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To celebrate the installation of our new print press, we are running a special offer of 1,000 flyers for just £45. Contact us on [email protected] to claim yours. 

Staff and volunteers from a popular charity shop donned fancy dress and travelled back in time for a weekend of nostalgia.

The team from East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) got in the spirit for the 1940s-themed event in Sheringham.

In addition to wearing costumes from the war-time decade, they raised extra funds from a tasty cake sale and got involved in all aspects of the town’s celebrations, which took place on 17^th and 18^th September.

EACH supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions.

It has three hospices, including The Nook, in Framingham Earl, and 44 retail outlets across the region, like the one in Station Road, Sheringham.

Shop manager Naomi Munro said: “The whole weekend was a complete success.

“We took £2,485 of donated sales over the two days and normally take that figure in a whole week during the colder months!

“Our cake sale was also very popular and raised £140.

“Volunteers and regular customers made the cakes and we had Victoria sponges, gingerbread biscuits, lemon cake and cupcakes.

“We cleared out the shop to make space for the revellers and the 1940s enthusiasts were out in force, dancing in the street and in our shop. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!”

Sheringham’s 1940s spectacular was originally started by North Norfolk Railway and celebrations also take place in Weybourne and Holt.

It is a fun nod back to the 1940s, remembering the music, dancing, fashions and classic vehicles of the era.

Image credit EACH

The Captain & Crew at Fawcett HQ are simply delighted to announce that Captain Fawcett has been shortlisted for the British Chambers of Commerce Awards as ‘The Global Player’ for 2022. This most prestigious recognition comes due to the King’s Lynn based company’s nomination from the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce.

80% of Captain Fawcett’s ‘First Class Gentleman’s Grooming Requisites’ are exported worldwide into over 48 countries and the company has been relentless in expanding its already significant horizon to secure new markets, such as USA, China & India, despite the ongoing European export difficulties posed by Brexit.

Captain Fawcett founder Richie Finney says “All at Fawcett HQ are chuffed to bits with this most prestigious recognition from the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce and as such shall be found celebrating with a cup of Rosie Lee & a slice of Victoria Sponge!

The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce is of huge value to Norfolk business of all sizes. From advising sole traders and start-ups to providing international trade support for companies exploring global markets, they are an outstanding source of support and expertise. In addition to offering superb networking opportunities and sharing business acumen, the Norfolk Chamber gives a voice to local and regional issues at a national level. I suggest any serious business considers joining their local Chamber of Commerce, thereby playing a part enhancing economic growth in their region and helping influence decisions made both locally and in Westminster.

Meanwhile, well done to all the other highly regarded nominations. Huzzah!”

Yesterday, the 8th September, was a sad, sad day and one that our generation will never forget. Future generations will look back and recognise what a privilege it was to have Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II in office. Her Majesty was a champion and patron of many charities within the UK and globally and acknowledged the need and necessity for such organisations to support and improve the lives of many around the world. Through her offices, Big C was recognised by awarding MBEs to David Moar, the founder of Big C, and to Theresa Cossey a long standing trustee.

She was a champion and patron of many charities within the UK and globally and acknowledged the need and necessity for such organisations to support and improve the lives of many around the world. Through her offices, Big C was recognised by awarding MBEs to David Moar, the founder of Big C, and to Theresa Cossey a long standing trustee.

“On the 17th July 2002, I was gifted the rare privilege of escorting her Majesty the Queen around a tented village on Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds for the Queen’s 50th anniversary. The village comprised elements of Suffolk from Tourism, Commas, Farming and Food Production as well as the county’s heritage which included a native Suffolk Punch horse. On meeting the Queen, her presence and standing were immediately apparent, which is one of the many reasons she commanded respect and love across the world.”

Above: One of the campaign graphics.

Greater Anglia is supporting a new campaign aimed at helping people with disabilities travel on trains more easily.
The Department for Transport has launched ‘It’s everyone’s journey’ – an advertising campaign to highlight how everyone can play a part in making public transport inclusive.
At present too many disabled people say that they don’t feel confident using public transport and 1 in 4 say that negative attitudes from other passengers prevent them from travelling.

