Western Morning News, The Plymouth (UK) back issues from March 2007:
By gosh Jeeves, there's a course for butlers
Mar 01, 2007 ... A NEW qualification developed by City & Guilds means one of theUK's oldest professions will finally get the recognition it deserves. This follows Prime Minister Tony Blair's quest for a new butlerfor No 10. Available to new students and those already working in ...
Juggling family life and work is a skill
Mar 01, 2007 ... Anyone who's started a family doesn't need to be told what a life-altering experience having kids is. Suddenly there's someone moreimportant than you in your life and the changes that come along withthis - both emotional and practical - make the mind boggle. There are tough choices ...
Pension costs eat into take-home pay
Mar 01, 2007 ... Almost half of UK firms believe the rising cost of running apension scheme has hit employees' wage packets, new research isindicating. A survey by Aon Consulting found that 49 per cent of companiessaid the increased cost of their final salary pension scheme hadimpacted negatively ...
Dialogue is key to retaining talent
Mar 01, 2007 ... Workers in a new job are often hit by a "seven-month itch" whenthey start thinking about whether to stay or move on, according to anew report. A survey of 1,400 office employees showed that four out of fivebelieved seven months was a "crucial milestone". One in five of those ...
Rsi is costing industry millions
Mar 01, 2007 ... Firms are being urged to do more to prevent workers developingrepetitive strain injuries after new research showed the problem wascosting industry pounds300 million a year. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said 86,000 new casesof RSI were recorded last year among ...
Staff seek help in playing their part
Mar 01, 2007 ... Most workers are keen to help their firms cut carbon emissions,but want more help from their employers to show them how, accordingto a new report. The Carbon Trust surveyed 1,200 employees across the UK and foundthat fewer than one in five is happy that their firm is doing ...
Business link beats targets
Mar 01, 2007 ... Business Link Somerset outstripped all its performance targets in2006, an independent audit of the service has shown. The public-funded agency was shown to have been working with morethan 45 per cent of businesses in the county, the highest percentagein the South West, with a ...
Awards hit new high on value of entries
Mar 01, 2007 ... Arecord entry into the Michelmores and Western Morning News annualCommercial Property Awards represents properties and projects worthalmost half a billion pounds, organisers have announced. Nearly 50 entries in six categories have been received and thejudges will meet next month at ...
Developers warned on knotweed threat
Mar 01, 2007 ... It can grow at an alarming rate, it's not fussy where it lives andif you don't get rid of it you could end up with a hefty bill andsome potentially extremely unhappy neighbours. Not a lot of people know this, but if you are not careful,Japanese knotweed, aka Fallopia Japonica, can ...
Hotel bound to appeal to lifestyle purchasers
Mar 01, 2007 ... Asmall hotel run as a lifestyle business on the North Cornwallcoast is being offered for sale. Tolcarne House Hotel at Boscastle is being marketed by ColliersRobert Barry. Set in substantial lawned grounds, the eight-bedroom hotel is inan elevated position with views over ...
Michelin starred restaurant on offer
Mar 01, 2007 ... A devon restaurant featured in the famed Michelin guide for thelast seven years is on the market. The Seafood Restaurant in Exmouth occupies an unusual cornerterraced property. Accommodation is laid out over three floors with the restaurant onthe ground floor seating 40 ...
Cornish firms set sights on wooing UK's defence giants
Mar 01, 2007 ... The Eurofighter Typhoon. Fifty two feet of carbon composites,titanium and supremely agile avionics. Look it up on the Internet andit will tell you it was made by BAE Systems and Rolls Royce. But itwould not be able to get off the ground without vital components atthe heart of its ...
Extreme sport school for sale
Mar 01, 2007 ... An extreme sports school in North Devon has been placed on themarket as its founder is planning to emigrate to Australia. Point Breaks was launched ten years ago and grew out of Croyde'sfirst ever surf school. It employs freelance training instructors and as well as ...
