety of events in the literary world from London to Scotland and work with schools and colleges providing writing seminars and workshops.

Presently, they are working with Scott Free Production scriptwriters on a five-part commissioned TV drama series with another optioned.

Books are available in paperback and Kindle with some in audio. www.bridgestock.com

PODCAST - Lockdown Edition

Not everything has stopped because of lockdown. Businesses are preparing to adjust their future operations in an uncertain time.

Planning ahead is crucial.

Students and apprentices need to do the same, so to help with that, Wakefield College's latest podcast covers how students and apprentices can keep their study skills sharp during lockdown and the support that's available, so they're ahead of the game when the new "normal" begins.

Scan the QR code to listen on the College’s website, or search iTunes or Spotify for “Wakefield College”.

Connect with us

Subscribe to our podcasts

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Rich House Poor House’ businessman helps local woman realise her ambitions Local businessman Matt Haycox made the news when swapped his millionnaire lifestyle with that of single mum of two Anna Bardgett, handing over £10,000 to help Anna realise her dreams of setting up a dog walking business.

“People need to realise that bankruptcy is not the end, it can be a huge learning curve. It certainly was for me.”

Because of his experience, Matt set out to help other entrepreneurs. “I help business owners by investing in their companies, either lending at arms length, not getting involved and they just pay the loan back, or if I feel I can offer some guidance and experience, I may take a small amount of equity in return and play an advisory role in the business, particularly in hospitality.”

Matt also runs online courses and mentoring as many people go to him with financial issues. “It has to be a simple business and easy to understand if it is to get my attention,” he added “My experience lies in leisure, retail, marketing and finance.

Matt from Leeds and Anna from Keighley, signed up for the hit Channel 5 show, Rich House Poor House which filmed in December. During the show which aired in April, Anna and Matt swapped houses, jobs and social status along with Matt’s best friend and neighbour Daniel Buck.

“I didn’t find it difficult switching roles,” Matt told us, who was approached by researchers. “I have worked my way up to where I am and it’s no secret that I have failed at times, so I know what it’s like to have nothing. It is true though that money does give freedom. I suppose it helped knowing that I would be going home at the end of the week too, it wasn’t going to be forever.

“I am used to going to the supermarket and buying what I want, but to do this on less than £70 for the week was a struggle, but we did manage without too much compromise.”

64  @

topicuk-magazine

After completing his A-levels Matt headed off to university where he lasted just 6 weeks. “I just wanted to work, I had read every business book there was and that is where my interest was.

I started quite young, I loved magic and used to perform magic to fellow diners at our local restaurant I visited with my parents and at just 15, I was earning more than the waiters in tips, sometimes as much as £300.

Undaunted “My father had invested in a corporate clothing business and I worked there for a while, but I my ambition was to work for myself.” This ambition led Matt to the enterainment industry where he went on to own more than 60 public houses and 10 restaurants across the country.

However, Matt lost the business in 2008, but undaunted learned from errors made and went on to rebuild his company.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

FACT FILE

Matt Haycox What care do you drive: Most of the time a Range Rover Sport but have a Ferrari 458 for fun.

Favourite holiday destination: Las Vegas, where I lived for a few years.

Favourite food and drink: Sushi and red wine Favourite gadget iPhone What couldn’t you live without: My thirteen-year-old daughter Harlie, who is a mini-me!

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

“I wanted to help Anna because even before I met her, I knew she was a hardworker. She worked for a local Max Spielmann photo shop and all her colleagues spoke well of her, telling me how hardworking she was, but what struck me most was the fact that she spent very little time with her four year old son Billy because of the hours she worked to make ends meet.”

Anna’s ambition was to set up her own dog walking business, but lacked the finance to get her started.

“Daniel and I discussed giving Anna the money to buy her house but felt that wasn’t a solution to her financial problems, she needed a career where she could earn her own money and have something to build on. So we decided to give her £10,000 to get a van and start the business.”

Sadly the whole country went into lockdown before Anna could get up and running, but has things in place to start as soon as lockdown is over.

TopicUK are speaking to Anna and will be following her journey on our sister site www. yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk

Debt Recovery • Credit Management • Cash Flows

Business Loans

• Debtor Management

• Additional Funding • Lending Facilities • Evaluation of Initiatives

General Planning

• Lender Strategy

• Chadwick Lawrence Model • Knowledge Sharing • Other Internal Plans Shared

Business Support

• Comms Strategy • Employee Support

Employment

Corporate/Commercial • Terms and Conditions • Obligations to Customers

Property

• Redundancy • Statutory Sick Pay

• Mortgage

• Lay Off

• Rent

• Holidays

• Rate Relief

• Workforce Buy In

• Utilities

Insolvency & Finance

• Commercial Contracts

• Subsidies

• Administration

• Pension Provision

• Refinancing • Time to Pay (HMRC) • Creditor Discussions • VAT Deferral • Self-Employed Tax Deferral • Grants/Loans

Corporate & Contracts

Corporate Recovery & Insolvency

Employer Services

Intellectual Property

Litigation in Business

Property

Regulatory Services

Sports Law

chadwicklawrence.co.uk/covid19 | T: 0800 015 0340 | E: boxhr@chadlaw.co.uk

L E G A L M AT T E R S

Did you know?

What is a Will?

A Will is a legal document which sets out what you would want to happy to your property and possessions when you pass away. Without a Will, the law dictates what happens to your estate in the event of your death, and this may not necessarily reflect your wishes. A Will enables you to make sure that you have made financial provision for those who you would wish to benefit, should that be your family, friends or charities.

•

Any debts you have will be paid from your estate after you die, they do not ‘die with you’

•

If you are not married to your partner, they will not inherit any of your assets

When should I review my Will?

•

When you marry or separate/ divorce

•

You have a change in your financial or family circumstances

•

You become a parent, to make financial provisions and appoint guardians

The effect of Covid-19 on making your Will We are continuing to provide our services in a safe but efficient manner to assist you in managing your affairs.

Usually, when we are instructed to prepare your Will, we will meet with you during the process to initially discuss your instructions in a professional and approachable manner. However, despite being unable to meet with you face to face, we are still on hand to assist you in getting your affairs in order.

Photo by Matthias Zomer from Pexels

Why Should I make a Will?

Because ….

•

Making a Will is the only way to ensure your wishes are carried out after your death

•

In a Will you can appoint Guardians for your minor children

•

66  @

topicuk-magazine

In a Will you can ensure that you provide for children from a previous relationship, ensuring this does not cause undue

hardship for other beneficiaries •

If you make a Will then you can be happy in the knowledge that your estate will pass to the people you intend in the manner you wish

•

If you do not have any i m m e d i a te r e l a t i v e s , f o r example spouse/civil partner, living parent(s), siblings, descendants, 1st cousins, then your estate may pass to the State

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

We are available to conduct appointments by telephone to take your Will instructions. At the end of the matter, we would usually arrange a meeting with you to oversee the signing formalities of the Will, to ensure that the same is executed correctly. However, to overcome our inability to meet with you in person at present, we are offering options to clients on how to sign their Wills, whether that be sending the Wills home for signature with detailed signing instructions or giving the clients the option to wait until the office re-opens to enable us to meet with you to sign the Will.

L E G A L M AT T E R S

Covid-19 and the challenge of moving children between separated parents Not only has the coronavirus pandemic forced us to experience huge changes to life as know it, but it has also brought about a plethora of unprecedented issues within the family law context In Italy for example, the government remained silent in relation to this issue which meant that as a result, parents were left with no option but to apply to the Family Courts to determine whether arrangements should remain in place or be varied in light of the situation.

Those who have Child Arrangements Orders in place are justifiably concerned that they will be unable to meet the provisions of the Court Order.

The government helpfully confirmed in guidance issued on the 23rd of March that where parents do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parents’ homes.

This however does not necessarily

mean that children must be moved and so this is a decision for both parents to make in the individual circumstances.

The parents should make an assessment of the circumstances and make a sensible decision, which may include determining the best scenario for the welfare of the child together with identifying the risk of infection and the presence of others in each household/the profession of each parent.

It goes without saying that both parents and children should exercise caution and take the necessary measures as set out within the government guidance on social distancing, particularly when travelling to and from contact handovers.

Those who have Child Arrangements Orders in place are justifiably concerned that they will be unable to meet the provisions of the Court Order.

We would always advise that the first step would be to have a discussion with the other parent to reach an agreement on contact. This might include reducing contact hours, that the child remains with one parent for the time being or to continue with frequent contact, even through online facilities.

Clearly if an agreement cannot be reached then mediation remains an option, as does an application to court.

The question is whether a change to the lockdown rules will bring a return to usual routines for separated parents and their children. It can only be hoped that any animosity brought about by a brief change in arrangements does not accelerate into court proceedings once we return to Photo by Trinity Kubassek from Pexels a normality of sorts.

TopicUK May 2020

67

Business as UNusual during COVID-19 ADVERTORIAL

The announcement of the UK lockdown saw every university in the country close their campuses overnight with their students, for the most part, returning home to their families.

unchanged - instead of physically turning up to their timetabled room, the students log into the equivalent virtual classroom where they are greeted by their same tutor and participate alongside their normal classmates”.

Mid academic year, with the majority of courses only part delivered, universities have had to adapt to new ways of continuing their teaching.

With face-to-face learning suspended for the foreseeable, how universities are supporting their students in a virtual world has become a question of significant importance and certainly one that students looking to study in September should be asking when selecting their institution.

T h e Un i v e r s i t y o f L aw h a s become reputed in recent years for the excellence of its teaching and commitment to its student experience, having ranked in the top 10 of universities for academic support in the National Student Survey for the 3rd year running, with its Leeds Campus being 1st in the region in 9 out of 10 categories.

True to form, ULaw’s response to COVID-19 has been underpinned by its commitment to its students and their learning.

Having invested heavily in excellent learning technology during recent times, the migration to a virtual community was seamless. “We stopped face-to-face teaching one week and started delivering in our virtual classrooms the next” says Matthew Tomlinson, Dean of ULaw’s Leeds Campus.

“Our students’ timetables remained

68  @

topicuk-magazine

It’s not just the delivery of the teaching that remains unchanged. Students are still receiving the same levels of pastoral support with personal tutors in fact having increased the frequency of their check-in points.

The students are also still able to continue with extra-curricular activities, with competitions and new initiatives being run virtually. Student services such as Employability, Pro Bono, Library and Welfare have also

assumed a strong online presence and importantly, all students are still taking their end of term assessments.

The students have also formed new ways of socialising with Houseparty and Zoom hangouts being amongst the most popular!

ULaw student, Jessica Little, 2nd year LLB student in Leeds described ULaw’s transition to online learning as “The University of Law has done an incredible job with the transition to online learning. The staff and university itself have provided immense support to all students during this difficult time and have made the transition seamless. My tutors continued to support me by offering video/phone calls and email support for any questions I had about my classes, but were also there just to make sure I was doing ok. The University has kept us

So how can you best prepare for the unknown?

constantly updated with any changes and have ensured we know how to ask for help if we need it. Any new student starting in September 2020 can be assured that there is no need for concern if the online learning had to continue, as it has been incredibly successful for myself and my peers and the support and quality of teaching have not wavered.”

Planning to start a course in September?

For students looking to start a new course in September, there is of course an uncertainty as to what that will look like. If social distancing measures are still in force, this could mean that joining a course face-to-face may not be possible.

However, universities will adapt to accommodate this. Whether this be later start dates or online delivery to begin with, there will be a solution and things will revert to normal.

ULaw’s Leeds lecturers, Cheryl Weir & Chris Walker provide some top tips •

Find out how well equipped your chosen institution is to start your course online and switch to face-to-face teaching when social distancing measures permit.

•

Develop new friends – join online events being hosted by your chosen institution. UniBuddy is a great platform to meet people who will be starting your course in September.

•

Join taster sessions and online events – this is a great way to learn more about your institution and your course and will also let get a feel for what virtual learning feels like.

•

Be prepared to try something new – take a look at what clubs and societies you can get involved in when you start - you might be able to continue a new hobby that you started whilst in lockdown.

•

Develop your study skills – use this lockdown time to get interested in your chosen subject – the internet has an endless amount of easily digestible content such as Ted talks.

•

Develop your CV – just because we are in lockdown does not preclude you from completing CV enhancing experiences. Many are volunteering for the NHS, others are fundraising or helping to support their local community.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

If your intention is to study in September, there is no reason to put this off. Many would in fact argue that studying during a period of economic uncertainty is one of the best ways to use this time as you will be gaining skills that will be highly valuable and make you much more employable when the market begins to recover. The key consideration now more than ever, is that you select the right course for you with an institution that can deliver can support you as well online as it can face to face.

For more details about ULaw programmes and our career service, visit our website www.law.ac.uk and book onto one of our open days or come in and see us for a campus tour.

for all your legal needs, call your local solicitors

Ramsdens

with 14 offices across Yorkshire, we’re never too far away

01484 821 500 www.ramsdens.co.uk

L E G A L M AT T E R S

Lasting powers of attorney: why they are so important Leaving behind a Will ensures that our affairs are looked after once we die, but not everybody thinks about what would happen if they were unable to manage their affairs during their lifetime.

In England and Wales, a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows another i n d i v i d u a l to h av e t h e l e g a l authority to make financial or health and welfare decisions if you lose capacity, either temporarily or permanently, to do so. LPA’s are recognised by both financial and medical institutions such as; banks, care homes, tax and pension authorities.

There are two different types of LPA’s:

Ramsdens Solicitors 70  @

topicuk-magazine

Financial and Property – this LPA can either be used when a person has lost mental capacity, or while a person still has capacity b u t t h e A t to r n e y m u s t h av e their permission to make those decisions. Examples of financial and property decisions are: running your bank accounts, paying your bills or selling your house.

Health and Welfare – this LPA will only come into effect if a person has lost mental capacity. Examples of health and welfare decisions are: where you should live, your day-to-day care and consenting to or refusing medical treatment.

As we are currently experiencing with the Coronavirus pandemic, mental or physical incapacity can happen at any time which is why everyone should plan ahead with a LPA. If a person does not have a LPA in place and they lose capacity, their relatives may experience long delays, unnecessary stress and

expense in applying to the Court of Protection so that they can have access to the person’s finances.

