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dblo interior residential architects UK have grown from strength to strength over the years as architects Chelsea and surrounding areas. Their dedicated team have proven their excellence in design work by the various awards and recent ISO 9001 architecture accreditation received.

dblo architects Knightsbridge are passionate about enhancing lives through design ensuring each project undertaken is completed exactly according to the clients requirments.

dblo Architects are very pleased to announce the following:

DBLO ACHIEVES ISO 9001 REGISTRATION FROM

THE BRITISH ASSESSMENT BUREAU

London based Architects Practice DBLO Associates Architects has achieved the internationally recognised ISO9001, establishing it as one of the leaders in its field.

This independent assessment was conducted by the leading Certification Body, the British Assessment Bureau and demonstrates DBLO’s commitment to customer service and quality in delivery.

DBLO has now earned the right to display the coveted British Assessment Bureau ISO 9001 certification mark to demonstrate its conformance to the standard.

ISO 9001 was first introduced in 1987 and requires organisations to demonstrate that they do what they say they do and that they have a quality management system in place to ensure consistency and improvement; leading to high levels of performance and customer satisfaction. Certified organisations are committed to continuous improvement and are assessed annually to ensure progress is being maintained.

DBLO has shown that it has good service reliability and process controls which means lower costs for its customers!

DBLO Partner said, “We are particularly pleased to have achieved ISO9001 certification as it underlines our commitment to our clients and our focus on quality.  Not many clients get to see their suppliers’ ‘back-office’ activities.  This recognition demonstrates we can provide a quality solution from quotation to delivery.”

The benefits of registration to the ISO9001 standard include:-

• Streamlining an organisation’s procedures.
• Bringing consistency to an organisation’s service delivery.
• Reducing cost and rework.
• Improving an organisation’s management practices.
• Enhanced status.
• Competitive advantage.

Partners at DBLO have over 15 years’ experience within the Construction Industry and the practice has evolved steadily from its formation in 2001. As well as having projects published in Dezeen, It was recently shortlisted for ‘Best Project By A Small Practice’ in the 2015 Blueprint Awards.

Hi, and welcome to the weekend. It’s going to be a very busy one as all our Cicchetti restaurants are fully booked! Tonight I will be going to London to see all our fantastic customers and maybe even have a little Prosecco with them, as tomorrow I will be visiting Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park London with my children to see Santa.

Chefs get asked the same questions around this time of year and it normally involves how to cook a turkey. This week’s book, Christmas, by Gordon Ramsay has the answers plus this alternative lunch.

So if you don’t fancy turkey why not try pan-fried duck breast which marries very well with the orange and the cranberry sauce then the Christmas bombe. This is a must buy book for Christmas, full of fabulous recipes. We’ll have some more festive ideas for you next week. Ciao!

Best turkey recipe and more….

Pan-fried duck with spiced orange and cranberry sauce

4 duck breasts, about 225g each

4 juniper berries

Pinch of caraway seeds

1 tsp allspice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the spiced orange and cranberry sauce:

100ml ruby port

100g fresh cranberries

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

½ cinnamon stick

1 star anise

300ml chicken stock

1-2 tsp cranberry or redcurrant jelly, to taste

30g butter, diced

SERVES: 4

PREPARATION: 20 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 20 MINUTES

Lightly score the skins of the duck breasts with a sharp knife. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the juniper berries, caraway seeds, allspice, 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of pepper to a powder. Rub the spice mix all over the duck breasts and leave to stand for about 10 minutes.

Lay the duck breasts, skin side down, in a dry heavy-based large frying pan and gradually turn up the heat. Fry for 5-10 minutes, until most of the fat has rendered and the skin is golden brown.

Turn the duck breasts over and lightly brown the other side for a couple of minutes, or until they feel slightly springy when pressed. Remove from the pan and leave to rest in a warm place while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, pour off excess fat from the frying pan and place over a high heat. Pour in the port, stirring to deglaze, and let it bubble for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients, except the butter, and bring to the boil.

Let it bubble until the liquid has reduced by two-thirds and thickened to a syrupy consistency. The cranberries should be very soft; squash a few with a wooden spoon, leaving the others whole. Add any juices from the resting duck. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add a little more jelly if desired. Finally, add the butter and shake the pan to incorporate it as it melts.

