Business Club Networking Evening Thursday 16th of May 8pm @ Bar 11
Champagne & canapé reception, complete with a guest speaker too. Plus Saville Row suit designers, Grover of London will be on hand ready to create bespoke outfit for you! Don’t forget to bring your business cards because there will be a chance to win; exclusive Bar 11 member’s card, a champagne table for yourself and 5 guests for an evening, plus we will be giving you the chance to include your company logo on all our advertisement for a month. This is a free event and is by invitation only. If you would like to attend please just RSVP to [email protected]
Great Yarmouth based energy services company Proserv has won a multi-million dollar contract in Angola, underpinning the company’s fast-evolving subsea status and increasing demand for its sampling system innovations.
Proserv is to design and manufacture a subsea sampling system for BP’s PSVM field development which, with a water depth of 2,000 metres, is believed to be the deepest offshore project in Africa.
The system, which is being designed, manufactured and tested by Proserv’s dedicated teams, can go to a maximum water depth of 2,500 metres as well as interface with two and four-slot subsea manifolds. It is also fully compliant with corrosion society, NACE International, and meets the high engineering standards set by the American Petroleum Institute.
Chief executive officer at Proserv, David Lamont, said: “This contract win represents another significant achievement for Proserv. It underpins the strong track record we are continuing to build around the world by consistently delivering robust technology systems and services for customers on time and to the highest standards including overall compliance with very stringent technical specifications.
“With an established track record spanning over 35 years in the sampling services sector, we have strengthened our capabilities and expertise through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. This has resulted in us capturing a large share of the subsea market and with the increasing demand for flow assurance and reservoir analysis, we fully intend to set the pace as the leading global player in the subsea sampling field.”
Proserv’s sampling system will interface with the subsea production system to support the monitoring of PVT properties in the production fluid as various levels of these elements can cause flow assurance issues such as scale build up.
The contract is the second one that Proserv has undertaken for BP Angola on the PSVM development. The company previously provided two similar subsea sampling systems for Block 18 through FMC Technologies.
Proserv has fast emerged as a leading industry specialist in exploration & production, drilling, and infrastructure technical solutions and services to the global energy industry.
The company has experienced exceptional growth over the past 12 months particularly in the subsea services sector.
Proserv operates worldwide from 30 sites in six geographical regions namely North UK & Africa, South UK & Europe, Scandinavia, the Americas, Middle East & North Africa and the Far East & Australia and currently employs over 1,700 people globally.
Dying Matters Awareness Week is taking place between 13-19 May. This yearly campaign seeks to raise awareness of end of life issues. Angela Ireland, a Chartered Legal Executive in Steeles Law’s wills, probate and tax team, considers these issues.
Steeles Law is one of 30,000 members of the national Dying Matters Coalition, all of whom have an interest in supporting the changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards dying, death and bereavement.
Set up by the National Council for Palliative Care in 2009, the Dying Matters Coalition aims to encourage people to talk openly about their own end of life issues with friends, family and loved ones in order to make “a good death” possible for the 500,000 people who die in England each year.
Research for Dying Matters has found that many people have specific wishes about their end of life care or what they would like to happen to them after their death, but a reluctance to discuss these issues makes it much less likely that these will be met. For example, an astonishing two-thirds of adults in the UK do not have a Will, generally because it is something we “put off” doing until another day. Within a Will, you can ensure that your money and property pass to those family members, friends and charities of your choice. Otherwise, if you do not make a Will, your estate passes according to the intestacy rules, a complex set of legal rules providing for your nearest blood relatives – not necessarily those who you would wish to provide for!
At Steeles Law, we encourage all of our clients to make a Will including their funeral wishes, as well as prepare Lasting Powers of Attorney and Advance Decisions. Having these documents in place can help your loved ones in what can be some of the most difficult and emotional times of their lives.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document allowing you to appoint someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf in respect of your property and financial affairs, and also health and welfare decisions, should you become mentally incapable of dealing with your own affairs. By an Advance Decision you can specifically record what life-sustaining treatments you do not wish to receive if you become unable to communicate these wishes yourself.
By talking about Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorneys and Advance Decisions and making these important documents you can help your family and friends now with difficult decisions they may be faced with in the future.
To speak to one of our specialist members of the wills, probate and tax team please contact us.
Microsoft Office 365 is the natural cloud based progression for PC based Microsoft Office applications. The current MS Office product provides customers with a powerful set of tools that supports the entire spectrum of productivity scenarios, from the most basic to the more advanced. More and more businesses are choosing Microsoft Office 365 over Google Apps. The reason? Simple really, they can’t afford to compromise, and with Office 365, they don’t have to. They get the familiarity of MS Office, the capabilities they need, plus a cloud service they can trust.
I’ve recently been involved in setting up a local business with MS Office 365. The business, a property and development consultancy require the powerful toolset provided by MS Office with the flexibility of working on the fly when away from the office, which in their line of work, is a regular occurrence.