Deciding to make an LPA is a very important decision and everyone who has made one should feel confident that any decisions in respect of their affairs, will be made correctly by the one’s they trust the most. However, Attorneys cannot just do as they please, they must still act in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and any concerns will be investigated by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).

Former cohabitees living apart during lockdown – is occupation rent appropriate?

In circumstances where a couple are unmarried and have jointly owned property they may be living separately whether voluntarily or having been excluded from the property by their partner.

The person remaining in occupation of the property (the occupier) may wish to claim from their previous partner an amount by way of contribution towards

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

unmatched mortgage payments or payment of other outgoings necessary to maintain the property after separation. This could include buildings insurance, and rates.On the other hand the person who is no longer living in the property might consider an application for “occupation rent” as this is a claim available in principle in any dispute between cohabitees relating to property ownership.

A prominent Court case in 2007 clarified that the re does not

How late is too late to bring a financial provision claim under the inheritance ( provision for family and dependents) act 1975?

Generally, any claim under the Act must be brought within 6 months of the date on which a Grant of probate was issued.

However, in certain cases the courts have discretion to extend this time limit.

In Cowan v Foreman [2019] , Mary Cowan brought a claim against the estate of her late husband, Michael Cowan. The claim was issued 17 months out of time. The Estate was worth £16millon and whilst Mary was a beneficiary of the estate, she was not happy with the provision which had been made for her.

Whilst initially the court refused permission for the claim to proceed outside the 6 months time limit, on appealing to the court of Appeal , Mary’s claim was allowed to proceed and the Court of Appeal need to be a forcible exclusion from a property for payment of occupation rent to arise.

Accommodated Consideration is given instead as to whether or not it would be “just” for occupation rent to arise and to be paid.In other words, it would depend on the circumstances of the case.

However, whenever there is a dispute regarding ownership and shares in a property following the end of a cohabitating relationship, consideration should be given as to whether or not occupation rent should arise. Factors which should

L E G A L M AT T E R S his previous marriages who were all adults at the time.

When he died intestate in 1990, his other children failed to co-operate at all with Mrs Bhusate in relation to the administration of the estate which had, according to the Judge, been “left in limbo” for many years.

The court found that Mrs Bhusate’s circumstances were exceptional and accepted that she could not have brought the claim any sooner. The Court gave permission for the claim to proceed and despite the step children appealing the court’s decision, the Court of Appeal agreed that the claim should be allowed to proceed and dismissed the Appeal.

emphasized that the reason of the delay is not the only relevant factor and that each case should be determined on its own facts with particular regards to the prospects of success of any claim.

Similarly inthe case of Thakre v Bhusate [2020] , Mrs Bhusate was granted permission to bring her claim 25 years out of time. be taken into account include each parties’ circumstances, “who has paid for what” during a period of separation and how the party who is not able to live in the joint property, has been accommodated elsewhere.

In many disputes of this kind it will be argued that the payment of mortgage and other outgoings on the joint property by the occupier should be “set off ” against the payments for rent and the like made by the former occupant whilst living elsewhere.In other words the occupier pays for the whole of the mortgage and the outgoings whilst they have the benefit of living in the property and instead of making any separate

Mr and Mrs Bhusate had been married since 1979 when he was 61 years of age.

Mrs Bhusate was the deceased’s third wife and was 28 years old at the time of her marriage to him. She spoke very little English and had one son. She lived in the family home in London and Mr Bhusate had five children from

Whilst the decisions in these two cases are a positive development in Inheritance Act claims, it is nevertheless important that such claims for provision from the estate, are brought as soon as possible and within the 6 months time limit where possible as these cases highlighted the fact that each case will be determined on its own facts and so any unreasonable delays in bringing claims will not be overlooked by the courts.

payments to their former cohabitee may be a good argument as to why by way of occupation rent.However, “set off ” should not apply save to if the mortgage payments being a very limited extent. made include capital and interest then they are in the first instance U l t i m a t e l y c o n s i d e r a t i o n entitled to credit for unmatched of equitable accounting for capital contributions. payme nts made whilst in a property following separation and the concept of occupation Consideration rent may be an important factor Consider the following example:- when distributing sale proceeds The monthly mortgage repayment following the breakdown of a on a joint property is interest only relationship particularly if the and the monthly repayment is £200. parties have been separated for If the notional rental value of that some time before any sale takes property (the relevant figure for place – all too likely a scenario occupation rent) was say £1,000.00 at the moment in our “stalled” pcm and the former cohabitee is property market pending the end paying £1,200.00 pcm to rent a of the Covid-19 lockdown and its similar property elsewhere this effects- whenever that may be.

TopicUK May 2020

71

L E G A L M AT T E R S

Potential claims arising out of furlough

Unlawful deductions of wages

Breach of contract

•

If an employer does not pass the reimbursement received from HMRC to you in respect of your wages.

•

If the employer does not pass the reimbursement received from HMRC to you in respect of your wages.

•

If you take annual leave during furlough and are paid 80% of your normal pay instead of 100%.

•

•

If you are entitled to contractual sick pay which equates to 100% of your earnings, you may remain entitled to pay at that level if you become sick during furlough unless your employer has specifically provided for contractual sick pay to be reduced in the furlough agreement.

If the employer did not seek your permission to vary terms and conditions of your employment by asking you to sign a furlough agreement and there is no variation clause in your contract allowing the employer to do so without your consent.

•

If the employer fails to pay your annual bonus due for payment during furlough and it did not seek your agreement to either waive or defer the entitlement.

•

•

By Irina Polyakova, Senior Employment Law Solicitor at Eaton Smith Solicitors

The Job Retention Scheme or Furlough Scheme that was introduced in March 2020 was a lifeline for many businesses. However, there are many potential pitfalls to this scheme in terms of potential claims arising from it.

72  @

topicuk-magazine

•

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

If the employer fails to pay your annual bonus due for payment during furlough and it did not seek your agreement to either waive or defer the entitlement.

If your statutory redundancy pay has been calculated on the basis of furlough pay and not your normal pay where your normal working hours and remuneration does not vary with the amount of work done.

If your entitlement for SMP has been assessed based on furlough payments and not on your normal w eek l y ea rn i n g s i n t he relevant period preceding a qualifying week.  editor@topicuk.co.uk

Unfair dismissal •

Potentially and provided you have 2 years’ service and the business is continuing, but you have been made redundant while on furlough or will be afterwards.

•

Potentially and provided you have 2 years’ service and the employer fails to make an attempt to carry out a fair procedure to dismiss you whilst on furlough.

Indirect Sex discrimination •

If you are refused to be placed on furlough and instead are required to take unpaid leave to look after children.

L E G A L M AT T E R S

Direct Sex discrimination •

If your entitlement for SMP has been assessed based on furlough payments and not on your normal weekly earnings in the relevant period preceding a qualifying week.

Disability discrimination / Discrimination arising from disability / Failure to make reasonable adjustments

•

If the employer’s furlough selection policy does not make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.

Direct Age discrimination •

Potentially and if you are being furloughed or made redundant because you are more expensive, unless the employer can objectively justify it’s decision.

Direct race discrimination •

If your visa does not allow access to public funds and the employer either refuses to furlough you or reimburse you in line with the furlough scheme. Non-UK nationals can be furloughed b y a U K e m p l o y e r. G r a n t s under the scheme are not counted as “access to public funds” and an employer

can furlough employees on allcategories of visa.

•

If you think you are vulnerable to a claim or you feel that you have a claim to make, please contact Irina Polyakova at Eaton Smith Solicitors.

TopicUK May 2020

73

N E W S U P D AT E

••

Business Structures & Reorganisations

••

Accident Claims

••

Commercial Debt Collection

••

Child Care

••

Commercial Disputes

••

Commercial Property

••

Collaborative Law

••

Contracts

••

Dispute Resolution

••

Employment

••

Employment Problems

••

Intellectual Property

••

Matrimonial & Family

••

International Trade & Transactions

••

Medical Negligence Claims

••

Internet Trading Trading Internet

••

Planning for Retirement

•• ••

Mediation of of Business Business Disputes Disputes Mediation Mergers, Acquisitions Acquisitions and and Disposals Disposals Mergers,

••

Residential Property Property Residential

••

Road Traffic Traffic Cases Cases Road

•• ••

Planning & & Licensing Licensing Planning Starting In In Business Business Starting

The Law Law & & The The Elderley Elderley •• The

••

Wills, Trusts Trusts & & Probate Probate Wills,

Keep up to date with the latest business news for the district www.wakefieldfirst.com

WAKEFIELD FIRST RECOGNISE THAT LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE FACING A CHALLENGING AND UNCERTAIN TIME AS WE ALL CONSIDER THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19.

The Wakefield First Business S u p p o r t Te a m h a v e b e e n working to support and assist local businesses who are in need at this time and have received thousands of enquiries since the Coronavirus restrictions began.

At Wakefield First we want to help you look towards the future,

providing help and support your business needs. We want to engage in conversation about how you can access new markets, secure finance into your business, innovate, review your supply chain and provide you and your team with the skills to grow.

We also appreciate that the coming weeks may result in businesses that may be required to make redundancies. Wakefield First can also provide support to you and your team during these times. All of our Business Support Managers are working harder than ever. We are here for you and are just a click or phone call away.

with the answers in relation to…

• CASH FLOW ISSUES • SELF EMPLOYED INFO • BUSINESS PREMESIS INFO • TAX LIABILITY INFO • EMPLOYER INFO & MORE!

Our dedicated COVID-19 info page can provide you with the answers to FAQ’s and key information via our downloadable fact sheets! We can provide you

Things are tough for all right now, but together we can come through this.

Visit www.wakefieldfirst.com/ covi-19/ for more information or alternatively contact info@ wakefieldfirst.com

F o r m o re i n f o o n a l l t h i n g s b u s i n e s s i n W a k e f i e l d v i s i t : w w w. w a k e f i e l d f i r s t . c o m

N E W S U P D AT E

Workplace Innovation -

Taking the positive experiences to help shape our business culture.

By: Tim Guest

This isn’t a feature wishing to add further commentary on the dreadful situation we find ourselves in, and though there’s nothing more important than trying to bring the World out of crisis and halt the unfathomable numbers of lives being lost to Coronavirus, our lives do require an income.

Our incomes are derived from our jobs or our businesses, and right now, those of us who bear the burden of responsibility for continuing to safeguard our businesses, need to look carefully for new ways forward, when parts of our economy are changing… perhaps for good.

Lockdown forced the majority of the country’s workforce out of normal office routine and into

76

what still seems otherworldly.

Many are perching laptops on kitchen islands and makeshift desks, and it’s fair to suggest that productivity amongst businesses has taken a serious hit.

However, we’ve also experienced something rather wonderful.

A great many employees are becoming highly efficient mobile workers as a result of being forced to use awesome productivity

applications like Microsoft’s Teams and Zoom. The speed of the transformation of our nation’s working practices has been striking to witness.

The lessons we’ve learned in both how to use various software and in how to manage businesses whilst distanced from the familiarity of our offices and meeting rooms are so significant, that we’re unlikely to return to our previous habits entirely, and we are bound to retain our use of certain new tools.

Platform There have been serious challenges for businesses who never foresaw having to have to

 @topicuk-magazine @topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

work like this. Enabling staff to work from home and have access to on premise software and those dreaded folders full of businesscritical spreadsheets has not been easy. Poor home connectivity makes file transfer over VPNs painfully slow in some instances – I suffer this fate as a result of living somewhere semi-rural.

Besides the laptop manufacturers, technology winners have been the cloud-based solution providers, giving us amazing productivity tools, like Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), project management and visualisation applications, like Monday.com, Twilio and Miro, and accounting systems such as QuickBooks Online and Xero. We’re finally realising the true benefits of cloud-based computing and those that use them are reaping the rewards.

So then, how to tackle those mission-critical files and processes that are unique to your organisation and fall outside of workflows enabled by the generic cloud-based software? This is where my advice of old comes back to having relevance. Identify your key needs, document the processes and the knowledge they leverage within the business, and then develop a custom application w i t h t h e a b i l i t y to b e u s e d simultaneously by staff, wherever they are. Integrate it, if necessary, to share data with some of the other systems you use. If you add a custom application or two into your business 2.0 plans, you’ll be able to navigate through a crisis like this again with more efficiency and collaboration assured.

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

An Insight into AHQ…

At Avenue HQ, we provide dynamic spaces and creative settings for companies of any size - offering the best facilities and services that drive innovation, and increase productivity and well-being. Currently, Avenue HQ’s locations span two locations within the Northern Powerhouse - with one site in Leeds and two sites across the Pennines in Liverpool.

Avenue HQ was founded back in 2017, when we first opened our doors to Avenue HQ Mann Island - a stunning location overlooking the city’s historic waterfront. In 2018, Avenue HQ East Parade launched and took the Leeds business scene by storm.

With it’s rooftop bar and basement chamber housed within a beautiful grade-2 listed building, AHQ East Parade was quick to enrol numerous highprofile clients and play host to countless notable events.

78  @

topicuk-magazine

Then in 2019, we welcomed the arrival of our second Liverpool site, located within the bustling Business District of St Paul’s Square.

Undoubtedly, location is of utmost importance to Avenue HQ. Our specially selected locations and buildings not only differ massively, but seek to represent the cities in which we operate in style and enviable locations.

Our aim is to provide spaces that are specifically customised to the

Eagle Labs For details on anything Avenue HQ, check out our website: www.avenue-hq. com or email: s.bensley@avenuehq.com

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

needs of the local community.

Working with Barclays at Mann Island, we’ve designed a space for entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive, and due to our ongoing partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs, we have an onsite ‘Maker Space’ complete with 3D printers and laser cutters, alongside a dedicated member of staff, to support rapid prototyping for all members. This partnership transcends to Leeds, where Eagle Labs occupy an entire floor of the five-story site, transforming this space into a high-growth business

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

hub. Alongside high-growth help, we provide a range of support services, including access to expert mentoring and funding opportunities, we can help our members scale up their business.

Across all Ave nue HQ locations, we provide spaces that give the best representation of our community’s business’. We truly care about the wellbeing of our members and their teams, and endeavour to look after their clients and guests. Our on-site team’s

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

core focus is simple: making sure our members get the most from their working life.

What is flexible working?

The flexible working movement has gained serious momentum over previous years. The practice has been adopted by a rising number of organisations, on the basis that an increasing number of employees require flexibility within their working lives. Standard 9-5 days simply are not for everyone and flexible working environments,

such as Avenue HQ, support these ‘modern’ ways of working.

