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A monthly round-up of business news and a snap-shot of the local economy by analysing the most up to date official statistics.

View here: https://www.norwich.gov.uk/downloads/file/4964/economic_barometer

Evander, the UK’s leading glazing and locksmith solutions provider, whose central operations are located in Norwich with a network of distribution centres across the UK, are celebrating after landing an internationally recognised award for demonstrating high standards in health and safety.

Evander has received a RoSPA Silver Health and Safety Award for their commitment to ensure its colleagues return home safely to their families at the end of every working day and that they never put their customers at risk.

Organisations receiving a RoSPA Award are recognised as being world leaders in health and safety practice. Every year nearly 2000 entrants seek to achieve the highest possible accolade in what is the UK’s longest-running H&S industry awards.

Graham Pye – Safety and Compliance Director for Evander said “we are delighted to receive this recognition and it is testament to every colleague for understanding the importance of our policies and to implement them on a daily basis, that has contributed to us receiving this award.

For many years we have been championing procedures that have placed safety at the forefront and we are committed to lifting safety off the page. We joined RoSPA as a member earlier this year, with the want to continually improve our health and safety practices and to help us on our journey to become market leaders in this area, not just in physical safety but mental wellbeing too”.

Julia Small, RoSPA’s Achievement Director said, “This is a fantastic and well-deserved accomplishment. All of our award entrants demonstrate their unwavering commitment and passion for keeping people safe at work. By receiving this recognition, Evander join liked minded business and organisations worldwide, who represent the very best in their approach to Health & Safety”.

For more information about Evander visit www.evander.com

For more information about RoSPA visit www.rospa.com/awards

Image – left Health and Safety manager, right Safety and Compliance director. Provided by Evander

This April to June 2022 report brings together key business, economic and labour market intelligence to provide a regular insight into the current state of the Norfolk economy.

Data is correct to 30 June 2022.

Find out more here.

Delta-Simons Environmental Consultants Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Alex Ferguson as Managing Director. Alex has been with Delta-Simons for 15 years, and has been instrumental in the ongoing development and growth of the company. Alex previously held the position of Operations Director within the business.

Other appointments include Damian Robinson, Divisional Director for Leeds and Manchester, who joins the Executive team. Whilst Paul Bennett has been appointed as Unit Director – Regions.

The new appointments reflect the enhancement of the senior management structure to support the continued success and growth of Delta-Simons. In 2015, the company opened offices in London, Manchester, Leeds and Dublin, and now operate from seven locations in the UK, with the HQ in Lincoln and offices in Norwich and Durham.

Delta-Simons provides support and advice within the property development, asset management, corporate and industrial markets. As a founder member of the Inogen Environmental Alliance, Delta-Simons is also able to deliver environmental, H&S and sustainability projects worldwide.

For more information about our employees, see Our People page.

Youngsters let their imagination run free during a day of fun and discovery at The Nook.

Seventy people visited the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) base in Framingham Earl, near Norwich.

For some families, it was their first time back at the hospice for a day of fun, and for two recently referred families it was the first time they had stepped through the door.

The event, which included arts, crafts, food and activities, was held in collaboration with Together for Short Lives, a national charity that supports the UK’s 54 children’s hospices, including EACH.

During the day, families and carers were invited to sit down and answer questions about hospice care.

The aim of the sessions was to find out more about people’s experience of hospice care and what could be better. EACH was one of ten children’s hospices chosen to take part across the UK.

Families were introduced to all the hospice has to offer, all with the hope of exploring and collaborating with families in a fun and enjoyable way about how they felt when they were offered support from the hospice, and any barriers they faced in accepting support.

Together for Short Lives is keen to use this information to understand why there is a gap between the total numbers of children with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition and those who are accessing their local hospice services.

Among the highlights, children and parents enjoyed a craft activity where they made princess tiaras and there were also cream teas, cakes, bubbles, a treasure trail and garden games.

They left with beautifully-designed stencil creations on their hands and arms.

“The families were very relaxed and really enjoyed the day, despite the sweltering conditions,” said The Nook Care Manager Emma Chilvers.

“Being able to welcome people back like this was wonderful and it felt like a pre-Covid event.

“We opened the bi-fold doors and families enjoyed being able to make use of the space available to them, both inside and outdoors.

“The Nook is such a beautiful place and an event of this nature gave us a chance to showcase just how special it is.