The Department for Transport’s new campaign aims to show other passengers the impact their unconscious behaviour can have on disabled passengers and encourages them to make small changes to their habits when travelling, such as:

• Be prepared to give up a priority seat
• Be prepared to help each other
• Be patient with each other
• Don’t charge through busy platforms
• Respect all accessible toilet users

Rebecca Richardson, Greater Anglia’s Accessibilty Manager, said, “Public transport is at the heart of how we all live our lives, helping us get to work, school or college, healthcare appointments and social events.
“At Greater Anglia we want public transport to be truly inclusive and disabled people to be able to travel as confidently as other passengers.
“We’re working hard to ensure that everyone can have an enjoyable journey with us.
“This campaign also reminds us all of the need to be compassionate and courteous and we are very happy to support it.”
Greater Anglia is working to make its trains and stations more accessible, with its fleet of new trains more accessible by design with level boarding, large wheelchair spaces and accessible toilets on every train, the introduction of virtual online station tours to help with journey planning and confidence, Accessibility & Inclusion training for staff, and upgrades to improve access at stations and car parks across the network.

More information about the campaign can be found at gov.uk/everyonesjourney #ItsEveryonesJourney

In what has been a landmark year already for me, I can now add qualified Judge with The Societies of Photographers to my list of things to be thankful for. Earlier in the year I qualified as a Fellow with The Society of International Commercial & Industrial Photographers with a specialism in creative product photography at the international convention in London. This coincided with it being 10 years since my diagnosis with MS, so it was even more meaningful for me. Having trained at their judging school and then working as a junior judge for about 15 months learning the ropes from experienced team members, my “judgement day” arrived. Head of judging Terrie Jones announced to me that I had passed my assessment and would now be a full member of the judging team.

This is a group of some of the best photographers from around the world with specialisms in various genres of photography. The team judge qualifications, monthly competitions and the highly prestigious annual international 20×16 print competition at the Convention. So, I am honoured to be in their company, maintaining and furthering the standards in the photography industry.

The training to become a Judge has had an impact on my day to day work too. I cast an even more critical eye over the work I produce for clients and keep striving to raise my standards still further. If you are unsure how successful your business’ images are then I can use my training to help you conduct an image audit. This is a good way to ascertain whether your images are doing their job and communicating as clearly as you might like. It has been a pleasure spending time recently helping to train local businesses to do their own photography in house where budgets would not have allowed hiring someone in. The Go Digital scheme has allowed them to raise their game and improve their marketing.

They haven’t even had to spend a fortune on kit. As a consultant I can help them avoid unnecessary expenditure and find cheaper, just as effective ways to get the job done. I love seeing businesses thrive and enjoy working with local clients as well as national and international ones.

The support and encouragement from other businesses in Norfolk has helped me to reach new heights. Networking doesn’t always need to be about finding new leads or a quick route to more work. Sometimes it is about learning from others who have had similar experiences and finding the right people to give you a positive mindset to succeed.

The Maids Head Hotel in Tombland, Norwich has revealed a new contemporary look for its AA 2 Rosette Wine Press Restaurant, which is located in the former courtyard of the 15th century inn that first took the name Maids Head.

The Lord Mayor of Norwich, Councillor Vaughan Thomas and the Sheriff of Norwich, Dr Marian Prinsley visited the hotel on Thursday, November 14 to officially reopen the restaurant following its £60,000 makeover.

Interior Designer, Nicola Lovell, working closely with General Manager, Christine Malcolm, has created a colourful and exciting restaurant with new tables, chairs, banquettes, pictures and decoration, which complement the ancient courtyard of the hotel.

The Wine Press refurbishment is the latest project at the Maids Head, which has seen £3.5 million invested by the hotel’s owners, the Chaplin family, over the last six years across all public areas and guest bedrooms.

Christine Malcolm, General Manager said: “We are thrilled with the restaurant’s new look created by Nicola Lovell, and hope our guests enjoy it as much as we do. I would like to thank the Lord Mayor and Sheriff for joining us to celebrate the completion of this successful project.”

The Wine Press Restaurant’s refurbishment has been completed in time for the hotel’s very busy Christmas period. All the Maids Head team are looking forward to welcoming a record number of guests to the hotel for their festive celebrations.

For more information about the Maids Head Hotel see www.maidsheadhotel.co.uk, t. 01603 209955. 