In the past, ‘flexible working’ and traditional offices, have been understood on a spectrum, with the conventional private office on one end, and working from home or ‘hot desking’ at the other. In reality, there’s countless ‘flexible’ membership options that can be found in-between: •

Virtual Office Membership

A virtual office provides business owners and their employers the opportunity to work from any

location in the world – whilst retaining a professional primary address. It provides the benefits of having an office – professional location, mail handling, a city centre address – without the need for a costly physical space.

poll believe that the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic will make more employers see the value of flexibility*.

•

Satellite OfficesA Satellite Office is usually a smaller branch office that can be used on a sporadic basis by teams. It’s a great option for businesses who wish to pitch up in a new location, without a huge upheaval and initial cost.

Additionally, we see businesses opt for satellite offices, in order to provide employees with an alternative place to work.

The world is currently undergoing seismic change and due to this, when we resurface from the nation’s lockdown, the office and coworking landscape won’t quite be the one that we unknowingly said goodbye to earlier in 2020. At Avenue HQ, we’ve thought long and hard about how our spaces will both appear and function, to ensure the continued protection of the AHQ Community’s wellbeing.

•

Dedicated DesksA dedicated desk (or as we call it at Avenue HQ, a resident desk) allows you to have a desk of your own, on a permanent basis. This option is popular for smaller teams who aren’t quite ready for the commitment of a private office.

Due to the implications of Covid-19, many organisations have been flung head first into the realm of flexible working, as the vast majority of employees will be working from home. Company’s have had no choice but to adopt these flexible practices, which they previously may have considered incoherent with their business model. Due to the rising number of organisations realising that these ways of working CAN in fact work for them, post lockdown we could see an increase in business owners maintaining some form of ‘flexible working’. Whether that be: giving employees the option to work remotely, or staggering office hours, it seems that flexibility could be a Covid-19 trend that is here to stay.

Just under half of those surveyed within an Employee Benefits

What approach will need to be taken after lockdown?

On the back of this, we have adopted necessary practices, in order to help us navigate through the future months. Avenue HQ’s community code of conduct has been adjusted accordingly, and now features two pillars of: ‘Environmental’ and ‘Community’ Changes. These changes are in place to promote social distancing measures and increased cleanliness across all Avenue HQ locations, through incorporating factors such as: improved air ventilation, increased cleaning regimes and additional entrances to the site - in order for members to stagger their working days.

At Avenue HQ, we pride ourselves on being so much more than just a desk to work from. Over the years, we’ve created and nurtured a safe collaborative space for so many. We will continue to foster this community spirit, with clear measures in place, to ensure the safety of all AHQ members and our team, whilst we move forward together. *https://employeebenefits. co.uk/employers-covid-19flexible-working/ TopicUK May 2020

79

Stay connected with Yorkshire Sculpture Park We hope you and your loved ones are safe and well during this difficult time.

As a charitable trust and an accredited museum, Yorkshire Sculpture Park is currently closed, in line with government guidelines. A core team are continuing to care for the Park, planning for the future and keeping in touch with our supporters online.

Every week, our Curatorial Team are sharing their personal highlights from past exhibitions, while our Estates Team are capturing images of the Park in lockdown as nature takes over in the absence of people.

Our Learning Team are highlighting sculptures that encourage families to look, talk and draw together, and we have some exciting new opportunities for artists in Yorkshire, as well as articles and podcasts we hope will keep YSP close to your heart.

We look forward to welcoming you back as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep safe, and stay connected with us via our website and social media channels.

ysp.org.uk/ysp-stay-connected Henry Moore, Upright Motives: No. 1 Glenkiln Cross; No. 2; No. 7, 1955-56. Courtesy the Henry Moore Foundation. Photo Š Jonty Wilde Registered charity 1067908

Topic_YSPStayConnected_190x120_HalfpageAd_AW.indd 1

22/05/2020 14:45

A V ES RUTPODRAI T A EL ND EW

The Best Ways To Network From Home Struggling to network whilst working from home? Avenue HQ has got you covered…

At Avenue HQ, we know the power of coworking for making new connections and building successful relationships. We’ve seen success stories in our spaces such as coworking members coming together to form businesses to partnering on products that have gone on to take the market by storm.

However, with lockdown in place due to Covid-19, Team AHQ & our members are having to get creative with how they continue to network and connect with each other. From LinkedIn hacks to good old blog posts, here are our 4 best ways to network from home when working from a distance…

LinkedIn Groups Everyone is familiar with LinkedIn, but sometimes you need to shake up your usual feed to make some new connections. LinkedIn Groups are virtual meeting rooms/networking groups where people with similar interests can post and hold conversations around topics they want to share or learn more about. Participating in Groups allows you to show off your expertise around a subject and start to grow relationships with like-minded people.

Therefore, if you’re looking to expand your contact base but you’re not sure where to start, try finding a group such as ‘Marketing Professionals’ or

Start a blog If you’re looking to keep your connections interested without spamming their t i m el i n es, bl o g s a re a good place to start. From journaling your remote working experience to general opinion pieces, it’s a great way to diversify your offering when you can’t have face to face meetings. This is a great time to focus on becoming a specialist in your field, so research and essay writing can really give you kudos.

Great for: those with a knack for writing who usually don’t get an opportunity in their roles.

‘Regional Sales Representatives’, which will put you in touch with similar people in your field. You never know, it could be the start of something exciting…

Great for: Keen networkers who want to keep things professional.

Zoom Forget Skype, Zoom is the newest app to host business meetings and company catch ups, with a huge rise in usage since the lockdown. With dynamic backgrounds where you can make it look like you’re in a boardroom (even if you’re in bed) and high quality video conferencing, it’s the perfect way to still have that Monday 9am, no matter where you are in the world.

We’ve seen fellow AHQer’s take Zoom in their stride, using the platform to host team events, including post-work drinks, general knowledge quizzes and many more.

Great for: Still being able to pitch that great idea to a client, even when you can’t get to the meeting.

Eagle Labs For details on anything Avenue HQ, check out our website: www.avenue-hq. com or email: s.bensley@avenuehq.com

Reach out to past leads More free time is a great opportunity to build your relationship with past customers and leads that have gone a little cold.

From sending out an update email to your mailing list to offe ring support or

complimentary services to your contacts, you’ll be surprised at how this can spark conversation.

Even if it’s a friendly ‘round up of good news’ to send out, make sure it’s consistent and something for your connections to look forward to. Building that relationship will help with the hard sell when everything resumes.

Great for: those in Sales who can benefit from building their own personal brand.

You can stay up-to-date with anything Avenue HQ related by visiting our website: avenue-hq.com, or following us on our various social media accounts including: Twitter @ avenuehq and Instagram: avenue_hq, or contacting t h e t e a m d i r e c t ly s.bensley@avenue-hq.com TopicUK May 2020

81

NA SP PE ERWC TSINAU ELRPFDUEAPATDTEA UTREE

We a p p r e c i a te m a n y business owners, particularly owner managed, may feel in a very isolated place but our help is on hand...

COVID-19 business support All of our legal teams, both business focussed and private client services have been busy throughout the COVID-19 challenge and they remain so. Please do not think your legal needs must be put on ice during this period as we are still in a position to progress most things.

Our business services have remained very busy throughout, particularly our employment law and HR support service.

You may have seen through our website and social media posts that we were posting daily videos and FAQ sheets to help you keep on top of the many new provisions which were being announced. The pace of announcements affecting businesses has slowed a little in the last week or two but we expect more announcements as we look to exit lockdown so we will continue

82  @

topicuk-magazine

to post relevant and practical content as it emerges. Please look out for it and feel free to share it.

•

Will they feel safe returning to the work place or can they continue to work from home?

Following is a summary of the services we provide. These are not new services but we have chosen to group them together just now because they are the typical areas of advice and support our business clients are seeking right now.

•

If you open your site(s) and the Government goes ahead with its COVID-19 tracking strategy, could this mean site closures if one of your workers tests positive as all connected colleagues self-isolate?

•

Might you consider rotating site based colleagues, one week in and the following week from home?

•

What about customer attendance on site - how will you manage that?

•

What will your workforce look like?

•

Will you need to make savings and if so when and in what areas of your business?

•

Will you need to make changes to e mplo yee te rms, if so how do you do it?

We appreciate many business owners, particularly owner managed, may feel in a very isolated place but our help is on hand so do make contact.

Interestingly, many of our existing clients who know us well will already appreciate this, not all of the queries we are receiving are strictly legal in nature. Through our client base we have a huge reach to many and varied business types and sizes so often our discussions are just a fact find and a helping hand.

I mentioned exiting lockdown above.

This is very much our focus right now. We are asking businesses what their plans are; •

What will your business look like over the next few months?

•

How will you deliver your service?

•

Will a lot change particularly if you are in a position to deliver that service remotely?

•

Will you re-open your site(s)? If so how?

•

Will you be able to safely accommodate the same number of employees on site as pre-lockdown?

•

How many of your employees are “vulnerable” or live with a “vulnerable” person?

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

There are many proactive businesses we are engaging with who are working through these issues now and making decisions now. Whilst there is uncertainty about future social distancing measures and the nature of economic recovery, planning early is key.

Contact us today to discuss how we can assist and support you now and in the future.

N AE RWTSN U P E RP DUAPTDEA T E

Graphic Design You Can Trust At Gold Rabbit we craft distinctive, professional and memorable graphic designs to help our clients develop their branding and marketing and connect better with their customers.

In our years of experience in graphic design, we have seen first-hand how well-designed branding and marketing materials can increase a business’ sales, create the right impression at client meetings,

84  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

at trade shows, and online, and give a business a real boost. We believe in the power of great design to transform businesses and build trust with customers.

From small commissions through to large marketing campaigns, we offe r a range of tailored graphic design services to promote our client’s message and distinguish their brand.

Our projects can range from one-off designs to  editor@topicuk.co.uk

long term relationships and multi-year marketing plans.

Quality It is difficult to overstate h o w i m p o r t a n t s t ro n g and positive working relationships are in determining the success of a graphic design project.

It is critical to establish a relationship between designer and client that is based on clear communication, mutual

that creative professionals draw upon as the basis for developing and completing the project.

Refreshing For every design project, however big or small, we focus our attention on understanding our brief, understanding our client’s customers, and developing engaging designs to align with their messaging and their objectives. We keep in close contact throughout the design process and are always available should our clients have any concerns.

What Our Clients Have Said “It’s refreshing to work with designers who ‘get’ the style you’re trying to encapsulate and deliver so efficiently!” Lauren Frost, East Riding Youth Dance “They took the time to understand our business and what we were trying to achieve, then turned this into some wonderful document and proposal templates that have become a real business asset. They help us look our best to our clients.

We will continue to work with Gold Rabbit for any branding needs we have. Recommended!” Andy Jack, Candle Digital understanding, and trust. At Gold Rabbit, we understand this. We always strive to become a trusted partner with our clients.

We understand that each client is different. Some appreciate regular consultations throughout the design process, while others value a design team that can produce quality results quickly with a minimal brief. Some projects require our strategic input where we can offer direction on how to implement marketing assets or create marketing plans and campaigns. With our personalised

design service, we can work with our clients in whatever way best suits their needs. We always ask our clients for their brand guidelines and analyse how we can enhance their marketing assets whilst adhering to their guidelines.

Whether a business is looking for an extensive marketing campaign, an advertisement, catalogue or company brochure, one of the keys to a successful project is a precise client brief. The client brief is an invaluable document containing information and critical details

“We can highly recommend Gold Rabbit for their excellent design work and fast turnaround. … We have been delighted with the quality and timescale. Most of all, the team are really easy to deal with.”

Gareth Henderson, CORE Facilities Services At the start of this year we moved into a new office space in the Boathouse in Brighouse town centre.

We are excited that our clients can now visit our office and discuss projects with us much more easily.

Being in the heart of Brighouse has

P A RNTENWE SR U U PP D D AATT EE enabled us to connect with local businesses and projects and has made us feel part of the community.

We’re proud to work with some exciting businesses in Brighouse and West Yorkshire, and, thanks to the latest technology and communication tools, we can easily work with clients from anywhere in the world. We are currently working on projects with clients based in London and in New Zealand.

Our recent projects included company brochure designs, magazine designs, and posters and leaflet designs, digital presentations, adverts, animations and social media branding. Businesses are much more environmentally conscious and have been turning more to digital marketing and sourcing greener printing services.

We have been helping our clients make changes by partnering with environmentally conscious printing companies, and by focusing more on creating high impact digital graphics including GIFs, animated presentations and social media posts to enhance our client’s digital presence.

Gold Rabbit are delighted to be nominated for ‘Entrepreneur of the year’ Award for the ‘Best of Brighouse Awards 2020’. The event has unfortunately been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, but we are really looking forward to the evening celebrating the best of Brighouse.

if you have any marketing or design requirements and you would like to book a Graphic Design consultation you can contact us on info@ goldrabbit.co.uk and 07837733242.

Visit our website (www.goldrabbit. co.uk) to view our gallery, recent case studies and a video all about us.

TopicUK May 2020

85

N AE RWTSN U P E RP DUAPTDEA T E

Join the Wakefield College Board of Governors and help shape our future At Wakefield College, our vision is to be an outstanding college at the heart of the Wakefield district. We are the largest provider of education and training in the district and have an impressive track record having provided education in Wakefield and its surrounding area since 1868.

Today, the College has its base in two major campuses – Wakefield City Campus and the Castleford Campus.

We are a ‘College for all’ offering opportunities for everyone. We celebrate diversity and are home to over 8,000 students of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, studying a broad range of courses, from pre-entry level to A Levels through to higher education and professional qualifications. Our focus is on teaching and learning, giving all students, regardless of their starting point, the best chance in achieving their ambitions. It really is as simple as that!

Quality As an inclusive college, we are keen to involve people of all ages and cultural backgrounds and are currently looking to appoint new members to our board of governors.

We are particularly keen to hear from those from Finance, Higher Education, HR, and Workforce D e v e l o p m e n t b a c k g r o u n d s.

Candidates from all sectors and industries are welcome to apply

86  @

topicuk-magazine

including those with experience in business, community, or social work with charities, financial or legal practice and entrepreneurs.