“I was blown away and we’ve had some great feedback both from families and Together for Short Lives.”

Thirty-seven children attended, along with 33 adults.

They were able to explore The Nook’s sensory room and soft play area, as well as being treated to a session with Jeff Sharkey, from Musical Keys.

Children’s hospices are often described as a “lifeline” for families that access their local hospice. They provide a range of services from symptom management, short breaks in the hospice or at home, therapy services, sibling support, hydrotherapy, emotional and spiritual support through to end of life and bereavement care.

Together for Short Lives hope that through this fun, activity-filled discovery work they will be able to understand the reasons why families sometimes find it difficult to take up referrals to children’s hospice services, and that together they will be able to support families on this journey.

Dr Helena Dunbar, from Together for Short Lives, said: “We are enormously grateful to all the children’s hospices for organising such a fun day for families, so we can better understand how families feel about being supported by their local children’s hospice.

“We know first impressions are so important, which is why we hope these amazing activity days shine a light on all the incredible support the hospice has to offer.”

EACH supports families and cares for children and young people across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Hobbycraft, Together for Short Lives’ longstanding partner, kindly donated materials for families to enjoy during the fun day, which took place on 13^th August.

Image credit – Karen Self/EACH

Celebrate English Tourism Week from Saturday, March 30 to Sunday, April 7 at the historic Maids Head Hotel in Norwich, winner of Best Independent Hotel and the Investing in the Future award at the Norfolk and Suffolk Tourism Awards 2019.

A classic English Afternoon Tea will be on offer comprising egg and cress, salmon, cheese and homemade tomato chutney sandwiches; homemade sausage roll, scotch egg (originated from Fortnum and Mason in 1738); Cherry Bakewell, Victoria Sandwich and traditional fruit cake; Raspberry Eton Mess and cheese and fruit scones with clotted cream and jam.

The hotel has a new partnership with shoe artist, Emily Jupp of Milly J Shoes in Tombland. Emily is producing special shoes linked to key events in the Norwich and Norfolk calendar, which will be displayed in Maids Head reception. Her English Country Garden shoe, marking English Tourism Week, is launching the new partnership.

Christine Malcolm, General Manager, Maids Head Hotel explained: “English Tourism Week is an annual celebration of the importance of tourism to the country’s economy. Tourism contributes more than £3.245 billion to Norfolk’s economy, supporting just under 65,400 jobs, which is 18.4% of the workforce. We are pleased to play our part in this celebration, marking the importance of our heritage and our owners, the Chaplin family’s commitment to the continuing sympathetic refurbishment of the hotel, ensuring that the historic building meets the expectations of 21st century visitors.”

To book English Tourism Week Afternoon Tea t. 01603 209955.

Emily Jupp, Milly J Shoes was Footwear Designer of the Year in The Footwear Industry Awards 2015.

Did you wake up this morning and immediately check your Apple Watch or Fitbit to see how many hours you slept and whether it was good quality sleep?

Have you managed a minimum of 250 steps in the past hour?

Is your phone or computer ‘pinging’ your schedule and deadlines for the day, reminders of what you need to do to achieve your daily tasks?

Technology is great, isn’t it? Keeping us on track in every area of our daily lives both at work and play, there seems to be an App for everything. But are we ruled by technology, has it taken over our lives for the good or to the detriment of our wellbeing?

It certainly has its advantages professionally, keeping teams in touch with online scheduling and online meetings, streamlining administrative tasks, and completing projects. But it doesn’t stop in the workplace, it has spilled over into our leisure time too so we are constantly relying on a screen to tell us what we should be doing and how we should be doing it.

Ways to embrace technology but not let it rule our lives:

• We all need downtime from our screens, too much staring at the screen creates eye strain which in turn may cause headaches. Use technology to set a time say, 10 minutes each hour to just stop, get up and walk away. Take a breather. Even this short amount of time helps to clear your head and gives your eyes a rest.
• Emails are a great way to communicate but could a phone call also work? There are times when it is just so much easier to pick up the phone and speak to the person instead, discuss what needs to be done, form an action plan and then just confirm details by email. It can save time rather than trying to type it all out, wait for a response etc. We have forgotten the art of talking whether that is on the phone or face to face, let’s start a revival!
• Downtime during the working day is important not only for taking a breather to clear your head but also to encourage you to get up and move. Use technology to find an App or use an online workshop to do some simple stretching exercises for 5-10 minutes on a regular basis throughout the day or schedule 15 minutes at the end of the day as a way of winding down.
• Get outside and walk/run/cycle and make the most of the fresh air and natural environment. Use an App such as Couch to 5k, or a cycling challenge, anything that will benefit your physical and mental health, but not obsessively. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t reach a certain goal or number of steps in a day. It is easy to feel you have ‘failed’ if you don’t reach a target, do not let it rule you. The fact that you have done some activity or exercise is an achievement. Be proud of yourself.