Slice the duck breasts on the diagonal and fan them out on warmed serving plates. Spoon the sauce around the duck and serve with parsnip purée and creamed cabbage with thyme if you like.

The key to being part of Dukes of Daisy team as a companion is presentation. You don’t need to be Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie! However it’s important to always present yourself well on paper, in pictures and particularly in person – put your best foot forward!

The old saying ‘First impressions are lasting impressions’ is so true in this industry as you need to ensure your clients feel comfortable and relaxed in your company. Providing a service as male escorts is especially challenging as the ladies immediately size you up and have to put their trust in you.

Wayne is Tall friendly with a nice smile , GSH guy , confident and witty , love meeting new people

The rent a man London service offered at Dukes of Daisy is professional, discreet and affordable. We ensure that our clients feel confident, relaxed whilst having a good time. The great thing about choosing a companion from Dukes of Daisy is that you can choose the exact person you would like by viewing the hundreds of on-line profiles and choosing the person who attracts you the most by either their looks or their attributes they describe about themselves.

Rent a woman London is a perfect way to get a date without being in a relationship, especially if it’s for a year-end work function.

Jo is a beautiful Brazilian-born mature escort in her 40s.Charming, feminine, sophisticated, down on earth, happy personality and with a good sense of humour, artistic, her open-mindedness and the fact she’s a true conversationalist make her a great companion. Jo enjoys to travel, to paint and to design jewellery . She’s a strong and independent woman who knows how to behave in different situations.

IBS are proud agents in the US & UK for many products such as new Siemens Turbomachinery Blowers and hold the largest range of new, reconditioned and service exchange Blowers in stock ready for immediate dispatch. They also provide a full service and maintenance service for Siemens HV Turbo Blowers.

IBS are constantly monitoring advances in industrial blower technology and tailor their service to provide support for the newest and oldest machines thus affording industry valuable maintenance cost cutting opportunities.

Each member of this innovative team ensures they continually strive to give of their best and collectively ensure their clients experience excellent service with no unnecessary downtime.

With the holiday season firmly on our doorstep IBS want to remind their clients of their commitment to you and the Site Visits and Support you may require. Their team of experienced engineers provide on-site services and technical/sales staff available to provide telephone support.

Emergencies

For site emergency situations, during working hours, they have a turnaround time of 4 hours to respond based on distances up to 100 mile radius from our nearest available engineer. Our offices are open from:

8.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday

8.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m. Friday

IBS would like to wish their customers and future customers a very happy holiday season and looking forward to your continued business in 2016.

Robert Lodge is area manager for the newly opened Cobham Branch of Lodge Brothers. Funeral Directors Cobham have wasted no time in getting involved in the community and showing the caring ethos indicative of members of staff throughout the Lodge Brother branches. If there is a need within the community Lodge Brothers recognise the need to get involved and put all their effort into making a difference.

They are currently collecting stamps to help with Leukaemia sufferers.

Lodge Brothers of Cobham Needs your Help Collecting Stamps for Leukaemia Care

Leukaemia Care is a national blood cancer support charity. We are dedicated to ensuring that anyone affected by blood cancer receives the right information, advice and support.

Whether lives are measured in days, weeks, months or years, Leukaemia Care make every day count.

Support Leukaemia Care today by sending your recycled stamps to Lodge Brothers in Cobham.

Claire Nightingale, our Branch Funeral Arranger has been collecting stamps for a while and was only too pleased to learn that the collection of stamps she has been storing could be put to good use for Leukaemia Care, for every 1KG of stamps collected £20 is generated for Leukaemia Care.

Claire now offers the challenge to the residents of Cobham to bring in their used stamps and support this great local charity. Get in touch with them today and see how you can make a difference.

Lodge Brothers can be found at 3 Hollyhedge Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3DQ. Tel 01932 450360

Lodge Brothers would like to take this opportunity to wish all their clients a very happy festive season!