New offices and units to let on park
Mar 01, 2007 ... Modern offices and industrial units are available on flexibleterms in South Devon. Joint agents Drew Pearce and Monk and Partners are marketing theproperties at New Mills Business Park at Modbury. The purpose-built two-storey office block is available as a wholeor in smaller ...
March - the month to go global
Mar 01, 2007 ... Uk Trade & Investment (UKTI) South West is coordinating a month-long series of activities during March 2007, which will educatebusinesses about developing into overseas markets. International Month, which is being run right across the South ofEngland in partnership with UKTI South ...
Railway shed converted to ultra modern offices
Mar 01, 2007 ... A former Victoria railway building converted into a characteroffice is on the market in Devon. The Engine Shed at Old Broadclyst Station has original Portlandstone arched windows and exposed roof beams. But this distinctivebuilding also has another, more modern, side to ...
Drysuit firmdiving intonew foreign markets
Mar 01, 2007 ... A devon company is making waves in international scuba divingcircles with its innovative range of dry suits and immersion suits. With help from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), Airsub of Dunkeswellis selling its products as far afield as the Netherlands and NewZealand and has had to ...
Baby clothes company has trade all sewn up
Mar 01, 2007 ... A cornish couple are selling their organic designer baby clothesworldwide - after an initial helping hand from UK Trade & Investment. Cut4Cloth, based near the Helford River in Cornwall, now exportsto 16 countries and has trebled in size in the last two years. The company has ...
Brake firm rides in international fast lane
Mar 01, 2007 ... An exeter company that manufactures motorcycle brake kits hasmoved its overseas business up a gear - thanks to a kick-start fromUK Trade & Investment. Hose Equip, of Whitestone, is selling its range of highperformance replacement motorcycle brake line kits under the brandname ...
Exports are key to growth
Mar 01, 2007 ... Major research from Nottingham University has shown thatbusinesses that export perform better than those who do not.Businesses in Devon and Cornwall are no exception and the topperformers in the area are all companies that have maximised theirpotential in the global ...
Space available to let at investment sale unit
Mar 01, 2007 ... Space is available to let in a Cornish industrial unit. Atheneum House at Bodmin, formerly known as 3 Carminow Road, isjust off the main A30 trunk road near the Carminow Roundabout. It has recently been acquired on behalf of a retained client, byMiller Commercial of ...
High premiums for phone abuse
Mar 01, 2007 ... Drivers who flout the new offence of using a mobile telephonewhile driving could end up paying four times more than their fixedpenalty notice, through increased insurance premiums, AA Insurancehas warned. The fixed penalty for use of a hand-held telephone whiledriving has just doubled ...
Quarry tarmac trade officially re-launched
Mar 01, 2007 ... A ONCE-thriving tarmac business has been officially revived at aCornwall quarry with the award of a standards certificate enablingCastle Granite to pitch for major road surfacing contracts. The company owns the Castle-an-Dinas Quarry at Ludgvan, nearPenzance, and has re-established ...
Drill firm also returns to Duchy
Mar 01, 2007 ... Another manufacturing firm has announced it is to return toCornwall, David Wilcock writes. Dando Drilling has revealed it has linked up with engineering firmMetal Surgery to produce its water well drilling equipment in theWestcountry for the first time in two decades. The ...
Exmouth firm makes it big in entertainment world
Mar 01, 2007 ... An Exmouth-based business specialising in making electronicequipment for the entertainment industry is celebrating its firstyear in new premises, the success of new products and its expansioninto markets in the US and the Middle East. GSL Power Distribution specialises in the ...
Wrist rest device launched
Mar 01, 2007 ... A simple device invented by a Devon woman is set to bring somedesktop comfort to people who sit in front of computers for longperiods of time. The "Wrist Donut" is a padded bracelet which continuously cushionsthe wrist and replaces the more familiar but cumbersome wrist restmouse ...