Technology is great if we use it to our advantage but going back to basics is also essential to achieve a balance. Don’t be ruled by that screen, the number of steps, do what is best for you and celebrate your achievements no matter how big or small.

Image credit – Pexels

How Passkeys could be about to improve our way of working!

In May we told you about Passkeys, the the soon to be replacement for Passwords. We didn’t know when they would arrive, but we have heard that Apple are looking to start rolling Passkeys out in with IOS16 and across the coming few months.

There has been some confusion around this though. Apple are marketing this feature hard, and people are thinking it is exclusive to them. That is not true.

Passkeys are the brain child of a joint effort to increase cyber security from Apple, Microsoft and Google. The only reason Apple are pushing it so hard, is to make people aware and to use it. Microsoft and Google want to get the word out there just as much, so people understand how passkeys will function.

The more people use it, the safer they will be and so will your business.

Passkeys, which will also be known as FIDO authentication (Passkeys is much easier to say), let you log into an application, piece of software or website with your username and an authorised device, which is likely to be your phone. The device will produce a ‘cryptographic token’, which is the other half of the cryptographic key pair. As long as they match you will be allowed in.

In real world terms, when you login you are going to use your phone to prove it is you. On your phone you can use you fingerprint, face or code to unlock it. As long as your phone is within range of the Bluetooth, and Bluetooth is turned on, it will work. No password needed.

It is going to be far more secure for accessing you software, apps and websites. It will keep you data safe from cyber criminals. the Cryptographic will never be seen, so you can not record it and takes away the issue of having it stolen. A cyber criminal will need your physical devices, making it much harder to hack or steal data.

If you are using Windows Hello, passkeys are already supported. It is not going to be long before the big three tech giants are rolling out support across their entire ranges.

Before this all happens, if you would like advice or help in securing your devices or date, please get in touch with us today.

Image provided by Uptech

Whether you are working from home or in the office, here are some tips to help keep common aches and pains at bay.

• If you are working from home, curled up on the bed or the sofa with the laptop balanced on your knee – stop it now! Your back will not thank you for it.

A chair with good lumbar support and at the correct height for you will make all the difference. If you have an office chair, this will be easier to achieve but even if you are at home sitting on a dining room chair, there are things you can do to improve your seated position.

You do not need to sit bolt upright, in fact, that will probably cause you more aches and pains. Your spine has a natural curve, support your lower back with a rolled up towel if you do not have the support built into your chair.

• Make sure the chair is at a height where your feet comfortably reach the floor or if that isn’t possible, invest in a footrest or even a box under the table and no crossing your legs!
• Your computer monitor should be at a height where you do not have to tilt your head down or up to read what is on the screen. A good tip is for the header bar at the top of the screen to be at roughly the same level as your eye line. Also, if you stretch out your arm, you should just be able to touch the screen with your middle fingertip.

Eye strain is a common problem. Check the brightness of your screen and make sure you take regular breaks away from looking at the screen.

• Good lighting will also help alleviate eye strain or headaches.
• Eat well, if you’re really organised, prepare food to take with you to work and of course, make sure you stay well hydrated with plenty of fluids (ideally more water than coffee)
• The biggest killer is being sat down all day. Set the alarm on your phone to ping say 10 minutes every hour to make sure you get up and move around, even if it’s only to go to the kitchen or have a walk around the office, have a conversation with a colleague, but stretch those legs.
• Talking of stretching, here are some easy exercises you can do at your desk in addition to getting up:
  • Raise your arms in the air and stretch as far as you can reach. Then take your arms over to one side, pause, come back to the centre and then do the same the other way.
  • Slowly roll your shoulders back and forwards, either together or individually really squeezing your shoulder blades as you go.
  • Don’t forget your legs and feet. March in your chair, get the blood flowing, and circle your ankles or if you can find something like a tennis ball, roll that under your foot.
• If your job involves driving there are simple things you can do if you are stuck in stationary traffic (please don’t do these when the car is moving!)
  • Shoulder rolls mentioned above can easily be done in the car.
  • Gripping the steering wheel move your upper body forward tensing your pec muscles as if you are doing press ups
  • Roll your muscles by moving from one bum cheek to the other (sorry, no other way to describe that one)
  • This one you can do if you are on the move or not – sing your heart out! You choose if you have the windows down or not but really exercise those vocal chords, it feels great.

