All the major indicators are showing slow improvements, but that is fine. We know this is going to take a long time, steady growth without a winter dip would be preferred. Hope you got your business rates and tax credits sorted before 1 August – the door is now closed.

Lots of training available via our office on Oldmixon Crescent – Advertising & Promotion, bookkeeping, business start up courses to name but a few.

North Somerset Business Club – one of the most cost effective networking groups in the region. Get your tickets for the Charity Ball on 2 October – being held on the new Grand Pier. Come and look around and support local business and local charities.

Remember to visit the money saver before any big purchase – I would be surprised if Martin Lewis cannot save you money on most of your shopping, including holidays and flights.

Look for new opportunities at all times, but never forget your regular customers – look after them first.

Quote of the week:

“Be careful of reading health books – you may die of a misprint”

Well, it seems like yesterday that a hose pipe ban was imminent and we now have green grass and lots of water – could business be affected as quickly? It is fair to say that we are involved in major changes to our finances and revisiting our original budgets id s vital part of planning our way out of recession.

How’s this for a cheery statistic! In 1999 in the USA a total number of 28,874 people were killed by guns. In Britain the figure was 207. So sales may be down, rain maybe forecast but you are not likely to be shot for a day or two!!

You could of course order the new Bugatti Veyron super sport, crowned the world’s fastest production car with a top speed of 268 mph – how silly!!!

I hope all you retailers, cafes and hoteliers etc are displaying your “Heroes Welcome” stickers. If you do not have stickers then contact Weston-super-Mare Town Mayor. I would love us to be the ‘heroes’ friendliest town’ and be noted for it.

Quote of the day:

“I try to treat my team equally by treating them all differently”
​William Montgomery – on BBC

Caroline who was in Weston super Mare in May at the Winter Gardens, has a close ‘bond’ with Macmillan and enjoys getting involved. The Spy Who Loved me star who famously winked at 007 just before meeting her watery end, is showing her support as a way of saying thanks to Macmillan for helping her in the past. Caroline said:

“My mother sadly lost her fight with cancer but thankfully Macmillan were with us every step of the way, of what was a very difficult time. Their support not just through nursing, but with information and advice really helped the family on the journey. They do such a great job and all the services provided make such a difference. Basically they are there when you need them. To attend or host a coffee morning will make all the difference. Please, please register though I suggest you take your chosen brew stirred and not shaken!”

Macmillan’s Fundraising Manager, Ian Dore, said:

“Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning is a key date in the  Macmillan calendar and to have the support of Caroline is a delightful bonus. Its something she is passionate about and it’s yet another example of how Macmillan helps thousands of people every year. Of course we can only do that through the kind people hosting and attending such events as The Worlds Biggest Coffee Mornings. To that end, nobody does it better. ”

Caroline played ‘Naomi’ opposite Roger Moore in the 1977 bond smash, The Spy Who Loved Me. The film grossed $185.4 million worldwide  and was nominated for 3 Oscars and is often regarded by bond fans as their favourite 007 outing. This is further reflected by Moore himself stating that out of the 7 that he had shot, The Spy Who Loved Me was his favourite.

To register to host your own coffee morning supporting Macmillan Cancer Support on Friday September the 24^th, just visitwww.macmillan.org.uk/coffee

Macmillan Cancer Support wants people across the Weston-super-Mare to take part in the event to help raise millions of pounds to fund local cancer services. In 2009 there were 19 Macmillan coffee
mornings held across Weston-super-Mare raising a fantastic £3630.

But this year the charity is hoping another 20 people in Weston super Mare will hold a coffee morning to raise £6000 to help fund local cancer services.

Currently Macmillan fund 98% of the Cancer Nurse Specialists in Weston General Hospital.

Liz Duvall of Great British Mobility in Weston – super – Mare has held many a coffee morning:

“Everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer and seen the suffering that it can bring. And who knows, any of us could be effected ourselves in the future. The work Macmillan does help’s so many people. So if each of us gives just a little bit we can help Macmillan to help others. We speak to people everyday who are struggling with either their own mobility or that of a partner or family member. It makes you feel very fortunate to still be in good health yourself.

At the end of the day, good as it is, the National Health Service doesn’t have the manpower to carry out the tasks that Macmillan fulfils. And we do need such organisations to fill the gaps between hospital care and all the other aspects of cancer patient’s lives that are affected by their illness.

We have raised money for several years for Macmillan but always had fun whilst doing it. Last year we all wore green and then donated £1.00 each for the pleasure of doing so. We also made cakes and sold them to staff and other office units on our industrial estate. We had a green raffle which all the staff donated something green to and bought raffle tickets to win it all back again. We had donations from home grown green veg to green nail varnish to green underwear, sweets and green bottles! It really does get everyone involved and the offices always enjoy taking part.”