Legal brief
Mar 01, 2007 ... Aggressive adverts and press releases comparing one business'sproducts and services with another's are all the rage. In the cut-throat marketplace, major companies increasingly gohead to head in marketing publications, trying to persuade customersthey would be better off switching ...
Finance matters
Mar 01, 2007 ... Businesses that are family owned or controlled account for three-quarters of companies in the UK, and employ more than half theworkforce in the private sector. They have often been founded by talented entrepreneurs and drivento further success by skilled successors. But family ...
Asking price for hotel reduced
Mar 01, 2007 ... The leasehold asking price on a small hotel and restaurant inCornwall has been reduced. Miller Commercial is now marketing The Globe Posting House inFore St, Fowey, off an amended guide price of pounds167,500 plusstock at valuation. The three-storey terraced property ...
Former garage to be redeveloped
Mar 01, 2007 ... A former garage in Wadebridge has been sold to a local businessmanfor redevelopment. The 0.181 acre site in Eddystone Road has full planning consent todemolish the existing buildings and redevelop the site into a retailunit, bar and cafe at ground ...
Torquay
Mar 01, 2007 ... A MEDIEVAL-themed restaurant and bar is on the market in Torquay.Camelot boasts a "King Arthur's Round Table" and the rooms aredecorated with mock armour and period bric-a-brac. Accommodationincludes a restaurant with bar and servery catering for 50 on theground floor and a first floor ...
Coffee machine business plans high street assault
Mar 01, 2007 ... A south Devon company launched just two years ago is enjoyingnational success on forecourts and in leading convenience stores. Simply Coffee has already reached the number two slot in the UK"bean to cup - coffee to go" market by quenching the thirst ofhundreds of thousands of ...
Programme launched to boost local sourcing
Mar 01, 2007 ... Five businesses based in struggling parts of Devon are to takepart in a unique scheme aiming to boost profits and increase theamount of money circulating within the local economy. Plugging the Leaks, thought to be the first programme of its kindin the country, aims to measure the ...
Spiralling fuel costs are biggest worry for smes
Mar 01, 2007 ... Rising fuel costs have been named as the major business transportconcern by almost two thirds of small business owners and managers inthe South West, according to new research. The findings in the annual transport survey carried out byspecialist business cash flow provider Bibby ...
Yacht firm spends pounds0.3m on new boats
Mar 01, 2007 ... Nonstop Sail - a business operating six-week seaborne trips forsailors looking for a bit of adventure is launching an operation inDevon by investing pounds320,000 in two new yachts. The company already has three yachts taking parties of up to sixadventurers on sailing trips around ...
Opening the way to new tourism scheme
Mar 01, 2007 ... One of the Westcountry's leading tourism organisations islaunching a new grading system which it believes will revolutionisethe market. The groundbreaking scheme is aimed at making accommodationbusinesses in the Westcountry truly first class by giving aninvaluable insight into ...
Fairtrade launch for Cornish chocolatier
Mar 01, 2007 ... It looks good, tastes good, and will now do more good for thefarmers who grow it. This is Cornwall's first ever Fairtradechocolate. The two bars, one dark and one milk chocolate, are the first to beproduced in the county under the Fairtrade banner. Created by Wadebridge-based ...
Beware apathy over bank account fees
Mar 01, 2007 ... It seems it just doesn't pay to manage domestic financesresponsibly. Back in the dark days of the last century, I was peevedto be told by my bank that I should have to pay an annual standingcharge for my credit card. This despite having used it regularly fora number of years, although ...
Why it pays to have strong immigration in Britain
Mar 01, 2007 ... It seems that everybody knows somebody who has had some work doneby a Polish plumber. But the benefits of immigration go beyond themending of leaky taps and burst pipes: your mortgage payments arelower too. To see why, we need to take a closer look at the quantityand quality of migrant ...
Phoney fines on mobiles
Mar 01, 2007 ... As from today, a driver apprehended for using a hand-held phonewhile the vehicle is in motion will be required to fork out pounds60instead of pounds30. And as a result, this illegal activity willshow a marked decrease. What idiocy! Fines for any illegal activity are only effective ...