The broader your vocational field and cultural experience the better.

The role brings many professional re wards such as boardroom experience, the chance to add to your CV and a positive step towards long-term career development.

“Being a Governor is a voluntary role, but highly rewarding, and this is a particularly exciting time to be involved with Wakefield College,” Paul Campbell, Former Chair of Governors.

A ‘Good’ college that continues to go from strength to strength Our most recent Ofsted inspection rated us as ‘Good’ and we continue to go from strength to strength under the guidance of our board of governors. Last year Wakefield College’s A Level and BTEC students achieved strong results with students achieving an overall pass rate of 96% - the 16th year running the result has exceeded 95%. In addition to the A level success, an impressive 21 BTEC Extended Diploma students achieved three distinction stars – the highest results possible. Amongst the

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

top achievers, one of our students achieved A* (English Literature), A (English), B (History) to secure a place at the University of Oxford to study English. The College also continues to invest and improve its facilities with the unveiling of the Beaumont Building earlier this year, named after local suffragist, Florence Beaumont. The historic setting now provides additional facilities for an array of subjects, from foundation learning to hospitality and catering including our award-winning Gaskell’s restaurant.

Whilst preserving the building’s heritage, the renovations have made way for ultra-modern training kitchens, large rehearsal spaces and specialist provision. The Advanced Skills & Innovation Centre (ASIC), the home of the University Centre,

P A RNTENWE SR U U PP D D AATT EE attend regularly to their development needs.

Governors are vital to the success of the College for many reasons; they make sure t ha t th e College provides learning and other opportunities which properly serve the needs of its local community, safeguard the College’s a s s e t s a n d e n s u re i t s ongoing solvency and make certain that the College always acts to the benefit of its students and staff by, among other things, adhering to safeguarding, equality and diversity and health and safety laws and regulations. For these and a great many other reasons governors are crucial.”

has firmly established itself at the heart of the district making us a major contributor in meeting the skills needs of employers and in helping to raise aspirations and address the skills gap across the region.

Leadership We continue to develop the district’s education sector and play a key role in helping the local economy to grow, diversify and thrive. Andrew McConnell, Chair of Governors says: “Each member of the Board of Governors is proud of the College’s achievements and of our students’ successes. Seeing the delight of our students at the College Awards and Graduation ceremonies is a huge boost to everyone in attendance and

encourages our Governors to redouble their efforts to assist the College in its quest to improve the lives of everyone it touches.”

Governance at Wakefield College As a governor, your contribution and commitment can help young people, adults, and employers to fulfil their potential. Sam Cremore, Clerk to the Corporation, explains: “The role of a governor is to act as a ‘critical friend’ to College senior leadership, providing support and appropriate challenge where necessary. Governors are also responsible for setting the College’s strategic direction and ambitions having the best interests of students at the heart of everything they do. Key to success in the role is active participation on the Board and committees.

This requires governors to read and digest information contained in papers and reports provided by senior leadership before meetings and to formulate questions “Being a Governor is focussed on ‘bigge r a voluntary role, but the picture’ in highly rewarding, and o r d e r t o this is a particularly oversee and e xc i t i n g t i m e to guide without be involved with getting Wakefield College... involved i n d a y to day management r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s. ” “ In a d d i t i o n to t h i s c o re function, governors are required to act as representatives of the College at events within the community and to

Be pa rt o f someth ing special The majority of our governors live, work, or have links within the Wakefield district ho we ve r we do invite applications from across the Leeds City Region.

What is important is your commitment to making the College a place to improve the lives of all people in the communities we serve.

If you are interested in becoming a Governor and would like to apply, please email Sam Cremore, Clerk to the Corporation, in the first instance: Email: s.cremore@wakefield. ac.uk For further details, please visit: https:// www.wakefield.ac.uk/ about-us/corporateinformation/governance TopicUK May 2020

87

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Covid19. When the restrictions end and the boom comes, are you ready?

Sometime soon, restrictions will be eased, then ended. Those businesses which are fit, in shape and ready to run when the starting pistol goes off will be the ones able to get a commanding lead in the months and years that follow, according to one of the region’s leading marketing professionals, Andrew Batty of CMS Creative Marketing Services.

“Company directors should use this time wisely” Andrew says. “It’s time to take a long look at your website and consider if it meets the needs of post-crisis 2020. If it doesn’t then it’s time to engage a team like Creative Marketing Services to revise it, reword it or replace it. A website is the cornerstone of any organisation’s marketing and there’s nothing guaranteed to make it slip into invisibility than a site not touched for months or no longer relevant to the target market.”

CMS write, design, code and optimise websites. It’s really important to realise all these skills are needed if a site is to really work. Most websites CMS build are to replace others which simply don’t work, usually because one person has made it and they’ve concentrated on making it pretty. A website needs to be crafted by a skilled copywriter who also understands search engine optimisation (SEO), a designer experienced in UX or the visitor journey who makes the site attractive and appealing, and a coder who makes the site resilient.

Next you have to drive traffic to it through organic or paid search

88  @

topicuk-magazine

CMS Offices

and create social media buzz. That doesn’t mean one post every blue moon, it means the consistent activity of a social media marketing team which understands how to build visitor numbers in the most cost-effective way.

“In my opinion only ten percent of digital marketers get this” Andrew explains. “There’s a real skill to building enquiries In my opinion only ten percent of digital ft oh rr oau gbh2 b dci gl iietna tl marketers get this” marketing but once you’ve got the right team behind you the results are very real and very impressive.”

Creative Marketing Services have

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

a team of over twenty marketing professionals based at Hollinthorpe Hall, close to Thorpe Park and J46 M1 in Leeds. The agency is Leeds’ leading marketing agency with 38 years of successful brand building behind it and a string of awards which include Head Office Supplier of the Year 2017 by Center Parcs, Best Data Driven Digital Agency in the UK 2019, Best Communications Agency 2019, Most Creative Full Service Agency 2020 and the only full service marketing agency in the Digital Enterprise Top 100.

Andrew will give a free marketing consultation to TopicUK readers who mention this article and contact him at andrew.batty@cmsadvertising.co.uk

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Are you choosing the right photographer for the job?

Research suggests it takes 50 milliseconds (give or take a ms) for an on-line user to form an impression. Unless that user is a warp 9 speed reader, those initial reactions are formed by the web design and images.

A website needs enticing images to encourage visitors to stop - and scroll. And you need a professional photographer to create those remarkable images.

To give you confidence in their professionalism and commitment BEFORE hiring their services, we are highlighting 7 essential questions you need to ask.

Today we steam ahead with question 3: What kind of photography do you specialise in?

your message, values, services and/or products.

Events Matter

General v Genre

As a business, your first step is to seek out a Commercial Photographer. Their job is to produce high quality images with the intent to market and sell a product or service.

It’s worth taking a moment to mention Event photography.

Often viewed as something ‘a colleague with a good camera’ can do, it is anything but. There is only once chance to capture the action, reactions, and emotions . . . one chance to get it right.

A general photographer may be less expensive but may also lack expertise in the style you require.

There are distinct variations in style, technique, and perspective within each genre of photography.

Next choose a genre fit for purpose: Portrait, Product, Food, Landscape, Architecture, Macro, Event etc.

It may even take more than one photographer to create a profound gallery of images.

Ruined images can badly impact months of marketing and disappoint your sponsors and clients alike.

A professional photographer will either demonstrate they can fulfil your requirements or recommend another photographer fit for purpose. In other words, they want the very best images to represent

Having said all that, a Commercial Photographer may expertly deliver more than one genre. It’s not an exact science, all we are saying is you wouldn’t ask Banksy to paint you a Rembrandt, right?

If you need any advice you can always contact us. We’ll see you next time for question number 4.

Lincoln & Perrin Roth Read Photography wwwrothreadphotography.com TopicUK May 2020

89

N AE RWTSN U P E RP DUAPTDEA T E

Your friendly accountancy firm Parsons Accountants

accounting compliance, while you care for your patients or practice. We always operate according to our core values:

Whether yours is an established business or you’re just setting up, Parsons can provide the support you need.

From basic accountancy advice to full support across even the most complex challenges, our dedicated team strive to ensure our advice is clear, focused and strategic – and delivered in a language you’ll understand.

We act with integrity at all times, genuinely listening to your needs and goals in order to find the most efficient and effective way to meet them. We stand by our word: we promise to call, email and help when we say we will – we won’t keep you waiting.

Your success and satisfaction is our top priority, and our extensive knowledge and expertise offers fantastic benefits to your bottom line,

90  @

topicuk-magazine

tax matters and much more.

Not only do we take our responsibilities to our clients very seriously, but we also play an active role in the finance and professional communities in which we operate, and work closely with local charities too – such as: •

•

WAC C L f u n d r a i s i n g for Wakefield children’s charities via active support, raising te ns of thousands of pounds each year Wakefield Bondholders assistance through the provision of financial expertise on a no charge basis.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk

•

To deliver accounting services to the highest standards

•

To provide strong client service at every stage

From general accounting s e r v i c e s s u c h a s s e l fassessments, corporate t a x r e t u r n s , VA T a n d payroll, to business planning, budgeting and NHS pensions, our expert medical and dental accountants can provide any level of support you require.

•

One Community Huddersfield acting as their accountants, supporting them and keeping track of the finances for the board.

Our Chartered Accountants are always on hand to help, so if you’d like a friendly chat, or to learn more about our services, please contact us on 01924 669500.

We work with medical doctors and consultants, GPs and locums, dentists and dental practices and any healthcare or medical organisation – providing clear, strategic and focused advice in complete compliance with all relevant regulations.

Introducing Parsons Medical – dental and medical accountants with your care at heart

As specialists in this sector we understand its unique complexities, helping you to become more tax efficient, more profitable and more successful.

As the healthcare arm of our sister business, Parsons Chartered Accountants, we bring you a team of Ian Parsons is managing experienced dental and medical accountants who partner of Parsons Accountants in Wakefield. care for your complete

Our specialist medical and dental accountants are always on hand to help – for a no-obligation chat about our services, please contact us on 01924 669500.

 @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

SN PE EWCSI AUL PFDEAATTEU R E

Reece makes a welcome return to our screens Reece Dinsdale was born in Normanton near Wakefield, attending the local high school before heading to the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which has ultimately led to his successful acting career both on screen and in theatre.

92  @

topicuk-magazine

TopicUK editor Gill Laidler caught up with Reece recently as he made his debut on the popular Yorkshire soap Emmerdale.

Many will remember one of Reece’s first TV roles as Matthew Willows, the unruly teenage son who goes to live with his estranged father, played by the brilliant late John Thaw, after his mother throws him out. The show ran for five successful years from 1985 to 1990. “I was a last miniute casting for the show, they wanted a seventeen year old and I was 25 but looked younger, so was lucky I guess.” But Reece’s career began long before this. After leaving college, he worked in theatre in both Exeter, Birmingham and Nottingham as well as the Edinburgh Festival.

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

“Theatre is wonderful, I love it, you have the chance to build a proper character and it’s very different to television, appearing in front of a live audience,” he told us, “although Home To Roost was filmed before a live audience, so the background laughter you heard, really was genuine.”

Proud Reece has worked alongside theatre greats too. He starred alongside Peter Ustinov in Beethoven’s Tenth at the Vaudeville Theatre in London and opposite Julie Walters in the ITV drama Ahead of the Class where he played a deputy headmaster to Julie’s head. “Julie is incredible, we had met 15 years earlier in the bar of the Haymarket Theatre where I had been watching her play Lady Macbeth

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E and incredibly she remembered me, a real professional lady.”

Many roles followed, both in the theatre and television. In 1990 Reece played the lead role of Jack Rover in Wild Oats the inaugural production at the newly opened West Yorkshire Playhouse, now Leeds Playhouse since it’s renovation in 2019. This led to many years of association with the Playhouse, playing Alan Bennett in his autobiographical piece Untold Stories and Richard the III, which he said was ‘exhausting’ amongst many other roles. Reece was proud to become the theatre’s first Associate Artist in 2015. Since then, other honours have been bestowed on Reece.

Prestigious He was asked to become patron of the Square Chapel Arts in Halifax and approached by Nicky Chance Thompson CEO of nearby The Piece Hall to become their Patron.

T h i s f o l l o w e d h i s re c e n t appointment of patron to the Harrogate Theatre. “As a Yorkshireman, I am proud to be a representative of all four!”

In 2008 Reece was invited to join the cast of Coronation Street playing Joe McIntyre, who became the ill fated husband of Gail Platt, played by fellow Yorkshire star, Helen Worth.

Joe was a troubled character, who was killed off when he left the soap in 2010 of his own volition. Joe’s daughter Tina, played by Michelle Keegan also came to a sticky end when she fell from the factory roof.

In 2012 Reece directed his first drama for television, called

‘The Crossing’. In 2014 he again went on to direct, this time ‘Madge’ from the Moving On series starring Hayley Mills.

Since then, Reece has gone on to direct six dramas in the series, winning a prestigious Royal Society Televsion Award for ‘Eighteen’ in the best Daytime Programme category. It was his skills as a director that led him to Yorkshire soap Emmerdale.

“I was asked to direct a couple of episodes of Emmerdale. I was thrilled to accept and learnt so much, Soaps use a multicamera system, often three at once and work twice as fast.

On my last day of filming, I was asked to see ‘the boss’ upstairs and thought, well they can’t fire

me as I’ve just completed what I was hired to do! I was offered the sofa, rather than a chair,” he laughed, “so I thought it can’t be all bad.

This is when they informed me that they Theatre is wonderful, wanted me to stay on, I love it, you have this time the chance to build in front of a proper character and it’s very different the camera, playing Paul, to television, appearing in front of a f o r m e r love interest a live audience of Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) who also recently returned to the soap.” Reece made his debut just a couple of months ago.

Aside from acting, Reece’s real love is that

of Huddersfield Town FC, who were one of the biggest clubs in the land in the 1920s. “I went to my first game aged just eight years old with my dad, who had first attended when he was a boy with his dad. The team went on to lose that day, 3 nil to Bristol but it didn’t matter, my love affair with Town was founded.

I go to every home and away game when I can and following on with family tradition, I take my son with me.”

Reece can be seen on Emmerdale each week at 7pm.

TopicUK May 2020

93

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Yorkshire Payments continued growth for 2020 Over the last seven years, Yorkshire Payments have continued to grow at a rapid pace, and in 2019 enjoyed record breaking success. This year however things are expected to be a little different, with most business struggling to even open and trade.