Haven’t got your Christmas email campaign sorted yet? “Don’t worry, there’s still time,” explains Rebecca Hartley, Marketing Manager at Smart Messenger:

Can I let you into a little secret?

Before I joined the Smart Messenger team, I always let out a small groan in December when it was time to sort out the company’s Christmas email campaign.

As Christmas grew ever closer, the sales team were clamouring to get their seasonal greetings out to customers and suppliers while I was still struggling to complete various other urgent projects before the holiday shut down.

The Christmas campaign felt like the least of my worries. That is, until I couldn’t delay it any longer and minor panic set in!

Who was going to design it?

How was I going to send it?

How could I make sure it stood out from the crowd and made recipients feel extra special?

Sound familiar?

I won’t tell you how I managed to get those campaigns out of the door, except to say I found various ‘solutions’ including expensive purchased templates from questionable websites, homemade designs (which I was quite proud of at the time!) and quickly cobbled together campaigns using online services which were clunky to navigate and largely unfathomable, with no support when I ran into an issue.

This year, it’s a totally different ball game.

Now, I’m lucky enough to be the Marketing Manager for Smart Messenger, a leading UK-based email marketing solution that’s affordable, easy to use and has got Christmas covered for busy marketers!

The platform comes with unlimited support from lovely people – including Holly Stibbon, Dave Hall and Sapphire Cullington – who are all experts in email comms. No more grappling with chatbots or googling for answers for our clients!

It’s a game-changer for businesses that need better results from their email marketing. I wish I had known about it in previous roles – it would have made Christmas campaigns so much more enjoyable to create and a whole lot more effective.

Last-minute help is at hand

If you’re a bit of a last-minute Christmas marketer like I used to be, the good news is there’s still time to send a really professional Christmas campaign to your contacts with Smart Messenger.

Even better, Smart Messenger clients have automatic access to a choice of nine free Christmas email templates that are customisable with their own branding and messaging. We create fresh designs each year, so there’s always something that’s sure to appeal.

Get up and running straight away, with full support

If you’re not yet a Smart Messenger customer, our team can help you get up and running straight away and we’ll provide full training to get you started without any fuss.

The platform is very user-friendly but if you need help, our account managers are always on hand to provide full support over the phone or check over your emails before you send them to ensure they’re optimised and good to go.

You’ll never need to struggle with an email campaign again!

Extra special Christmas emails and managed sends

As well as the free Christmas templates that are available to all Smart Messenger clients, we also create bespoke Christmas email templates for customers who want a design that’s completely unique to them, incorporating their own images or animations. Prices for bespoke templates start at £149 and a Smart Messenger package costs from just £10 per month.

If you’re really pushed for time, we can manage the send and reporting for your campaign too.

Ready To Get Started?

With Smart Messenger, there’s no need to put off your Christmas campaign any longer, so why not get in touch with our team?

We can help you tick this job off your list with an eye-catching and effective campaign that will bring some added sparkle to your communications this season. (And, we’ll also be on hand to support you with your 2023 email campaigns too!)

If you’d like support with your Christmas email campaign, call us on 01603 858250 to discuss your needs or enquire via our website. We’d love to help you.

Image owned by Smart Messenger

As the nights get darker and the temperature drops, Norfolk Community Foundation is once again launching its annual Surviving Winter appeal, providing vital support to help vulnerable people across Norfolk get through the cold winter months. The onset of the winter months can be a worrying time for many people in Norfolk. The combination of bad weather, colder temperatures and the effects of rural poverty can be a tangible, sometimes disastrous, combination for vulnerable individuals and families. The aim of the Surviving Winter appeal is to provide essential support to people who are struggling and in serious need, to stop them from failing into crisis. How is the Appeal helping? Together with the Foundation’s partner organisations Age UK Norfolk, homelessness charity St Martins and local foodbanks who work tirelessly on the ground to support those in need across the county, the Foundation is once again taking action this winter. From providing support to help rough sleepers off the streets long term, to helping families heat their homes and keep their children warm, to alleviating loneliness amongst isolated older people who may have no-one else to talk to, the Surviving Winter appeal will transform local lives. For some, this support could mean the difference between life and death. Donate now to change lives The Surviving Winter appeal needs urgent help from local people and businesses to support the most vulnerable in our communities. Donate online quickly and securely, or alternatively please make a cheque payable to Norfolk Community Foundation and send it to Norfolk Community Foundation, St. James Mill, Whitefriars, Norwich, NR3 1TN, or telephone us on 01603 623958. Every donation, no matter how small, will make a difference to local lives.