Riviera plan to make Devon famous for puds
Mar 01, 2007 ... Anew high-quality dessert facility will gear up to full productionnext month with the bold aim of making Devon as well known forpuddings as Cornwall is for pasties. Riviera Desserts, part of the Uniq group, is gearing its pPod upto start full-scale production of hand-finished ...
SW media stars set to enter spotlight
Mar 01, 2007 ... More than 30 creative companies from across Devon and Cornwall will find out tonight whether they have won the region's top mediaawards. The Media Innovation Awards 2007, supported by the Western MorningNews, takes place at St Mellion International Hotel, Golf and CountryClub, ...
Twofour wins BBC series
Mar 01, 2007 ... Plymouth media house Twofour has had a second series of itsdaytime series Open Gardens commissioned by the BBC. It will see 30 new half-hour shows produced for the corporation,fronted by returning presenters Carol Klein and Joe Swift. The series sees them follow gardeners up ...
Superyacht firms to visit Cornwall
Mar 01, 2007 ... The world of super yachts comes to Cornwall this month with amajor two-day showcase event. A 25-strong international delegation of marine sector figures fromall over the world will visit Falmouth next Thursday as part of theUK "Superyacht Tour of Excellence", organised by the ...
Better way to handle Europe
Mar 01, 2007 ... O how would you appeal to UKIP? Perhaps "appealing to UKIP" hasnever crossed your mind. If, however, you had been one of the ninepeople hoping to be selected as the Prospective ParliamentaryCandidate for a Devon constituency I interviewed last weekend, thenit certainly would have ...
Experts' warning on inheritance pitfalls
Mar 01, 2007; ... Finance experts in the Westcountry have warned that millions ofpeople nationally who are banking on an early inheritance could beleft disappointed because of inheritance tax and an ageingpopulation. Exeter-based investment management firm Brewin Dolphin carried outa survey of ...
Pendolino train could have saved my Emily
Mar 01, 2007; ... The father of a teenager who died in a rail crash has claimed lastweek's accident in Cumbria shows the tragedy could have beenprevented if modern trains had been used. Seven people died in the Berkshire rail crash at Ufton Nervet inNovember 2004. Among them were two from the ...
Child witnesses in good hands at court
Mar 01, 2007 ... He facts relied upon by Noel Edmonds in the article in the WMN onFebruary 16, 2007, headed: "Noel slams the courts over childwitnesses", in which he criticised judges for being out of touch andclaimed to be shocked by the lack of support for child witnesses atcourt, are at best out of ...
Police issue warning over 'distraction robberies'
Mar 01, 2007 ... Five pensioners were the victims of distraction burglaries duringwhich cash and other items were stolen from them, police haverevealed. Police said five more such burglaries had been reported with thethieves targeting Cullompton, Honiton, Torrington and Crediton - allin ...
River plate hero's gift to hospital honoured
Mar 01, 2007 ... Descendants of the wartime crew of HMS Exeter will be among dignitaries at the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital this morning forthe unveiling of a special plaque. The commemorative marker has been donated to the hospital byRichard Power, whose brother Norman was a sub-lieutenant on ...
Diggers move in to uproot 15-year-old palms
Mar 01, 2007 ... Four large Cornish Palms have been moved to a new home as plansfor a new Victorian arboretum get under way. The Palms (Cordylines), which are 15 years old, were carefullylifted from their home at Cosgarne Triangle in St Austell and takento a new residence in Newquay. The ...
Safer number plates scheme 'a success'
Mar 01, 2007 ... More than 1,000 vehicles in Somerset now have safer number platesdue to a police initiative in the county. Avon and Somerset Police has been providing tamper-proof bolts inthe area to help combat number plate thefts. Last week, 448 plates were processed at Morrisons in ...