Macmillan’s fundraising manager for Weston super Mare, Ian Dore, said:

“Macmillan is there to help from the moment someone is diagnosed with cancer and the support we provide is vital.  Our doctors and nurses offer specialist medical care and emotional support, while our benefits advisors help cancer patients get the government money they are entitled to.  Macmillan will even provide grants to people with cancer who are struggling financially.

All the services we offer are essential, and we rely on the money raised from events like the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning to fund them. So we are asking people across Weston super Mare to put a smile on their mug and help Macmillan reach more people affected by cancer in their area.”

Fundraising manager Ian Dore continued:

“The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is a really fun event that is easy to take part in, especially as you can tailor it to suit yourself. “If you can’t do it on September 24 then pick another day, if you’re not keen on coffee and would rather have cocktails or even herbal tea then that’s fine as well. All that matters is that you take part and help us raise more from this year’s coffee morning than ever before.”

To take part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday 24 September go to www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee or call 0845 070 1315.
Liz Duvalls contact number: (  01934  ) 875883

Population is predicted to hit 65 million by 2020, that should keep someone busy (in retail I mean)!

Weston’s Water Park is almost ready, the Pier will be open soon, most of the sea defences are complete – bring on the grockells – let’s make hay etc!!

The need for a town train increases to help with parking and mobility around the town centre. This could be your project – talk to me for details.

Just a scan of the new “What’s On” in North Somerset shows there are a lot of people striving to put on interesting and varied events across the county. As for the clever programmes coming from Tyntesfield House – I applaud their ingenuity, we could all take a leaf from their book.

And finally ….

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

​Oscar Wilde

The Great Weston Ride is a new biking event for the Southwest starting off in Bristol, continuing down through the Mendips and passing the rock of ages, the route finally finishes on the lawns in Weston super Mare. The Quad Squad organised by Emma Williams are hoping to raise over £3,000 for this very worthy cause.

Emma of Congresbury said this of her motivation:

“Members of the team have personal reasons for getting involved and It’s quite shocking and upsetting when I realised just how many people I knew had had some direct experience with Cancer. All those that spoke about their experiences wanted to get in the saddle and say thank you for the help and support they received from Macmillan during their difficult journey. It is really heart-warming to see friends and friends relatives step up to take part in this immense challenge enabling them to give something back to the charity that helped them and their families.”

The team intend to do the distance as a relay and not all at once. The Quadricycle provided by The Carriage Company on Weston seafront, is not geared and its 1st all the way. The latter part of the course is reasonably flat but the first 26 miles are demanding for someone on a normal bike, let alone a Quadricycle.

“I am both excited and apprehensive about the challenge. In theory 56 miles on a quadricycle sounds hard, in practice I think it’s going to be really, really tough. I have a strong and motivated team that are up for giving it everything they’ve got, and with the support and help from all our families and friends I genuinely believe we will enter Weston super Mare on the 18th of July, an exhausted but proud team of cyclists. Its going to be a huge physical challenge for all of us.”

Macmillan Cancer Support currently provides 98% of the nurses at the Weston General Hospital and fundraising manager for Weston super Mare, Ian Dore said:

”Make no bones about it, this is not a jog on a beach or a walk in the park type event. The Great Weston Ride, although fun is a tough one. To even contemplate doing it on something less than a fully geared bicycle is one thing, doing it on a Quadricycle ticks the insanity box! The Quad Squad deserve to reach and exceed their target not because just of the arduous task that awaits, but because it reflects their commitment in helping others, after Macmillan have helped them.”

You can show your support and help them achieve their goal by donating via this website http://www.justgiving.com/TheQuadSquad

On the 26th of June there is the opportunity to meet some of the team, make a donation and see the Quadricycle at the Weston super Mare Town Council Community Show

To put my positive spin on things, we must treat this as an opportunity, but that will entail reacting to change very quickly to get the best for our individual businesses.
I am very impressed that one of the first objectives is to cut through some red tape – “bring it on”!!!

The world markets are on radar but just observing and the numbers will tumble and rise in line with policy changes.

RBS announced a further 2,600 job cuts bringing the total to 22,600 – were they over staffed???!!!
22 June is the first budget (hold tight).

Two thirds of businesses not ready for carbon reduction. MORSE report that 72% of respondents are unaware of how to reduce their emissions.

It has now been definitely confirmed that John Penrose MP has taken the post of Minister for Tourism which, as a seaside town, is great for us!

Quote of the Week:
“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it” – Dennis Kimbro

Dates are whispered for the opening of the Grand Pier, the promenade and water park. Weston 200 is progressing well, with a busy programme from the Royal Hotel – firework displays and the Red Arrows booked for August.

Not sure about the country’s economy until we get over the election and they all decide what is happening.

New legislation is in place, not that we need it! Sick notes are out and well notes are in; paternity pay or at least time off, is increasing if booked in the correct manner – visit www.businesslink.gov.uk to get the full story.