Using a single sign on function, I was able to install and configure Office 365 with ease providing the customer with the following,
• A unified shared document library via an online SharePoint Team Site – providing simultaneous document collaboration
• Instant communications capability through Lync (including chat, desktop sharing and document transfer)
• SharePoint file synchronization between computers, mobile devices and the cloud via SharePoint WorkSpace (2010) and most recently SkyDrive Pro (after recent upgrade to Office 2013)
• Outlook collaboration – Shared Contacts, Calendars and Tasks
As with all cloud based solutions, security of information will always be at the forefront for any business. MS Office 365 transfers data across the internet using the highest encryption methods in the industry, which, alongside their proactive monitoring of the Office 365 platform, monitors, records and investigates any attempted intrusions or suspicious activities.
Office 365 is maintained and patched regularly to protect its customers from existing and emerging security threats, which provides much needed reassurance that valuable confidential company data isn’t compromised.
One of the most common methods used to breach security is through email. Office 365 takes care of this by scanning all emails for malware, viruses and spam mail to quarantine malicious programs and junk mail in real time.
Another feature of Office 365 I like is the ability to customize the retention schedule for company emails. This feature provides a flexible and robust function to archive messages which may need to be retained for legal compliance or otherwise.
How about document retention? Documents stored within SharePoint are protected against accidental deletion by the virtual recycle bin feature, meaning any documents deleted in error can be restored within 31 days with the click of button!
In terms of reliability, Office 365 is second to none. MS offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee for Office 365 which coupled with an online accessible service health dashboard gives system administrators peace of mind that their systems will be available when they need them. This dashboard also details any planned maintenance or fixes to the 365 system.
We at Breakwater IT have been using Office 365 extensively in our day to day roles and I personally have been really impressed with the functionality it provides. I would definitely recommend it to other clients as an extension to their current MS Office installation. Every client is different and there are many solutions and migration paths available why not give us a call and find out what we and Microsoft Office 365 can do for you.
Call Kelly Hemingway or Mark Poole on 01603 709300.
Our latest article in our popular website design series is out. “The Bigfork Guide to Competitive Website Analysis” tells you why you need to analyse your competitors websites and how to do it. If you want to see our past articles please let us know.
A new strategic collaboration between two Norfolk companies will see families across Norfolk benefit from clearer, more joined-up legal and financial advice – particularly at times of stress, vulnerability and major life change.
The partnership between Lucas & Wyllys solicitors and Brancaster House Financial Planning will see families across Norfolk benefit from clearer, more joined-up legal and financial advice – particularly at times of stress, vulnerability and major life change.
As part of the collaboration, Brancaster House Financial Planning is launching a dedicated Deputyship financial advice service, working alongside Lucas & Wyllys to support families where an individual does not have a Power of Attorney in place and no longer has the capacity to make sound financial decisions.
Lucas & Wyllys regularly advise families on Court of Protection and deputyship applications where an individual has lost mental capacity. Under the new arrangement, Lucas & Wyllys will instruct Brancaster House Financial Planning to provide specialist, regulated financial advice in these cases.
The Deputyship service is designed to support families and appointed deputies by:
· Providing clear, compliant financial advice where capacity has been lost
· Helping manage assets, income and ongoing financial decisions responsibly
· Reducing stress for families navigating complex legal and financial processes
· Ensuring decisions are made in the best interests of the individual
Shane Julian, Managing Director of Brancaster House Financial Planning, said:
“Where no Power of Attorney exists, families are often faced with urgent and complex financial decisions at an already emotional time. Our new Deputyship service allows us to work closely with Lucas & Wyllys to provide clear, regulated financial advice that supports families and deputies to act confidently and in the individual’s best interests.”
By aligning legal expertise with independent financial planning, the collaboration ensures that families receive joined-up support throughout the Court of Protection process, rather than having to coordinate advisers themselves.
Amy Church, Managing Partner at Lucas & Wyllys, added:
“In deputyship matters, clarity and coordination are essential. This collaboration allows us to ensure families have access to trusted financial planning support when no Power of Attorney is in place, helping protect the individual and providing reassurance to those acting on their behalf.”
As awareness of Powers of Attorney grows, there remains a significant number of families who only seek advice after capacity has already been lost. The new Deputyship service reflects increasing demand for integrated legal and financial expertise in these situations.
Through this strategic collaboration, Lucas & Wyllys and Brancaster House Financial Planning aim to improve outcomes for families by delivering structured, ethical and fully regulated support when it is most needed.
High-performing teams aren’t born, they’re built. Our work with organisations shows that teams thrive when they’re supported by four key pillars: Purpose, Belonging, Safety and Accountability. These pillars aren’t buzzwords; they’re the foundation of teams that can adapt, innovate, and deliver results consistently.
Teams face pressures every day: change, workload, conflicting priorities, and the small frustrations that quietly chip away at energy and focus. High-performing teams don’t happen by accident – they’re created within an environment that’s intentional, thoughtful, and supported by these four pillars.