NHS staff to protest at cuts and privatisation
Mar 01, 2007 ... Hundreds of NHS staff in the Westcountry are expected to join anational protest against cuts and privatisation. Health service employees - including nurses, doctors, porters,cleaners and radiographers - will be among the workers supporting theaction on Friday and Saturday. A ...
Libraries' services to youngsters win national award
Mar 01, 2007 ... Cornwall's libraries have won a national award for the servicethey provide to youngsters. The Cornwall Library Service has become only the second in thecountry to win the Quality in Study Support. The award is a recognised quality mark given to schools and otherlearning ...
Alcohol and heroin blamed for deaths of two czechs
Mar 01, 2007 ... Tests have revealed that a lethal cocktail of alcohol and harddrugs was to blame for the deaths of two Czech men in Plymouth. The bodies of Pavel Jindra, 27, and his friend Thomas Pavek, 26,were discovered in the Stonehouse area of Plymouth on February 4. Police described the ...
Councils must repair the roads
Mar 01, 2007 ... There seems to be a direct link between rising council tax andworsening services from local authorities. The more we are asked topay the more striking are the flaws in the service we receive. The Western Morning News reported recently on the reducedfrequency of rubbish collections ...
Resort in pole position to host tall ships race
Mar 01, 2007 ... A westcountry resort is hoping to secure seafaring success afterfinding itself in pole position for the 2009 Santander tall shipsrace. Torbay Hospitality Association has announced the money-spinningmaritime coup and more than 30 majestic vessels could be heading forthe South ...
Youngsters can play their part - Langer
Mar 01, 2007 ... Former Australian Test star Justin Langer believes that Somerset'stalented crop of younger players are ready to assume moreresponsibility this summer. Langer, who retired from Test cricket after helping his team-mates to inflict a 5-0 Ashes series whitewash on England in ...
Test match special team entertain Taunton audience
Mar 01, 2007 ... The Test Match Special team rolled into Taunton on Tuesday nightto entertain a full house at the Brewhouse Theatre, which is situatedjust a short hit from the County Ground. Ralph Dellor hosted the evening that was sponsored by SomersetCounty Cricket Club - and the first member of ...
Yates issues a full apology
Mar 01, 2007 ... Kidderminster Harriers manager Mark Yates has broken his silenceand issued an apology to Exeter City winger Lee Elam for an incidentwhich marred last month's Nationwide Conference clash between the twoclubs. Yates will have to appear before a Football Associationdisciplinary ...
Lee is frustrated in search for new recruits at Torquay
Mar 01, 2007 ... Torquay United are hardly a big attraction at present. The southDevon outfit find themselves stranded at the bottom of Coca- ColaLeague Two, seven points from a position of safety, and findingfresh talent is proving to be very difficult. The Gulls are in desperate need of an ...
Range of services must be maintained
Mar 01, 2007 ... After running a rural post office for just a few months, SallyHarvey is already passionate about the service and calling on peopleto support their local branches. She took over the picturesque branch, complete with shop atLerryn, near Lostwithiel in Cornwall, last ...
Food group's appeal for allotments
Mar 01, 2007 ... Demand for allotments in South East Cornwall has prompted anappeal for land by a new community group. Tamar Food Chain is a recently formed, not-for-profit communityorganisation in the Tamar Valley, which aims to support the communityby promoting local food. After sending out ...
Think security with nestboxes
Mar 01, 2007 ... On with the Nature Watch course. Nestboxes. Sturdy and with alid that opens for cleaning, not those Swiss chalet type that do notopen unless you use a jemmy. When we provide a home for a bird weneed to think security and a dry box for the bird to nest in. I secure lids with a ...
Biosphere management plan agreed
Mar 01, 2007 ... Wildlife experts in the Westcountry have agreed a plan for themanagement of the UK's first "biosphere reserve". More than 40 organisations in North Devon have come together todraft a plan for the 2,250 square mile reserve, which includes theBraunton Burrows, Exmoor, the rivers Taw ...