Yorkshire Payments have moved many resources during the last two months of lockdown to help and support local businesses by setting up holiday payments, reduced rentals and advising how companies can switch to taking online payments or over the phone. This is in addition to making sure contactless payments increased to £45.00. This support will remain in place until we finally can move forward and back to normality.

Who are Yorkshire Payments?

Yo r k s h i r e P a y m e n t s (Direct Card Solutions Ltd) was launched in 2013 b y M anaging director James Howard, employing just two people.

Growth over the years has led to a staggering £523 million payment transactions being processed across Yorkshire between March 2019 and March

YP DPS James Howard, founder and managing director at Yorkshire Payments

94  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

2020. “We are immensely proud of the fact that our systems are contributing such significant sums of money towards our region’s economy,” said James “and our staffing levels have grown allowing us to employ over 35 local people.”

Today, Yorkshire Payments have more than 3,500 clients across Yorkshire using their systems and have increased their total number of clients by 150 so far this year, signing up an incredible 50 new clients per month since the beginning of 2019.

They now count some of Yorkshire’s most recognised companies among their client list such as Cannon Hall Farm, The Piece Hall, John Smiths Stadium, The Wetherby Whaler, Harrogate Water and Ossett Brewery to name just a few.

Supporting In August 2019, this proud Yorkshire company moved onto the highstreet in the heart of Brighouse not only creating jobs and bringing business to the local community, but they also used as many local contractors as possible in the refurbishment of the premises.

“We are fiercely proud to be based in Brighouse and we want to buck the trend by moving back to the high street rather than away from it,” James continued. “Our way of doing business is

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

centred around supporting independent, local and regional companies, and we’d be contradicting that if we tucked ourselves away in an out-oftown business park.

“The moved has increased our office space from 600 square foot to almost 6,000 square foot as we hope to help attract new customers and clients to the shops and businesses in Brighouse.

“We have hundreds of meetings each month with individuals and companies from all over Yorkshire, and we hope the retailers that surround us in the town centre will be able to capitalise on this additional footfall to the high street.

S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

YP DPS James Howard (centre) with the senior management team at Yorkshire Payments

The locality of the business also means that Yorkshire Payments are committed in their support of local charities and the sporting community. James owns and supports Brighouse Football Club, and Yorkshire Payments invests more than £100,000 per year into sponsoring local charities and the sporting community.

For the last four years, the firm have been headline sponsors of the Yorkshire Choice Awards which sadly this year along with numerous other great charity fund raising projects had to be postponed.

Launched They also provide card terminal solutions at reduced rates in support of organisations including Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Overgate Hospice, Lauren Crane Trust and

Yorkshire Air Ambulance. In January, to help all Yorkshire charities increase their donations and increase contactless p ay m e n t s , t h e y l a u n c h e d a competition to offer two free of charge Core contactless donation boxes. The winners were RSPCA (Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford) and Saint Catherine’s Hospice in Scarborough.

In January this year, Yorkshire payments launched Yorkshire Sports Pay with a specific focus on supplying merchant services, contactless payment technology and ecommerce payment gateways to sports venues across the UK. As a result, they now work and support Wakefield Wildcats, Harrogate Town, Halifax Town, Doncaster Rovers as well as Huddersfield Town FC, Bradford City FC and Scarborough Cricket Club.

James added: “The launch of Yorkshire Sports Pay is part of a strategic effort to now expand our reach outside of our home county and penetrate the sports market.

There is a healthy appetite from sports clubs, venues and teams for merchant services delivered with a personal, one-to-one approach that the big banks simply cannot offer, and we are making it our mission to be front of mind when it comes to these solutions.”

Keen not to stand still, Yorkshire Payments has launched their own unique, fully integrated Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) system to drive business growth.

Delivering innovation through the development of their own EPOS system it allows them to exploit the current gap in the market for this product across their current

client base, many of whom want and need the ability to manage all their sales channels centrally with multichannel software but with the comfort and knowledge that it is supported and maintained by an already proven team of experts that they know and trust. It will also allow them to secure new business with companies looking for a more complete solution to managing their financial performance, as opposed to just a front-end payment solution. Their success in just under a year, saw them win the ICR best newcomer category at the 2020.

Yorkshire Payments continues this year to support all Yorkshire’s businesses and charities and have become Welcome to Yorkshire official Payments Partner and preferred supplier for all Welcome to Yorkshire members.

TopicUK May 2020

95

N AE RWTSN U P E RP DUAPTDEA T E

Yorkshire Sculpture Park creates own Gin

It has now been two months since Yorkshire Sculpture Park closed its gates, to help stop the spread of coronavirus. The team at the well-loved charitable trust and accredited museum is busy planning a controlled, phased reopening, which places great emphasis on the health and safety of visitors, staff and volunteers. Upon reopening, there will be an exciting new product available, developed specifically for YSP. We spoke to Head of Trading a n d V i s i to r E x p e r i e n c e Joe Penney about the new Yorkshire Sculpture Park gin:

96  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

What is the story behind YSP creating its own gin?

The idea for developing our own gin came about as we were reviewing the retail offer in the new Weston shop.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park has a great reputation for selling  editor@topicuk.co.uk

quality artist and design-led products in the main Visitor Centre and, as our audience and retail offer developed to include a second shop at The Weston, we wanted to have a wider selection of products that have a broad appeal to both the occasional and

distilling process and all these items have been sourced directly from site, hand-picked by the master distiller at the distillery we are working with.

Who has produced it?

We are working with Black Bridge Distillery, a micro distillery based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. Although we usually work with suppliers and producers from Yorkshire and the North of Britain for our food and drink, Black Bridge were by far the most suitable in their approach, the quality of existing products they produce and their understanding of what we wanted from our gin.

They currently supply high-quality products into some major brands, so we felt confident that the finished product would have the quality, look and taste that we were after.

Who designed the label/what’s the inspiration?

The label design was a really important part of the development of the YSP gin. We wanted a label that would reflect the YSP brand, while also illustrating the ingredients in a subtle way. We commissioned artist and illustrator Tom Frost to design the label for us. As well as having exhibited his work at YSP previously, Tom has worked on many design-led, high-end food and drink products in the past. We were confident that he understood the brand and the brief, and could bring the gin to life with

regular visitor alike. We also wanted to develop products that can cross over from The Weston retail offer to the restaurant’s seasonal menu.

What botanicals are used in the gin?

Some of the botanicals have been

P A RNTENWE SR U U PP D D AATT EE a great design. We are really happy with the end design and we hope that our customers agree.

When will it be available? Where and at what price?

It will be available to buy as soon as we are able to reopen The Weston, potentially earlier on our online shop, but to be confirmed!

The gin will be available to buy onsite from The Weston shop at £38 per bottle, alongside a fantastic new range of great products that may tempt our customers into making a purchase.

We will also be selling by the glass in The Weston restaurant, served with lots of ice, orange zest and a sprig of rosemary. Every bottle and glass that we sell will contribute towards the ongoing costs of operating Yorkshire Sculpture Park, delivering world-class exhibitions, our extensive learning programme, and managing the 500acre historic Bretton Estate.

The YSP team is very busy planning a phased reopening, which places great emphasis on the health and safety of both visitors and staff. Once it does reopen, it will have new health and safety measures across the Park, including limiting visitor numbers.

For up to date announcements and news, sign up to the YSP newsletter, check their website (www.ysp.org.uk) and social media channels @YSPsculpture.

sourced on the Yorkshire Sculpture Park site. Bretton Hall has a rich history of growing traditional British and exotic produce, some of which can still be seen around the Park today, particularly around the formal terrace and Bothy lawn areas. Angelica, pine spruce and lavender are all included in the TopicUK May 2020

97

N AE RWTSN U P E RP DUAPTDEA T E

How CityFibre is keeping Yorkshire’s full fibre future on track

By Stephen Moore - City Manager for CityFibre

Over these past weeks, many of us will have adopted entirely new ways of doing everyday activities, such as attending meetings, completing coursework, joining exercise classes and catching up with friends and family. Likewise, many of us will have realised that all these activities now have one thing in common: a digital screen.

Over these past weeks, many of us will have adopted entirely new ways of doing everyday activities, such as attending meetings, completing coursework, joining exercise classes and catching up with friends and family. Likewise, many of us will have realised that all these activities now have one thing in common: a digital screen.

This ‘new normal’ demonstrates exactly what we already suspected – digital

98  @

topicuk-magazine

technology has transformed our lives. And now, in these unprecedented times, we are utterly dependent on its ability to provide us with a sociallyisolated gateway to normal life – work, the high street and entertainment, as well as the comforts of friendship and family we all need at times like these.

Here at CityFibre, our mission to bring full fibre within reach of up to 8 million homes by 2025 has never

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

felt more important.

Unlike the legacy copper networks used by most of the country, full fibre is the fastest – and most reliable – option there is.

As recent research from EY has shown, broadband and mobile providers’ ability to ensure robust connectivity is a top priority for consumers given today’s challenges.

Keeping Yorkshire up to speed As the nation’s third national infrastructure provider, we’ve been asked  editor@topicuk.co.uk

by the UK Government to continue to expand the nation’s digital capacity.

I’ve been hugely impressed by the skill and dedication of our engineers, who haven’t skipped a beat while navigating social distancing protocols outlined by Public Health England. Their safety continues to be paramount as we navigate these new challenges.

What this all means for the good people of Yorkshire is that their full fibre future remains as close as ever. Few UK regions

P A RNTENWE SR U U PP D D AATT EE In Huddersfield, we’re investing £30m in its citywide network, and work is well underway in Birkby, Rawthorpe, Grove Place, Birchencliffe and Bradley.

Meanwhile, in Leeds, our £120m investment is progressing at pace across Hunslet and Riverside, Middleton Park, Holbeck, Pudsey, Bramley and Stanningley.

Residents in both cities are now able to connect to gigabit speed services via Vodafone.

We’re currently gaining real traction in South Leeds, with work now moving into Morley. In West Leeds, we’ve started expanding into Farsley, Hough End and Bramley, while continuing our work in Stanningley. In the heart of the city, we’ve also laid the foundations in the Headrow to allow for future infrastructure work to take place.

have embraced the digital age more readily than Yorkshire and it has been a real pleasure over the years to invest in local communities and generate a buzz about the opportunities afforded by full fibre digital infrastructure through workshop sessions and events.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we are continuing to make good progress across Yorkshire with the support of local councils. We’re breaking new ground in the towns and cities where we’ve long held a presence and we’re extending our work into new towns and cities across the region.

C i t y F i b r e i n Yo r k s h i r e : the story so far CityFibre has been building and managing Gigabit City networks across God’s own country since it was established in 2011, specifically in Huddersfield, Leeds, Bradford, York, Hull, Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Wakefield.

to gigabit-capable broadband and close to limitless capacity, enabling the roll out of 5G, digitally enabled public services, smart city technology and other applications as yet undreamed of.

As has been put into stark focus over recent months, these investments will play a critical role in supporting recovery and growth as we emerge from this crisis and beyond. Indeed, even before lockdown, Roger Marsh OBE DL, Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and NP11 said: “...This is crucial infrastructure that will support businesses in the region to achieve their growth ambitions.

Our most advanced projects are in Leeds and Huddersfield, where we’ve been working to extend our core networks to nearly every home and business since 2018/19. As two of the first areas to be selected for our Gigabit City investment programme, these communities will enjoy near ubiquitous access TopicUK May 2020

99

Give your business a gigabit boost Connect your business to CityFibre’s next-generation full fibre network and transform the way you work.

Gigabit speeds Speeds of 1000Mbps+ enables you to fully embrace the latest technologies and cloud services Responsive and resilient Provides complete confidence that business critical services run smoothly Future-proofed Supports business growth with quick and easy upgrades as your digital requirements evolve

Find out more at cityfibre.com/business

YorkshireBusinesswoman

N E W S U P D AT E

From cobbles to Scarborough and dancing with professionals

had the most incredible teachers and I was in good company with fellow actor Jimmy Mistry..” SInce leaving Birmingham in 2005, Catherine has appeared regularly on our screens, most famously as Eva in Coronation Street, although that wasn’t her first appearance in the popular soap, she first appeared as a midwife in 2006, later cast as Eva in May 2011. “There was lots of competition for the role so I was extremely lucky to be cast, and was very nervous on my first day arriving on the legendary set.”

Catherine impressed the producers and stayed on as a permanent member of the cast, before choosing to leave in August 2018. “I loved playing Eva, she was a real spoilt princess and very high maintenance,” she laughed, “but I loved it so much, it was a real privilege to work on such an iconic show.”

However, Catherine, who incidentally sings mezzo-soprano, has featured in so many other roles, including Emmerdale, Holby City, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Shameless and took the lead role of Iris Moss in Liverpool, amongst others.

Most recently Catherine headed to the East Coast to star in Scarborough, alongside Jason Manford, written by the talented Derran Litten who wrote the very popular Benidorm series.

TopicUK editor Gill Laidler caught up with actress Catherine Tyldesley following a brief conversation on Twitter, where she was asking for recommendations for a company to supply a new fire for her family home.

102  @

topicuk-magazine

We i m m e d i a t e l y t h o u g h t o f and Pendleton College, before heading our partners Easy Fireplaces, to Birmingham School of Acting. recommended their services to Catherine who went on to order “I always wanted to sing as a child her fire from them. Catherine was and went into musical theatre,” she delighted with the service she received told us. “My grandfather loved jazz, and the quality of the product and you Motown and Ella Fitzgerald, so I think can read her testimonial on page 16. I picked up my love of music from him. My dad had different ideas for Like all of us, Catherine is spending me though,” she laughed, “he wanted time at her Lancashire home, with all me to become a businesswoman!” filming on hold, but she is enjoying spending some time with her husband Impressed Tom, and five-year-old son Alfie.

However, Catherine got her way an Born in Walkden Greater Manchester, headed off to Birmingham. “I loved Catherine attended St Georges School my time there, learning a lot as they

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

In 2019 Catherine participated in the seventheenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, eliminated in week 6. She is currently working on a new drama series to be released shortly. “Filming has stopped because of lockdown but I am using my time constructively, not only spending time with my family, but catching up on reading some novels.”