Think of them as your team’s framework. Purpose gives direction. Belonging builds trust and connection. Safety allows people to speak up, take risks, and innovate. Accountability keeps everyone on track and driving results.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be unpacking each pillar in detail: what it really means, how it shows up in your team, and practical ways to bring it to life.
Want to know how well your teams are performing and how they could improve? Drop us a message or find out more on our website www.blueherontraining.com
As a sole trader, as I’ve mentioned before, I do not benefit from department heads to busy themselves with getting into various subjects and then briefing me for discussion on the business. Therefore, because I have no Marketing Department I have decided to interview myself and let Chamber readers peek behind the curtains back stage so to speak.
What made you decide to become a French tutor?
Initially I trained to be a Primary School Teacher so education is something important to me and something I have always enjoyed doing. When I first came to Britain in the 1990s I took a job working as French Tutor for the Berlitz language school and that was the spark that ignited my passion for the role. I very quickly realised that I loved teaching French and seeing my students progressing with the language skills. It’s very rewarding.
What do you like best about helping people with the French language?
Honestly speaking, I prefer to teach French to adults as I believe like all languages, French is supposed to be spoken. In my experience I find that the curriculum for GCSE and A-levels focuses too heavily on written and grammar skills which is important of course but fundamentally, my role is a people business and getting people conversant speaking with each other is a real joy. You can always learn to read and write the language a little later but the pleasure of a learning a language, and where it’s easier to see real success quickly is being able to speak to be understood and to understand the response.
You have students from all over the world. Do you find any differences in how people like to learn?
Differences are not really because of their geographic location but more about the individual’s learning styles. People learn differently whether they are from Britain, Singapore, Dubai or anywhere else. I tailor my lessons to the individual’s learning style, their needs and their personal preferences.
It’s not just French language tuition that you do but also consultancy. Tell us more about that.
I also help people living in-county in France with day-to-day tasks. Being able to buy bread at the bakery, have a chat with the Butcher or run round your local Hypermarket is completely different that talking with a solicitor about a house purchase or a local problem or talking with medical professionals about healthcare issues on behalf of your partner. That’s where I can help be the intermediary between a professional and a native English speaker. One such instance was the healthcare issue where a client’s wife was very ill in hospital and whilst the husband could do the shopping and navigate their way around town, the complex nature of the healthcare discussion was beyond his and her capability. I got to know both the husband and wife and engaged with the hospital on their behalf. I understood the situation, the concerns and expectations of the patient and her husband plus the options, benefits and risks from the hospital’s perspective. And with the benefit of today’s technology it’s a very cost effective solution too during situations when people are otherwise lost and quite vulnerable.
What are your top tips for learning French?
Exploring, testing, trialling, making mistakes (it’s part of the learning process) and having fun are essential. I would also say that patience with the learning process is important as is being realistic with your expectations. For all of these reasons, this is why I tailor lessons to suit the individual’s own learning style, their needs and what interests them.
Whatever your motivation, whether you are starting from new and always wanted to learn the language, whether you are more experienced and want to develop your conversation, you might be looking for guidance in-country with healthcare or house buying or perhaps you are looking for support for your business, give me a call with no obligation on 07930 444 078 or email me on [email protected] anytime.
We are getting ready for a busy Bank Holiday weekend here at the Hotel with all the rooms undergoing deep cleans, the ordering is all being done for the restaurant and bar, managers are meeting to look at what’s going on so we are all prepared and the gardener is due to arrive this afternoon for a spruce up!
It is fairly quiet here this evening accommodation wise s most people checked out today to get back to make their plans and set off for their weekends away so if you need a Hotel this evening, we are here for you…
Check Out Our Latest News Update On Our Website And Find Out How Uclan Race Engineering Are Getting On With Their Car On The Run Up To Formula Student 2013!!! Almost Time For Silverstone! https://www.emkayplastics.co.uk/news
Half Term Holidays… UK City Breaks, Norwich isthe perfect escape!
With the little ones of school again so many people are at a loss and stuck for things to do!
We have just reduced the rates for the last of our rooms for you to come and take a trip to Norwich for a quick City Break, the chance to get away and entertain the kiddies without breaking the bank…
Norwich has so much to offer with the Norfolk Broads, Norwich City Centre for the shopping, museums, restaurants and more, bowling, cinema, skating or nature walks all within easy reach of the Brook, Norwich by car or by bus.
Check out the deals on our website and make sure you tell your friends, you wouldn’t want them to miss out on the chance to come and stay for a little break away!www.brookhotel.co.uk
STM Packaging Group appointed Bigfork to design 4 new websites for each group company (STM Group, Sefton Transmail, The Polythene Company, Shirplass). STM manufacture polythene packaging and mailing products and wanted the websites to have a strong visual impact. You can see to full story and websites on our website.