The important things are to get up and move when you can, make sure your desk is set up as ergonomically as possible, and keep well fed and hydrated. Oh, and have a good sing song!

Image credit: Chambers Canva Pro 2022

Norwich-based jewellery and accessories retailer, Lisa Angel, is relocating its current store at Chantry Place this autumn to a larger unit.

The relocation follows on from the ongoing success of Lisa Angel at Chantry Place, including The Norfolk Flower Room pop-up, featuring Lisa Angel’s gorgeous dried flowers and bouquets, and to allow for more products and personalisation opportunities in its store.

Lisa Angel plans to relocate this autumn, remaining on the lower ground floor of the shopping centre but taking over a larger unit next to Oliver Bonas and opposite H&M HOME.

Lisa Angel, founder of the gifting and lifestyle brand which shares her name, said: “Our journey within the centre started with selling on the dining terrace in 2006 and evolved to the opening of our current store – so I’m thrilled to be continuing the Lisa Angel story there with our new location. We remain committed to supporting the high street and encouraging people to shop independent, and are grateful to our wonderful customers for their support, without which this wouldn’t have been possible.”

The company’s Retail Operations and Visual Merchandising Manager, Jenna Crush, added: “We are really excited to be able to offer a selection of new curated lifestyle products, ranging from gardening gifts to soft furnishings. Sitting alongside our signature handstamped jewellery and beautifully crafted dried flower bouquets, our new store will hold thoughtful gifts for every occasion.”

After having a stand at Chantry Place for over 10 years’, Lisa Angel opened a permanent shop at the Centre in 2018. The Lisa Angel brand has continued to go from strength-to-strength and is sold across the world.

Paul McCarthy, general manager at Chantry Place, comments: “Lisa Angel is a local home-grown success story and is such a hit with our customers who love the quality of the on-trend products and personalisation options, so we know they will be delighted to hear that this relocation will offer them even more choice when shopping with us. We would like to thank Lisa Angel for their continued support and investment in the Centre.”

The official opening date of the Lisa Angel store at Chantry Place will be announced soon.

For more information on Chantry Place, please visit www.ChantryPlace.co.uk or follow chantryplacenorwich on social media. For more information on Lisa Angel, visit www.lisaangel.co.uk or follow @lisaangeluk on social media.

Image credits Lisa Angel

• New online retail platform for current and legacy cars dating back to 1981
• Latest Lotus merchandise plus some heritage items also available via lotuscars.com
• Customers can either collect, or choose direct delivery, from retail agent
• Official parts manuals also available to help owners keep their Lotus performing to specification

Lotus estimates that up to 70% of its cars are still on the road worldwide, all cherished by their owners and many used regularly. To maintain this enviable record and to encourage more owners globally to keep their cars running, Lotus has unveiled a new online retail platform.

The e-commerce site has thousands of parts, accessories and consumables available to buy, from 1981 and the era of the Esprit and Excel, to the more recent Elise, Exige and Evora. All components are either original from period or manufactured to OEM specifications.

To ensure that the right part is selected, a comprehensive search tool is located on the landing page, including the Lotus model, year, driveline and trim level. Further assistance can be found via the official Lotus parts manuals, also available for purchase on the platform.

In addition, the site includes the full range of contemporary Lotus lifestyle merchandise, clothing and accessories. Legacy items, such as period keyrings and car covers for older Lotus cars, are also available. Customers can either collect from, or choose direct delivery from, their local retailer agent.

Chris Hinks, Director, Aftersales, Lotus, said: “A Lotus car is designed, developed and built to be driven in a spirited way, and so it’s vital that we support owners worldwide in keeping their cars performing as our engineers intended. Moving our entire parts and accessories business to this new and fully searchable online portal is improving our service to them.”