Knowall IT are very pleased to announce the winner of the Innovation in Business award at the West London Business Awards Dinner. Celebrating excellence is their dedicated team whom collectively have made this possible. A well-deserved win for the experts in the IT industry with their innovative technology which includes Private Cloud Computing. Without their team of professionals who are committed to their work as well as their customers Knowall would not have achieved this prestigious award.

What is Knowall IT success?

“Our success is built on the development of long lasting client relationships, by providing; a client focused, hands on and personal approach, whilst striving to deliver technologies and solutions that exceed our clients’ expectations”

Now you might be wondering what cloud computing means?

“Cloud Computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer”

Benefits of Cloud Computing in your business:

• Employees become more productive with easy single logon access to any of the applications they need at any time, from any device.
• An uncompromised user experience that seamlessly moves with them and changes to fit the device they prefer to use.
• Your company is safer. Applications and Data are stored in a secure purpose built Tier 3 ISO certified UK data centre. If a device is lost or stolen you and your employees can rest easy as the data and applications do not live on the device.
• Built in Redundancy – all our solutions have multi-site redundancy with 99.99% SLAs including automatic offsite backups.
• Limitlessly scalable – Scale up or down to meet the changing needs of your business.
• Simple subscription model means your monthly expenses are predictable without the capital expense.

Click here for more information on Infrastructure as a Service – IaaS London

Knowall IT would like to take this opportunity to wish their clients a very merry festive season, we look forward to working with you in the New Year.

Spencer King owner of DIY Marquees share  some interesting ideas, news and advice on  his blog, he has been passionate about  Marquees for many years and with all the  experience he has had with starting his own  business he is very happy sharing his  knowledge and expertise especially with  passionate individuals wanting to start their  own business.

Whether its marquee lighting or whether you need advice on buy party tent Spencer is you man.

Spencer has thanked everyone for visiting their  stand at this year’s Showmans Show.

Showmans Show 2015 – review

“Thank you to everyone who came and visited our stand at The Showmans Show 2015. I grew up on stands at various outdoor shows and as I’ve said previously The Showmans Show is so much better organised and so much more exhibitor-friendly than any other show we have exhibited at it is a joy to be a part of.

The atmosphere among the marquee hire trade in general is so much more positive and upbeat than just a few years ago.

Our newly designed demi-marquees seemed to go down very well, they are based on a concept we developed years ago but it’s nice to at last produce a more polished model. The deluxe version will be available early 2016 with a commercial model to follow.

The best part of the show is meeting people. Whether it’s meeting new start-ups with the energy they bring or existing customers that we have dealt with for years. There are also a number of past customers who pop in having moved on to the bigger machinery-erected structures that intimidate and impress me in equal measure!

Thanks for visiting us, I hope to see you at next year’s show.

Spencer “

Read this excellent blog on Selling used marquees by a man called Ben Dawson who has written a really interesting blog post on Linkedin: Selling used equipment – marquees especially

‘For those who don’t know Ben he’s the man who set up curlew.co.uk which is simply the place to sell second hand marquees or associated equipment. He’s a very, very knowledgeable person on marquees and I can only agree with all the points he makes’.

How much is a second hand marquee worth?

I’m often asked how much a marquee is worth.

The simple answer is as much as someone is willing to pay for it.

There are many factors that you should consider; here are a few…

Who made the marquee

There are a few factors that I’ve got to take into account.

1) Unknown manufacturer (The customer has no way of knowing the quality of the marquee frame or covers)
2) They will not be compatible with existing stock (Roder, Tectonics and Custom Covers).
3) I don’t know how much they cost new so may assume they are cheaper that they really are.

Imagine you were buying a car, which would you buy… a BMW, or a car made by Guangzhou Automobile group (China). There is no question. They may or may not be of equal quality, however, I know which one I would buy.

Again using the analogy of used cars a second-hand 10 year old Ford keeps more of its value than a BMW. Possibly because there are more cheap spare parts for a Ford or more people want a cheap run-around than a big old gas guzzling luxury car.

Still, considering buying cars, people will pay much more for a car from a main dealer than a back street garage. And again less if the car is sold privately.

Profile Size

The same width of marquee can be made with different sizes of profile.

It makes sense to have one profile for different number of widths of marquee. This means that for example you can have a 12m marquee on a small profile that is one third of the weight of the heavy profile.