Catherine did recommend that we read ‘Me, Myself and Bipola Brenda, written by Natasha Naomi Rea an honest and open biography of the author and her journey through life with Bipolar. We will bring you a review of the book in our next edition.

N E W S U P D AT E both comedy and poetry and sent a number of these to greeting card producers and managed to land a job with Purple Ronnie writing poems. This led to me setting up a small business called Black Sheep when I became a professional joke writer.

“It was however when I hit the age milestone of 40 I decided to put everything into making my dream a reality. I got my break by falling pregnant at the same time as two of my friends and after we gave birth I had the idea of writing a book based on our journeys.

I sent it off to an agent that I had been chasing for more than 15 years and never looked back since!

Since then, Milly has successfully gone on to write eighteen full novels as well as a paperback novella, (book of short stories) a book of poetry and four ebook novella length specials, becoming a household name.

Milly is proof life begins at forty Milly Johnson is a Yorkshire born and bred romantic comedy novelist, scriptwriter, poet, newspaper columnist, professional joke writer and after dinner speaker, the latter is where TopicUK editor Gill Laidler first came across Milly.

“Milly was speaking at the Yorkshire Society Awards in March, just before lockdown started,” said Gill “and I thought she was one of the best after dinner speakers I had heard, interesting, professional and funny.

I decided I wanted to meet her. Luckily, I managed to track her down.”

people feel the way I did when I read a good book,” she said. “I had plenty of ideas for books over the years and often wrote three chapters and sent with a covering letter to agents. These were different to the books I write now which are about life experiences, but it was good practice at the time. I really didn’t think ordinary people like me, northern and working class could get this sort of career.

Born and brought up in Yorkshire, where all her books have a strong connection, Milly has lived in Barnsley much of her life apart from her years at university in “For many years I tried the ‘proper job route’ Exeter and 13 years living in Haworth but was never content. I began training where she was hoping some Bronte magic as an accountant in a building society, might rub off on her! a job I hated and tried a succession of “I’ve always loved reading books, since I other jobs, but nothing was right for me,” was a small child and wanted to make she continued. “I was good at writing

Sadly, at the time of our interview, it was the beginning of lockdown and lots of events have been cancelled. “Many events around my new book launch were cancelled so I have spent some time to regroup and rethink,” she added.

“I am doing lots of Facebook Live events, with readings, book chats and virtual celebrations and my appetite for stories and connections will be stronger than ever. These take place weekly between 7.30 and 8.30pm. I love entertaining my readers so I will be working on doing just that.

“I also have a joke book that I need to finish, along with a poetry collection, then I will be starting on novel number nineteen!”

Milly lives near the centre of Barnsley, not far from her parents, with her partner of eight years, two grown up sons and a menagerie of animals. A disappointed Milly tells us she won’t be able to go on her cruise this year, her favourite way to holiday, “Ah those beautiful Italian ports!”

TopicUK May 2020

103

YORKSHIRE BUSINESSWOMAN

Through these courses, we have helped many students to gain confidence, learn styling and presentation skills and very importantly, overcome shyness.

Fashion event is highlight at The Great Yorkshire Show

Bernadette Gledhill has been part of the fashion industry for over 40 years, not that you would believe it, looking at this well groomed and elegant lady.

We are delighted that Bernadette has agreed to become a guest expert on our sister site www. yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk and will be sharing her tips on how to look good no matter what age, shape or size.

TopicUK editor Gill Laidler caught up with Bernadette recently.

“At the age of just 14, my mother enrolled me on a confidence course with the Louise Morton Agency and I realised very quickly that my way in life was definitely going to be in the beauty and fashion industry.

“After taking a beauty course, alongside my part-time modelling, I was extremely lucky, at the age of 20, I was taken on to the books of leading London agency Gavin Robinson, based on Old Bond Street. This was a very important part of building my career and allowed me the chance to work as a fashion model for many years with leading companies and international designers,” she said.

“Throughout my career, I was fortunate to become

104  @

topicuk-magazine

involved in the planning and organisation of many show productions and fashion events. This is what my main businesses is focussed on today. Over the years we have gained credibility and a fabulous reputation as a team through our dedication, commitment, professionalism and attention to detail. Taking the pressure away from our clients is my main aim” she added.

Bernadette’s business is small and she thinks it is incredibly important that she knows every single person who is part of the team. “We are very much a family”.

This is no mean feat when fashion events vary when the team could be as large as 40, including models, stylists, backstage crew, technical crew, hair and make-up, presenter and choreographer.

“We have been involved in lots of productions over the years which have included events for International designers, high street retailers, shopping centres and charity events which included seven consecutive years in high profile Yorkshire locations, raising money for the Princes Trust,” added Bernadette.

“Over the last twenty years I have also felt lucky to work alongside many of the regions fashion departments in our universities and colleges, providing a service to present final year degree shows, showcasing the work of very talented students.”

A highlight of Bernadette’s calendar is working with the team at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, producing fashion shows at The Great Yorkshire Show. “I am delighted that this event has grown so much over the 20+ years we have been involved and the catwalk has also been a platform to launch the careers of new Yorkshire talent and create links between fashion and farming throughout the county.’

Another part of Bernadette’s business and most important in recent years,

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

is organising confidence courses.

“Through these courses, we have helped many students to gain confidence, learn styling and presentation skills and very importantly, overcome shyness.

“The courses are for everyone and we attract a number of both girls and boys for different reasons, but with the main aim of building confidence and self esteem. We cover deportment, styling, beauty tips, skin care, body language, professionalism and interview skills. At the end of each course, it is rewarding to see how our students have grown together in confidence.”

Social media can be a problem for some young people, as they can be totally misinterpreted. “I have seen many people struggle with social media, it is the way forward and we have to accept that, but at the same time, we do not live in a flawless world and it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. We have to remember that rarely does anyone post an unflattering picture! I also know that as a model, there are dozens of images taken before you get ‘the one’.

Over the years, Bernadette and her team have trained a number of models to reach Fashion Weeks in London, New York, Paris and Milan and these people originally joined on a course purely to raise their confidence, so that’s a bonus when modelling wasn’t part of their plan.

And a final word. “One piece of advice I must stress to anyone thinking of a career in modelling, is not to spend money on a portfolio session prior to applying. It really is not necessary but it is important to be guided by a top agency who will support you.”

Bernadette is going to be a regular writer at www.yorkshirebusinesswoman.co.uk so do be sure to check the site regularly for updates.

For more information about Bernadette or to book a place on one of the courses visit: www. bernadettegledhill.com

YORKSHIRE BUSINESSWOMAN

TopicUK May 2020

105

YORKSHIRE BUSINESSWOMAN

The insanity of not having those conversations’’ …

TopicUK are delighted to welcome our columnist, the UK’s leading sales and communications expert Nicky Pattinson.

A slightly different a r t i c l e to t h e o n e PLANNED. Actually, a slightly different 2 MONTHS than planned.

L e t m e te l l y o u I w a s a s shocked…electrocuted like anyone else, when the reality of a ‘global pandemic’ hit home.

I’d just relaunched my business and had a couple of months work booked in.

All that went down the pan – along with the time and

financial investment to make that happen.

I too felt myself contracting.

Like I’d been hit by a pan in the middle of the night.

Not sleeping and mentally putting myself in the worst-case scenario which ultimately left me shaking a can for people’s loose change on Victoria street in Holmfirth. I admit it – of course!

Who on Earth doesn’t fall down a few stairs here and there?

It is of course ridiculous to take ourselves to those places in our minds. I know for sure, that where you go in your mind.

Life follows a version of it.

So, I gave myself a shaking. I bet you’ve given yourself one too. Keep doing it. Shake that resolve to the top we’re gonna need it. No really. This is no time for retreat.

So, what to do. Read good books and walk with headphones on playing rousing music or listening to interesting people in your ears. Get out of bed and make ‘’PREPARING for BETTER’’ your current job.

I have never done much online, a situation I can’t explain, other than I’ve always loved the ‘live’ working directly with real people and apart from one ‘online course’ that continues to be taken up.

106  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

Previously, it’s been ‘what time do you want me to turn up’?

Dressed. Full slap. Hair done.

However, one day 2 weeks into this pandemic, I decided to do a FREE ZOOM series. It was like going back to the beginning – honest, I was so nervous. 130 people registered from just one Facebook and one LinkedIn post. 90 people turned up.

We’ve now just completed week 6. The last one.

T h u r s d ay n i g h t h a s b e e n AMERICAN NIGHT where half the audience are from the US, others from New Zealand.

Australia and growing all the time. If not for the pandemic, I would never have done it – even though I knew I should, and yes, I know I’m lucky as I re-started from zero really.

It’s true - the PAUSE – as every speaker knows is where the magic happens. Look for the magic in THIS PAUSE. The point of the story is keeping your mind and heart steady and plan your comeback. Some great things will come from this.

Yes, there’ll be tragedies. There already is. But there’ll also be stories of great inspiration and power. Choose the latter category for yourself Take care of yourselves.

NEXT TIME. The ‘’OLD WAYS’’ of business speak will kill you now.

The truth of what we all knew years ago but tried to ignore.

Check out Nicky’s website Http://www.nickypattinson. com

YORKSHIRE BUSINESSWOMAN

Where to self-isolate after lockdown Lifting lockdown will have the most of us itching for the door and raring to get back into the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

But there are many of us who kind of thrive on solitude, and that’s fine. Trust us, after a few weeks back in society you’re going to be thankful for some alone time. Our resident travel expert, Laura Bartlett, has rounded up some of the most weird and wonderful isolation spots throughout the UK for anyone who wants to extend their alone time.

for WiFi strong enough to run Netflix off without buffering.

Treetops Treehouse is a fairytale treehouse-palace hybrid built into a giant ancient oak, set in the grounds of the Fox and Hounds Country Hotel (so you’re never too far away from a router, or the spa for that matter).

HOC Belle Tout, Beachy Head

HOC Bird How, Cumbria

for days.

By Laura Bartlett MD House of Coco Our resident travel expert, Laura Bartlett, has rounded up some of the most weird and wonderful isolation spots throughout the UK for anyone who wants to extend their alone time.

Spitbank Fort, Portsmouth Okay, an old fort in the middle of the sea might be a little extreme but we say - in for a penny, in for a pound. Spitbank Fort was built in 1878 to protect Portsmouth harbour from an attack by Napoleon III, and has since been turned into a luxury hideaway.

There are eight suites, plus a bar, arcade room, sauna, gym, outdoor fire pit and, obviously, a hot tub on the roof. You can book the whole thing if you’ve

got enough mates, and enjoy the fort’s amenities exclusively - but choose wisely, there’s no escaping once the boat leaves.

Yr Allt, Wales You know the phrase “off the beaten track” right?

Well, Yr Allt is so off-thebeaten-track that there’s actually no track, beaten or otherwise. Your journey here ends around a mile ahead of the front door where you either need to be on foot, or in a sturdy 4x4 to get there.

It’s actually so remote that depending on the weather, you might not be able to reach the cottage at all.

Why make the effort you say? Extreme and absolute solitude. A log burner, mountain ponies, views

Belle Tout, Beachy Head The Belle Tout lighthouse is a recognisable landmark on the South Downs coastline for anyone who has ever ventured out to the cliffs at Beachy Head.

What a lot of people don’t know is that Belle Tout is actually a very quirky B&B. The glass room at the top once used to guide ships away from the cliffs is now a luxurious sitting room with a log fire. If you can, ask for the ‘Keepers Loft’ Room where the original lighthouse keepers would sleep, and really slip into your solitude.

Bird How, Cumbria If when you say ‘isolated’, you really mean it, Bird How cottage in the Eskdale valley in Cumbria is the choice for you. WiFi? No.

HOC Yr Allt, Wales

TV? Nope. Phone signal? Forget about it. They even describe their electricity as ‘limited’ so if you’re the type who gets the shakes when your phone dips below 30% you would have a serious problem.

HOC Spitbank Fort, Portsmouth

Treetops Treehouse, Devon There’s a really fine balance between being so far away from other people that you feel comfortably isolated, yet still needing to be close enough

It i s h o w e v e r p e r f e c t f o r appreciating the simplicities of life, or snuggling around an open fire after a long day of hiking.

This place is reserved only for the select few who truly seek out seclusion.

TopicUK May 2020

107

GINGERBREAD

OFF THE WALL

HARVEYS OF HALIFAX

THE YORKSHIRE GALLERY

THE RUG & TABLE SHOP

CONFECTIONARY

LEISURE

CHOCOLATE BOX

CHRISTIAN SCOTT HAIRDRESSING

SPOGS & SPICE

THE BOOK CORNER THE ESCAPORIUM

FASHION & JEWELLERY OTHER BOTTOMLEY’S EYEWEAR BOUTIQUE EDEN KESHIA

CHOCOLATE BOX

AL’S EMPORIUM

MYSTICAL & MAGICAL

THE DELI

A PIECE OF CHRISTMAS

CUSTARD CREATE

SPOGS & SPICE

CREATIVE CRYSTALS

G’S CAKES

HOMEWARE

THE GALLERY

ARTS AND CRAFTS

CHRISTIAN SCOTT HAIRDRESSING

KEY

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE

HOUSE OF 925

The Piece Hall may be closed to visitors for the time being – but many of its retailers have launched an online offering so that you can still enjoy its unique shopping experience from home.

For the latest information – go to https:// www.thepiecehall.co.uk/virtual/trade

FOOD AND BEVERAGE

TOTALLY AWESOME

THE PIECE HALL SPACES

BLONDIN’S ICE CREAM PARLOUR

PRIVATE OFFICE

ELDER

THE CAYGILL ROOMS

G’S CAKES

THE ALAN DINSDALE ROOM

GIN LANE

THE GALLERY

GIN LANE RETAIL

THE HIVE

LEAF

THE LEARNING STUDIO

LOAFERS

THE MAP ROOM

THE BAKERY

THE PIECE HALL STORY

THE DELI

THE TRADER’S ROOM

THE TRADING ROOMS

THE WELCOME CENTRE

THE WINE BARREL JUST GAIA

GIFTWARE BROWN PAPER PACKAGES THE HANDMADE GIFT SHOP HUDSON BELLE THE YORKSHIRE SOAP CO.