He continued: “Some Lotus owners have their own workshop facilities and take pleasure maintaining their cars themselves, others rely on authorised retailers and repairers. We always encourage our customers to keep their cars maintained to specification for the full ‘signed-off’ experience, and parts.lotuscars.com will significantly improve our already outstanding levels of service, making that easier than ever.”

Images provided by Lotus

A steely runner is striding out of his comfort zone and embarking on a monster 200-mile challenge in aid of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

Super-fit Alan Carter is taking on the mission in memory of Callum Doe, the son of a friend who died in August 2020.

He plans to run 50 miles a day for four days, getting underway on 15^th September.

His epic journey starts from his home in Mellis, before heading to Wortham Ling and then, via the Angles Way, to Knettishall Heath.

He then plans to swap to the Peddars Way and run to Hunstanton, where he will pick up the North Norfolk Coastal Path. He will follow this around the coast to Great Yarmouth and return to Mellis along the Angles Way.

“After that I’ll fall into bed and remain in the recovery position for about 12 hours, probably more,” joked Alan.

“This challenge is a fair bit beyond my comfort zone and I’m not going to be too strict in terms of rules.

“It’s about raising money for charity and it doesn’t really matter how I do it.

“Getting round will be hard enough and it’ll be particularly tough at the start of each day. It’ll be a case of pigeon steps, walking and then breaking into a run.

“It makes me nervous to think about it but I know I’ll be pleased with myself if I complete it.

“It takes courage to attempt something like this and by asking for sponsorship, it will give me extra pressure and determination to keep moving when the going gets tough.

“It would be embarrassing to have sponsors and not finish the whole run.

“Because the run is too much to complete in a day, I’ll be carrying the things I need and have bought some of the lightest camping gear available.”

Alan, 46, has a personal reason for supporting EACH and is good friends with Callum’s dad, Ian Doe.

Thirteen-year-old Callum was diagnosed with an aggressive grade four brain tumour on Christmas Eve 2018.

He had an operation to remove as much of it as safely possible, in addition to two rounds of radiotherapy, but died at The Nook, EACH’s hospice in Framingham Earl, in August 2020.

Alan, a joiner by trade who has a fiancée, Ruth, and ten-year-old daughter, Scarlett, said: “I’ve become a big fan of EACH.

“Other than its high street presence, I didn’t know anything about the charity until Callum and his family needed help and received care at The Nook.

“It had such an impact and goodness knows how anyone copes without that support.

“I used to cycle with Ian and, over the course of a year, we followed Callum’s story.

“When he passed away, the feeling of uselessness and sadness inspired me to do some fundraising for EACH.

“Ian always said what a great support the charity was to him, wife Michelle and daughter Abi.

“They said the staff were so invested in them. It didn’t feel like they were at work – they just wanted to help.”

Alan is no stranger to raising funds for EACH and completed another eye-watering run in October 2020.

His Angles Way Challenge saw him complete the full length of the 77-mile footpath, starting in Great Yarmouth and heading south towards Lowestoft, ending at Knetishall Heath and taking in Bungay, Beccles and Diss.

It was effectively three marathons in a row over mostly rough ground and he raised £2,645.

Ian cycled alongside him, carrying water and energy gels.

“It was a real team effort and definitely a day to remember,” said Alan.

“Poor Ian. Not only did he have to keep me company all day and night, he also had to cycle 80 miles very slowly. It must have been torture for a fast cyclist like him, although he didn’t show it.”

Alan plans to meet Ruth and Scarlett, both of whom recently completed EACH’s Norwich Bubble Rush, at the halfway point and has already received offers of support from his running clubs, Rickinghall Runners, Diss Athletics Club and Suffolk Trail Runners.

He said: “Friends have offered to come and run alongside me for some sections, which will be a huge morale-boost.

“I know from experience that time stretches out on these long runs.

“A mile can seem like five at times, but having someone alongside you reverses that. It’s brilliant.

“To prepare for this challenge, I’ve run 1,150 miles this year and follow a monthly training cycle which starts at 30 miles per week and builds to 60. Then the following month I start again with 30.

“I also ran the Five Rivers Ultra run in May, which was 103 miles along the Essex and Suffolk coast.

“I came eighth in 26 hours, which I was very happy with.”

To sponsor Alan, head here.

Image credits – EACH