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This is a final call to apply for a grant of between £1,000 and £25,000 to invest in production, equipment and expansion before the Small Grant Scheme managed by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) comes to an end.

Ringing in the new year, it coincides with the approval of the scheme’s 500th award. Since 2014, the LEP has awarded £5 million to firms supporting local development and growth and this has been matched with £21 million private investments.

The Small Grant Scheme can now cover up to 40% of your business’s total project costs and all applications must be made by the end of January.

“We’re inviting small to medium-sized businesses to contact New Anglia Growth Hub if they have a project in the pipeline to grow their company,” says the LEP’s Programmes Manager Jason Middleton.

The scheme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, with support for interested businesses provided by New Anglia Growth Hub.

A team of Business Advisers can help develop your application. For further information, contact New Anglia Growth Hub direct on 0300 333 6536 or email [email protected].

Start 2023 by investing in your business and making a leap in development.

500 success stories 

Vital funding for growing small to medium-sized businesses has made a huge difference, enabling them to drive up production, buy essential equipment, and move into bigger and better premises.

Among the Small Grant Scheme success stories is Suffolk Distillery, which scaled up its craft sprits production from 25 to 500 bottles a week using a new still and ancillary equipment.

Master distiller and chemist Gary Wilkinson (pictured below) pursued his passion of having his own distillery after a long career as operations manager driving thousands of miles a year for a large distillery. He and his wife Melanie launched the business in 2016 from their garage with production in full swing in 2017.

Asked where the business would be today without the LEP grant, he replies: “We would still be in my garage. But also, without the help of Melanie, who is a director, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this.”

Trailblazing Norfolk firm SSAF Window Films, which developed the first specialised film that reduces bomb blast and bullet impact, is thriving after a grant injection to upgrade its office technology and buy an industrial printer.

Managing Director Steve Ashton found the grant application straightforward and the business advisers at New Anglia Growth Hub supportive. He highly recommends the scheme to other businesses. “If we hadn’t secured the grant, we would have had to potentially close temporarily during Covid.”

Sales and Marketing Manager, Olivia Watts, adds: “With the grant, we have installed a new ICT system, including PCs and handheld devices. I can now take a handheld to potential customers and immediately show them examples.”

This short video shows a few examples of the types of investment businesses made with Small Grant Scheme and Growth Through Innovation Fund support.

For more information, contact New Anglia Growth Hub direct on 0300 333 6536 or email [email protected].

The Managing Director and Lead Consultant of Norfolk-based BLS Safety and Training has completed the rigorous process to become a Chartered member of IOSH.

Justin Cowles set up BLS Safety and Training in 2012, having gained many years’ experience as an Emergency Medical Technician within the private ambulance sector. Having been a member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the world’s Chartered body for safety and health professionals, for many years, he has now met the next level of high standards required to become a Chartered Member.

Chartered status is the ultimate standard for an experienced health and safety professional to have behind their name in the industry, as it demonstrates an understanding of a broad range of issues, and therefore provides a transferable knowledge base that is applicable across industry sectors and job roles.

The process requires a minimum of two years’ experience in the industry, with validated evidence of work in developing a positive safety culture, communication and health and safety policies, and assessing and managing risk. Members must also successfully complete a peer-reviewed interview. Once Chartered Membership is achieved, a CPD record must also be maintained.

For Justin, who has a wealth of experience in an array of industry sectors, including equestrian, agriculture, healthcare, leisure, hospitality and events, his Chartered Membership means organisations are working with someone who’s at the top of their profession to provide health and safety training to their staff.

Justin now manages a team of four fellow trainers and assessors, including trainer Clive Wells, who joined the team in September. Together, they provide health and safety consultancy services, fire risk assessments, face fit testing, and training courses for businesses and organisations throughout Norwich and Norfolk.

For more information on the services offered by BLS Safety and Training, please visit the website: https://www.blstraining.co.uk/

Images owned by BLS Training