FIRST AID

THE WINE BARREL

SHOP 4 LITTLE HORRORS

WEST GATE

BLONDIN’S ICE CREAM PARLOUR

Halifax’s iconic Piece Hall is home to an award-winning mix of independent shops, bars and restaurants, housed within the splendour of this iconic Georgian building. Its impressive array of retailers offer everything from beauty, homeware and fashion to toys, books, vinyl and so much more. It is also fast becoming a ‘must visit’ destination for food and drink, showcasing an incredible range of independent local culinary talent.

LEON K DEWHURST

REPLICAR

THE HIVE

Food and drink map

THE MAP ROOM

JOSEPH CHANCE

TOYS & COLLECTABLES

EDEN KESHIA

JITTERBUG JEAN

THE RUG & TABLE SHOP

JEWELLA

YOR

THE LEARNI STUDIO

AL’S EMPORIUM

THE YORKSHIRE GALLERY

GIN LANE RETAIL

JUST GAIA

WOOLSHOPS TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE

GIN LANE

MYSTICAL & MAGICAL THE CAYGILL ROOMS

HUDSON BELLE

OFF THE WALL

BROWN PAPER PACKAGES

A PIECE OF CHRISTMAS

LEON K DEWHURST

THE ALAN DINSDALE ROOM

THE TRADER’S ROOM

JOSEPH CHANCE

THE TRADING ROOMS

REPLICAR

SOUTH GATE

BOTTOMLEY’S EYEWEAR BOUTIQUE

THE BAKERY

THE PIECE HALL WELCOME CENTRE & THE PIECE HALL STORY ROOM

HOUSE OF 925

TOTALLY AWESOME

GINGERBREAD

HALIFAX CENTRAL LIBRARY

JITTERBUG JEAN

JEWELLA

EAST GATE

SHOP 4 LITTLE HORRORS

LEAF

LOAFERS

ING

NORTH GATE

ELDER

THE RKSHIRE SOAP CO.

CREATIVE CRYSTALS

THE ESCAPORIUM

THE BOOK CORNER

PRIVATE OFFICE

HARVEYS OF HALIFAX

THE HANDMADE GIFT SHOP

CUSTARD CREATE

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

Offering a vital service to start-ups – how have we adapted at AD:VENTURE?

By Daneile Moore – AD:VENTURE Marketing and Communications Officer.

Business support is more important than ever right now.

With businesses facing an entirely new set of challenges as a result of COVID-19, what are we doing to help them prepare, survive and potentially thrive?

Like many businesses in March, we were not fully prepared for the speed of the changes that were to come. I’m not sure anyone was quite honestly.

The AD:VENTURE team were working hard to continue deliver services while we could, as we were also trying to understand what the changes would look like and for how long. How could we adjust our offer and keep supporting our regions i n c re d i b l e s t a r t- u p s a n d young businesses?

We knew they would need us now more than ever, and we were not wrong.

Personally, we were also feeling the same stress and strains that continue to impact us all. Balancing the kids, work, health, and pets. Worrying what the future would be. Adjusting quickly to working from home in this entirely new environment.

clients updated and learn to use new technologies, initially battling with the variety of virtual video models like pretty much everyone we know! These early meetings were a learning curve for us all, though thankfully we’ve now mastered the art of video calls! Are you there? Is your mic on? You know the score……

So what did we do?

The one to one support from Advisors is a crucial aspect of our service, and immediately we we re able to support through video and telephone consultations.

This is going really well. Our clients really value the personal support and interaction, and we haven’t really seen a huge change in how this works apart from it being virtual. It actually means it’s easier for clients to talk to us. The barriers of time and transport are reduced. It works, and it’s something we are going to keep offering when restrictions are eased.

“We expected some hints and tips but what we got was free, professional business consultancy that helped to shape the future direction of our organisation.”

TIMBERTIGHT

We were working to shift the delivery models, keep our

110  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

The events took a bit longer  editor@topicuk.co.uk

(Mainly sorting the right tech!) but workshops were switched to webinars within a few weeks, offering expert guidance and learning on a range of popular business topics. New titles have been added to help businesses to adjust to the changes in our world and manage the associated challenges.

These are also going brilliantly.

We did worry whether people would find them as engaging, and we didn’t want them to get lost in a sudden flurry of webinars that began cropping up everywhere.

We made the decision to keep numbers limited, so the presenter could interact with the audience, and the audience with each other. This is a huge part of why AD:VENTURE courses are popular. The presenter is important, but so is the peer to peer interaction and providing a safe place for discussion. Something else we will be keeping. We will begin workshops when we are able, as we know it’s so valuable to meet people and feel connected, but we still see our future offer being a mix of both.

“I underestimated how much of my time would be spent invoicing, replying to emails and quoting for work, and not doing the fun stuff we are being paid for, but the events we attended really helped us to be better at that side of the business” RHUBARB DESIGN HOUSE

Grants are still available between £1000 and £25,000 for businesses looking to invest to strengthen and grow their businesses now and post COVID-19. This returns a match of 50% on the client’s investment, and we have continued to see a good level of grant applications as

PA R T N E R U P D AT E

businesses invest in projects to keep their business growing and adapting to new ways of working to continue delivering services and products.

Public sector funding rules require a signature on much of our documentation, and we knew we would need an alternative solution to keep the grants applications and payments moving. This can all now be done with electronic signatures, and is working well.

Have we seen an increase in demand as a result of COVID-19 We definitely have. We worked initially to keep sharing messaging, not just from our programme, but all support available, nationally and locally. We wanted to make sure businesses knew we were still there, and give them as much information as we could, particularly as the new

products from central government were introduced and changes were happily hourly, let alone daily.

trusted ear they can talk to who will understand their challenges.

And that’s what we are here for.

is here for you, before, during and after COVID-19.

We have seen a substantial increase in engagement, and both new business and scale up business enquiries have increased on the same period last year. It’s clearly more important now than ever that businesses can access free and unbiased support.

Things may be different, and yes, they are tough. But you are not alone.

AD:VENTURE partners are: Local Authorities of Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield and York, The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, The Business Enterprise Fund, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Trinity University, The Princes Trust and Leeds Library.

Visit www.ad-venture.org.uk

Our programme has helped over 3000 businesses and individuals across the Leeds City Region, and we are still working with many new businesses on their start up and growth plans. Helping them to make the right decisions for business, accessing networks and creating key connections.

We recognise it’s vital that we offer business owners and founders that

If you are starting out or trading for less than 3 years, have ambitions to grow, you’re looking for help and guidance, need to make connections, have skills you want to develop and not sure how, you want to raise finance, diversify, increase your capacity or you just need a chat to know what help you can get and how to do it, then please do get in touch at www.ad-venture.org.uk We are fully funded by our partners a n d t h e E u ro p e a n Re g i o n a l Development fund, there is no cost or catch and AD:VENTURE

TopicUK May 2020

111

THE YORKSHIRE COAST local businesses to invest t h e d o n a t i o n s b a c k i n to the economy, such as the Scarborough Market and the Bookers in Eastfield."

The fare has been exceptional - spiced scallions & tenderstem broccoli, spiced bean lasagne, macaroni & cheese with wild garlic crumble - using donated pasta from The Yorkshire Pasta Company in Malton, chicken in peppercorn sauce, and cottage pie with English mustard.

Rob, who has also launched a Sunday roast collection for customers, trained at S c a r b o ro u g h ’ s Yo r k s h i re Coast College (now TEC) and at Thomas Danby College in Leeds before working in Scarborough, then going on to the Star Inn at Harome and the Box Tree, Ilkley - and then having a slight change in direction teaching professional cookery.

Eat Me Cafe fare

How the business world has rallied round

By Ed Asquith

Rob Clark, masked on his twice-daily delivery to hospital staff’

112  @

The stunning efforts of the Scarborough business community has created a united front against the virus crisis.

TopicUK spotlights this trio among the many extra-ordinary efforts to go above and beyond: chef Rob Clark, Eat Me Cafe, the Scarborough Business Ambassadors ...

topicuk-magazine

The one-man band that is Clark's Restaurant is one of Scarborough's hidden dining out gems ... and is one of the stars who have stepped forward to use his skills to help a community in need.

Rob Clark, chef and owner of the restaurant on Queen Street, has been making 200 meals a week for hospital staff.

Not just any meals ... a quality menu prepared solo and delivered solo by Rob twice

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

per week, one lunch and one evening shift to both sides of Scarborough hospital, including the West Wing night shift.

Using his own labour, skill, transport, power, ingredients and containers, he had reached 1,000 meals by early May and carried on as the hospital canteen had had to close. The huge costs were helped by public well-wishers.

Rob said: "We are using  editor@topicuk.co.uk

"Post-lockdown, make sure you come and see us," he said.

"I've done what I have because NHS staff were working long hours and not getting time or opportunities for hot meals during or after shifts.

"I have been working solo on this to avoid the risk of contamination to other staff at the restaurant."

"The meals have consisted of completely fresh ingredients all produced from our kitchen, providing NHS with vital nutrition, calories and sustenance during their 10-12 hour shift patterns. I deliver for day shifts and evening.

"Staff in A&E said there was a real buzz in the department as

THE YORKSHIRE COAST

I have been working solo on this to avoid the risk of contamination to other staff at the restaurant. they were eating sandwiches and a hot meal was greatly appreciated."

Tribute should also be paid to Eat Me Cafe and the Scarborough Community Kitchen which had made 2,037 meals and 400+ food parcels, just by early May, for the NHS locally and those in need.

The Community Kitchen was set up by chefs, café and restaurant owners in the town to help people during the virus outbreak, to deliver pre-cooked meals to re-heat and ingredients for meals - such as chorizo and potato hash with roasted peppers.

Eat Me Cafe owner, Martyn Hyde, said it was providing meals to the ICU at Scarborough Hospital and to the ambulance service outside.

The service was also for vulnerable people and children and families in need.

Public donations have been amazing to support the huge effort which has earned high praise across the community.

The team is: Martyn Hyde and Stephen Dinardo from Eat Me Café; Simon and Julie Boddy from Boddy’s; Andy Walker of Espresso Yourself and The Cow Shed; Philip Akrill of The Green Room Brasserie; Reece Wilde of Koda Coffee; Jim Grieve from Scarborough Digital; and Matt Stradling from Scarborough TEC

A brilliant effort by the Scarborough Business Ambassadors...

Scarborough UTC, South Bay Traders’ Association, members of the lifeboat crew and many others helped to deliver more than 2,842 face visors and hundreds of blue gloves to 137 care settings by the beginning of May. The supplies to frontline health staff in and around Scarborough

are re-usable and the front shields can be replaced if necessary.

A spokesman for the Ambassadors said: “What started as a suggestion at the beginning of April to design and make visors at the UTC, has turned into a wider, huge collaborative effort. We have had some great feedback from NHS staff that they are lightweight and comfortable and good quality.”

TopicUK May 2020

113

THE YORKSHIRE COAST

The many faces of a young artist who looks to the past and to the future “I think it is important for everyone to have a real painting of their own,” says a young Scarborough artist who is part of a new wave of multi-media creatives on the coast.

Nina Hughes specialises in painting images of women but is also contributing to a wide range of other projects, working out of a studio at the 19th century West Pier overlooking South Bay. The offices were designed by Hall and Tugwell - creators of how

Scarborough looks today; they designed, for example, the stunning bank at the corner of Huntriss Row, the superb exterior of what is now the Lord Rosebery pub, plus Scarborough Cricket Club’s beautiful Pavilion and ornate villas in South Cliff.

So the studio is fitting site for Nina and other more well-established creatives.

Nina is an incomer who admires the town’s heritage.

“The history, its gardens and architecture are like no other. These for me are the things that matter.”

Nina, who was brought up in the village of Deeping Gate, near Peterborough, moved to Scarborough about five years ago in her early 20s.

Her portraits of imaginary women have a distinctive style - including two images painted on slate, reproduced here, and she also paints miniatures.

“I paint women mostly,” she said. “They are imaginary, I just start, they are not any person in particular. I also

114  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

create a lot of miniatures, including on tiny pieces of glass, thumbnail-size.

“The women look sombre, usually against a plain background, but look strong and intense.

“Some people say the recognise people the y know. They are open to personal interpretation.

“My colour usage varies.

I use a lot of blue, some gree n, my favourite. I started to paint the m

THE YORKSHIRE COAST

All images Simon Heaton

like to continue painting and contributing to the community by working with local groups in a creative way. I hope to when I can, encourage locals that may not see themselves as an artist to exhibit in local spaces.”

During lockdown, she has been using more watercolours.

“I sell some, not for much cost, or give them as presents. It is important, I think, for people to have a painting and not have to pay for something expensive.”

when I lived alone and I suppose they do include elements of how I am feeling.”

year, Whitby Christmas Fayre, Open Studios events and designed an event for SeaFilm at Scarborough Market Vaults, and exhibited in the museum for Sci-Fi Scarborough.

She sees Scarborough in colours.

“I like the colour and the energy, the old red, blues and black, and the yellows, and all leading up to the blue of the clouds.”

She also created ‘superhero’ costumes for a Tourettes Hero project and worked with CUS unive rsity designing Alice’s Adve ntures in Wonde rland, although the final production didn’t go ahead due to Covid-19.

She supports many projects by other creatives, including the Camra Beer & Arts festival last

Nina, who has no formal training in art and works as a hotel receptionist, added: “I would

She prefers non-traditional, notso-obvious use of locations for art sharing, and would like the area to become more diverse.

She has just contributed to the Scarborough Town Deal bid ideas, calling for the transformation of disused buildings along Sandside and lower Eastborough to community hubs, for fish restaurants serving local produce, and a museum similar to the Captain Cook Memorial Museum of Whitby, telling of Scarborough’s history as well as other things. “It could be an opportunity to lift everyone up to art space,” she said.

TopicUK May 2020

115

THE YORKSHIRE COAST

The crisis has had a positive impact in terms of making health and social care work more closely together than ever before

North Yorkshire chief on strategy and the future of the country’s largest county …

Richard Flinton was born in Irton and brought up in Seamer, villages just outside Scarborough. He went to Pindar School and Scarborough Sixth Form before studying economics at De Montford University in Leicester.

He joined the county council more than 30 years ago as a trainee Trading Standards Officer based in Scarborough.

His wife Maria was then a sister on Graham Ward in Scarborough.

He played for Scarborough Rugby Club as a hooker, and played for 37 years for Staxton Cricket Club. He rose to become assistant head of the Trading Standards Service, Assistant Director for the economic development team, and following other senior-level roles, was made chief executive.