Interesting but scary – from 1997 Council staff earning over £30,000 a year went from 3,300 to 38,000, but small businesses have had to take a cut in margins and of course, some lost everything. You could own an airline of course – not much sleep there! But Apple shares hit an all time high with a 90% increase in quarter 2 profits.

Quote of the week:

“Always tell the truth, that way you don’t have to remember what you said”.

Now I’m not the first person to jump up and fight for a cause, but I cannot believe that we live in a country which would allow such a racist group of people to have the right to form a political party. I’m not saying that everyone in the BNP is a racist, but everyone who supports this political party is supporting racism and whilst the BNP aren’t taken seriously at the moment, history has shown that it doesn’t take much to push people towards a radical idea if the alternative isn’t appealing enough. On top of this they haven’t even spelt the name of our town correctly: ‘Western super Mare’!

You just have to take a look at some of their manifesto to imagine what would happen to our country if they ever got into power:

Defence

• Closure of all foreign military bases on British soil - To alot of people this sounds like a good idea, however what better way to alienate a country from the rest of the world.

Economy

• Selective exclusion of foreign-made goods from British markets and the reduction of foreign imports - Now they say selective exclusion, but how far will that extend? More importantly what do you think this would do to prices in the general market? Well if cheap affordable products where banned from the UK, we would see a massive hike in prices as we would have no option but to buy products made in this country, instead of having the choice of what we buy.

• Restoration of British economy and land to British ownership – The same thing happened in Zimbabwe, white land owners who had legally purchased their land and built their lives around it, had it seized, and in some cases violence and murder was used resulting in the deaths of many people who had done nothing wrong.

Immigration

• Immediate halt to all further immigration – This would be economic suicide, what the BNP and most of the people who support a stop to immigration fail to remember that Britain has a varied mix of people from various different races such as the Romans, Vikings, Celts, Saxons etc, and that immigration is what has caused our country to thrive and become an important world power. I believe that we need to bring in a system used in countries like the United States and Australia and only allow people in if they will benefit the economy but never should we halt immigration altogether as we forget that over 300,000 Britons leave the country every year.

• Introduction of a system of voluntary resettlement whereby legal immigrants are afforded opportunity to return to their lands of ethnic origin assisted by a generous financial incentive both for individuals and for the countries in question – Will these people be concentrated into camps upon their departure of the country? This has to be the most ridiculous section of the the BNP manifesto. What they are saying is that legal immigrants, and their descendants should get out of the country, but don’t worry we will give you some money for your troubles. If this isn’t racist persecution in the making I don’t know what is.

Transport

• Motorway speed limits raised and ban on hidden speed cameras – Understandably alot of people are going to like this one, in fact one thing the BNP have realised is that to win votes you need to have policies which people are going to like, however any educated sensible person will soon realise that alot of their policies would be unachievable and the funding for them would most likely come from stealth taxes and general rises in what we have to pay to the government.

In conclusion I will not be voting BNP this election, nor any future election for a party with policies that closely mirror those of the Nazi Party that came to power in Germany during the 1930s and 40s, and although I never see a time when the BNP would gain any kind of majority (in the last election they scored 0.7% of the vote which is less than 500,000 of the voting public), I urge you not to support the death of everything that makes us British.

Matthew Stone is the Editor of the Weston Echo. He is also an established I.T. Professional working for a local database marketing company

My advice is to batten down the hatches and weather the storm, those that do it well will be the survivors and the strength in our future growth and economy. We might expect a stead growth for the rest of the year and some recovery in property sales.

Finance is available – it is not easy, but once you have jumped through the hoops, loans are trickling out. I will be happy to direct clients in the best direction for their business sector.

June is going to be a great month for Weston. Most of the upgrade and road repairs should be completed and there could be some major events near the end of the month. Weston and North Somerset should come alive, so hang in there we have a lot more to look forward to than most.

Weston 200 is gathering more support. The Royal Hotel, which is the centre of our birthday celebrations, has an impressive line up of artists and special events – even Elvis is appearing!!!

The wheel is coming back (great news) and the water park is underway and our now regular steam fair is on the programme – make sure you get a copy of “What’s On” from North Somerset Council. All the events across North Somerset are promoted there and it’s free!

Get involved! Join the North Somerset Business Club, the Chambers of Trade, the Hotels Association, the Federation of Small Business – meet and talk to other businesses. Keep up to date and informed of opportunities.

And finally:

In the 1500’s bread was baked and divided as follows:

• The burnt base was given to the poor
• The middle bit for the working families
• The top to the guests or the rich

And so we have “the upper crust”!

Terry Gilbert is Business Support Manager for the North Somerset Enterprise Agency www.northsomersetenterpriseagency.co.uk as well as being the director for the Weston Town Centre Partnership and Chair for Weston 200 and Weston Arts Social Enterprise.