116  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

Here Richard Flinton, on the anniversary of his 10th year as chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, talks to TopicUK about the virus impact on retail and tourism, the prospect of devolution – and how he deals with pressures of the role Q How would you assess the impact of Covid-19 on businesses and town centre retail?

I am positive that many businesses will bounce back. This does rely to a large measure on customers having the confidence to spend again but I think that will come.

Many things however will not come back as they were. Over the past five years we’ve seen considerable transition already in terms of the business landscape with many household names no longer with us and many new and different businesses setting up in their place.

That will escalate as a result of this crisis.

But this will present opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Some of the core sectors such as food and agriculture should be okay but tourism will be more challenged and many business owners will go through a very difficult time.

Individual businesses will change as business leaders look at the lessons of remote working and rethink the future of their organisations.

On the High Street, the Covid crisis will escalate the trend towards internet shopping. It will also represent an opportunity for the new High Street to provide more opportunities for people to socialise and to enjoy themselves

THE YORKSHIRE COAST together whilst working in a more individual environment.

because of their age or underlying health condition.

The other trend that will be more home working with people travelling less into work.

North Yorkshire has a strong tradition of very supportive communities and there is an opportunity to develop this further for both old and young.

This also represents an opportunity as we improve broadband connectivity to encourage more younger people and families to live in the county.

Q Health and social care in hot focus – how are they faring?

Health and social care has been at the forefront of the Covid crisis.

I’d like to pay particular tribute to social care staff working with the county council.

They’ve been magnificent, working in care homes, supporting care homes, visiting and looking after people in their own homes.

The crisis has had a positive impact in terms of making health and social care work more closely together than ever before - and one of the challenges for us all will be to capture the positive change going forward.

The fantastic community effort that has taken place across the whole of North Yorkshire provides an opportunity to build on the engagement that we’ve achieved to do more to support older people in our communities and to avoid or put off the time when they need to receive more professional care or go into a residential setting.

Q What are the main assets and positives ..?

The county council through the Covid crisis has orchestrated a network of community support organisations to come together and to support thousands of people

Also, the county has a largely well-educated workforce and a diverse range of businesses.

Q … and the priorities for action?

Our actions will be focused on keeping communities safe and individuals protected, as well as looking at how we can enable businesses to get back to work and extend broadband.

We also need to e nable the education sector to get back to as much normality as possible, working actively with our schools and colleges.

We want to enter into formal negotiations with government around an attractive deal and this will present an opportunity for more funding to help put the county in the best position possible to recover from the significant economic impacts.

Environmental issues are also central to our thinking - looking at how we can encourage communities and businesses to reduce carbon consumption.

Q How do you view the other core pillars of education and highways provision?

Over the coming years we will maintain a priority on maintaining the condition of the highway. At a more strategic level we are strongly pressing government to work with us to help the east/west connectivity on the A64, around the northern York ring-road and through the A59 and A65 across to the west.

by re-engineering how we work and delivering services differently and with new solutions.

I enjoy engaging with our staff at all levels and never stop learning how a complex organisation operates from the rich experiences of front line staff.

In addition we have developed what we call our Brierley Group of companies … we have seven commercial operations which turnover in excess of £100m worth of revenue to support frontline services.

Q How do you cope with the pressures of the role?

By using the great people that I work with, my management team is fantastic and the senior councillors give a clear direction and are supportive as well as challenging.

Otherwise, I rely on lots of hobbies and an understanding wife.

There’ll be many other priorities, including looking after of vulnerable children and helping with some of the mental health issues that will have been exacerbated over recent months.

This includes rail as well as road and making significant investments to improve rail connectivity between York and Harrogate.

A large part of my time has involved re-shaping the county council to be more cost-efficient, productive and customer-focussed.

We have a particular priority to help reduce the number of children who start school not being able to communicate effectively with their teachers – so such youngsters can enjoy and thrive at school.

In terms of education, there are areas of the county where results need to improve further particularly on the east coast and it is a particular passion of mine to ensure that every child starts school with sufficient language development to ensure that they can gain maximum benefit from their school experience.

I’ve been privileged to work with councillors keen to stay ahead of the curve and the challenges that austerity and many other factors have brought - but it’s been a role that I have enjoyed enormously.

Q What are the best moments of your my job?

Fa v o u r i t e B o o k : L i f e a n d Times of Garibaldi – a guy who knew how to live!

We will see a major focus on helping to improve speech and language development amongst the very young and to increase the prospects of young people but the talent for businesses to employ.

There will be a move forward for North Yorkshire and York’s desire to achieve a devolution deal with government.

I love the level of innovation that is currently taking place in the county council and local government more widely.

We have embraced the challenge of austerity and reduced costs largely

Favourite Film: Grand Budapest Hotel

The

Favourite Music: Nick Cave Where would I take a holiday: The west coast of Scotland, usually the Isle of Skye, with my kayak, a fishing rod and walking boots.

TopicUK May 2020

117

THE YORKSHIRE COAST

Looking forward to the long term with public engagement The Yorkshire coast is looking to the future not just the aftermath of the virus but vision-creation for the next 10 to 15 years.

Public ideas for Whitby’s Town Deal so far include:

Whitby and Scarborough are among 101 towns around England which have been invited to develop Town Investment Plans to bid for up to £25m each.

It is part of a government-funded opportunity for funds to improve skills, digital and transport connectivity, create new jobs and aspiration and re-energise the long-term economic prospects of the area.

Communities, businesses and local leaders have joined forces to draw up ideas with huge public consultation, community and business meetings, youth engagement, individual surveys and via digital platforms.

•

More exciting gateways to the seafront, more quality cafes, restaurants

•

Youth culture priority, and indoor skatepark

•

Alternative industries and start-ups encouragement

•

Better connectivity: public transport and powerful digital

Public ideas for Scarborough’s Town Deal so far include: •

118  @

A greener Scarborough and a revitalised town centre

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

•

Create a maritime quarter to conserve heritage and promote tourism

•

First UK Green/CarFree Town Centre

•

Recreate Hilda’s monastery in Whitby on the cliff top

•

An extension to Pannett Art Gallery for the Victorian p h o to g ra p h s o f Fra n k Meadow Sutcliffe

•

Smart, connected, dynamic workspace for start-up businesses

You can add your views at the official Town Deal w e b s i te h t t p s : / / m y to w n . communities.gov.uk/

A V ES RUTPODRAI T A EL ND EW

As some lockdown rules are beginning to lift, it will soon be the turn of hotels and restaurants to open their doors once more. There is no finer place to head for when in Leeds to drink, dine or stay than Dakota Leeds.

“Hidden discretely in the heart of the fashionable shopping and eateries district, this luxurious hotel has the feel of a modern private members’ club yet is accessible for all discerning diners and lovers of high-quality drinks, events and those looking for somewhere befitting of a gold-standard meeting venue” The hotel is named after the transatlantic Dakota aircraft of the 1930s and captures the same low-key elegance. With seductive mood lighting, chilled-out background music, tinted windows, velvet sofas and immaculate mirrored wall-panels, it oozes style and opulence.

Without doubt, one of the hotel’s unique selling points has to be its staff: service is impeccable, staff are highly trained, professional and responsive. The expertise behind the ground-floor bar and the chic first-floor Salon Privé (which has its own exclusive entrance and private terrace overlooking Leeds’ vibrant Greek Street) is impressive. From a legendary Martini to a Lady Lazzaro the preparation of the Cocktails is pure theatre and the end result, magnificent.

Dakota Leeds Dakota Grill, the large lowerground floor restaurant offers brasserie dishes that are given the “Dakota Twist”. Local comfort food favourites, using the finest seasonal produce are crafted by the Head Chef with succulent steaks, using prime cuts sourced from traditionally reared, grass fed cattle, one of the many reasons that bookings are in demand.

There is also the option, whether it’s a family celebration or lunch with clients (up to ten) to book one of the two stylish private dining rooms for an exclusive experience.

For parties up to 16, the first floor Boardroom takes private dining to a whole new level. With a dedicated kitchen and serving team,

Dakota Leeds 8 Russell St, Leeds, LS1 5RN www.dakotahotels. co.uk

food can be selected from the Boardroom menu or a bespoke dining experience curated to taste.

same grey-on-grey palette with slatted blinds, soft throws and big mirrors. The superior beds are bedecked with high-quality thread count cotton linen and have velvet headboards. With sharp and well-designed bathrooms offering a rainfall shower and luxury toiletries, high-speed Wi-Fi, media hubs and huge television screens which give unlimited Sky Sports and Sky Movies, guests are well catered for.

And for those who wish to enjoy a leisurely Afternoon Tea whilst the sun is shining down, there is always the option of enjoying the outside terrace, with the bonus of outdoor heaters and blankets should the sun be hidden by the clouds.

All 84 bedrooms are in the

With valet parking and a seamless check-in and out system courtesy of the professional reception team, for frequent business travellers this boutique hotel offers everything that is required, with the added bonus of an exceptionally good night’s sleep.

TopicUK May 2020

119

M O T O R I N G U P D AT E

Head For The Hills The Jeep Wrangler is a car that allows you to do things.

By Graham Courtney - Motoring Correspondent - grahamcourtney@me.com

Let’s start with the obvious. The Wrangler harks back to the WW2 Jeep so it’s designed to be tough and with the ability to go anywhere. If you enjoy heading off road, you’ll be staggered by the ability of the Jeep Wrangler to scramble across seriously tricky terrain.

It’s also one of those wonderful cars that allows you to customise it. You can take the roof off. You can remove the doors.

The windscreen can be flopped forward. Okay, you’ll need a screwdriver and it’s advisable to have someone around to lend a hand, but if the weather looks good, you really can convert your Jeep Wrangler into an opentopped, wind in the hair, flies in the teeth fun machine. If you travel to sunnier countries, you’ll see loads of them stripped down.

They’re a favourite for tourists.

Here in the UK, sadly, the Jeep Wrangler will spend most of its life fully clothed, but it’s nice to know you have the option.

120  @

topicuk-magazine

There are two versions; two door and four door. Both have a rear door for loading kit into the boot.

There are two engines; 2.15 litre 197bhp diesel and a 2.0 litre petrol 268bhp petrol. Both come with 4x4 drive and a low ratio gearbox for serious rock climbing. We don’t get the hunky 3.0 litre V6 in this country. Boo. The smooth petrol engine will manage 31.4mpg but for better economy go for the diesel and you won’t be far away from 38mpg.

Prices start at £39,995 for the two door Wrangler while you’ll need to find an extra £1460 if you fancy the four door version which is called the Unlimited model.

There are four levels in trim on both models…Sport, Sahara, Overland and top of the range Rubicon. The Rubicon is aimed at owners who intend using their Jeep for heavy off road work.

If you’ve been in one of the previous generation Wranglers you’d expect the interior to be still a tad utilitarian. Not so with the latest models. Things have gone up market. There’s a sense of quality about the place. It’s also civilised on the road. Okay, it’s not the same as your average SUV, but it handles tidily.

In terms of kit, if you avoid the entry level Sport version you’ll get sat nav, air con, cruise control, reversing camera and plenty of safety gear.

The Jeep Wrangler is a great tool if you intend doing some off-roading but also if you need d ay - to - d ay t r a n s p o r t a t i o n .

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

M O T O R I N G U P D AT E

TopicUK May 2020

121

M O T O R I N G U P D AT E

Subaru

is boxing clever

By Graham Courtney - Motoring Correspondent - grahamcourtney@me.com

122  @

topicuk-magazine

@topic_uk  www.topicuk.co.uk  @topic_uk

 editor@topicuk.co.uk

M O T O R I N G U P D AT E

Subaru is one of those companies that most car buyers don’t immediately think of. However, their record of retaining customers is impressive so it suggests that once you’ve had one you tend to go back for more...

It’s especially true if you head up into The Dales. You’ll see loads of them. They have a reputation for being solid, reliable and, thanks to permanent all-wheel drive, being pretty good at crossing soggy land, driving along rutted tracks and of course coming in handy when winter weather appears.

It’s especially true if you head up into The Dales. You’ll see loads of them. They have a reputation for being solid, reliable and, thanks to permanent all-wheel drive, being pretty good at crossing soggy land, driving along rutted tracks and of course coming in handy when winter weather appears.

They’re also decent performers when it comes to towing and they have a high level of safety kit as standard which means they get the full 5-star treatment with the European safety

authorities. (Euro NCAP).

One of the latest to arrive is the Subaru XV. Subaru calls it a compact crossover….think of it as a mid-sized estate with a bit of attitude.

Reliable There are two petrol engine options….no diesels. There’s the entry level 1.6 model and the recently launched 148bhp 2.0 litre e-Boxer which is a hybrid and uses an electric motor to work in tandem with the petrol engine.

That’s the one we’re trying here.

The benefit of the bigger engine mated to an electric motor is that it gives you more low end torque which is useful when scrambling along rutted or muddy inclines.

The hybrid system means that when you are dawdling along in

town traffic, the engine cuts out and the electric motor drives you along. You can reach speeds of up to 25mph on electric power only. In other words, if you do a mixture of driving in slow traffic but often head to the hills, the Subaru XV e-Boxer hits the spot.

0-60 takes a shade over 10 seconds; top speed is 120mph.

Go easily and you’ll manage almost 36mpg. If you used the XV in a lot of town traffic, you’ll get up to around mid-40s mpg because the electric motor is doing all of the work.

As for the battery, that’s situated under the boot floor. It charges whenever you’re slowing down gently or under braking.

It’s good to drive too, and the seats are very comfortable. There’s plenty of leg room front and back.

It’ll make ideal holiday transport or for the school and shopping runs plus the weekend jaunt with bicycles, hiking gear, surf board etc.

Brand Every XV model is well equipped.

You get twin-screen infotainment, roof rails, heated front seats, powered windows and exterior mirrors, tinted glass, air con, windscreen wiper de-icer, DAB radio, Bluetooth, cruise control and a rear camera. If you’d like stuff like leather seats, sat nav and a sunroof, you’ll need to move up to Premium trim which adds £2000 to the £31,655 price. We think it’s worth it because it makes the car feel really special.

Subaru is a niche brand, but if you want a reliable, roomy, comfy workhorse, you can’t go wrong with the Subaru XV e-Boxer.

TopicUK May 2020

123