Generally heavy profiles are more expensive to buy new and you receive less money when you sell them second hand.

This is because the heavy profile requires more material to make however is less attractive to a smaller marquee company who generally prefer marquees that are easier and quicker to put up. As well as much easer to transport.

Condition is King!

As an item gets older apparent age is more important that it’s actual age, for example if something is 10 years old and looks new then it will be worth more than a new marquee that looks 10 years old!

This also applies to how you present your marquee for sale. If the photos look like they are from a wedding magazine your marquee is worth much more than if you can’t be bothered to stack the marquee neatly and it looks like you are looking at scrap parts.

Timing

The price should be based on the price you can buy the equipment NOW not the price you bought it for.

So if prices rise or fall with inflation or exchange rates so do second hand prices.

There is more demand leading up to the summer season than just before Christmas!

However it’s just after Christmas when I get the most people looking at the website. However many of them take time to get into the buying mood. I have always said customers have to smell the chocolate of Easter eggs before they buy marquees. However Marquees do sell all year round. And if your marquee is not on the site customers can’t buy it.

Service

In my experience the marquees that sell quickly are the ones where the vendor offers just a little bit more….

For example

• Help with delivery
• It will be cleaned before we sell it to you
• Advice on using the marquee
• Training in the correct erection of the marquee
• Complete installation
• Ongoing support running the business
• Offer to take back the marquee if they are not happy with it

The last item on this list may seem extreme. However customers are averse to taking risks, often you will not be able to see the condition of the marquee until you have bought it.

When I was selling marquees I used to give this following offer. “If you don’t like the marquee when you put it up for the first time, just give it back in the same condition that you bought it in and I will give you a full refund, less the price of a hire” In 15 years of selling marquees I never had one come back (however all my marques were in as described condition)

Depreciation

I have made the following table.

This assumes you lose 25% of a marquees value as soon as you have bought it. Then 10% per year….

Some sizes of marquees hold their value better than others i.e. 9M wide marquees hold their value better than 3m x 3m marquees.

The age something looks is more important than it’s actual age. (if your kit is 2 years old but looks 10 it’s only worth 26% of it’s original value!)

Conversely – If your marquee is 15 years old, and you have looked after it and it still in a 4 year old condition, then it’s still worth 50% of what you bought it for!

Spencer and his team would like to wish all their customers a very happy holiday this festive season and looking forward to doing business with you in 2016!

Contact Spencer by clicking here Pop up Marquees

RUMM renowned for their innovative energy management services using Automatic Monitoring & Targeting to reduce business energy consumption.

Read a case study by RUMM on one of their clients –  RPC Containers who had a 14% reduction in Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) in the first year.

The Client

The RPC Group is Europe’s leading manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging. With just under 50 autonomous sites in 12 countries, the company employs in excess of 6,500 people.

The Brief

RUMM was asked to investigate energy usage at RPC’s Llantrisant plant and provide solutions and suggestions for reducing the annual energy bill.

The Method

The installation at RPC was carried out in two stages.

Following the completion of the aM&T system, where 17 meters were installed across the site, a benchmarking exercise then took place in order to identify where energy was being used and equally where there was opportunity for savings.
RUMM and RPC then engaged in an energy management partnership to achieve savings. This included regular weekly meetings to discuss options that could save the company money.

The main areas targeted were chippers, high and low pressure compressors, dryers, leak detection, lighting and chillers. Site analysis was carried out based upon production output, and thus specific energy consumption (SEC) was analysed and this was benchmarked to fully understand energy consumption characteristics

The Results

As a result of the measures put in place; energy consumption in the first 5 months was reduced with specific energy consumption reducing by 14%. This equated to a £120k saving in the first year alone.

Why it Worked

The key for the success was the commitment from RPC to control costs and the close working Partnership with RUMM. The general manager was committed to the project and encouraged the whole company to make it a success.

“RUMM pushed us, the staff responded and with a target of a 17% reduction in 2 years, we achieved more than 10% in one year alone. The actions ranged from monitoring and targeting specific areas, to simply installing time switches on lighting – but the savings were there.On behalf of RPC Llantrisant, I have no hesitation in recommending RUMM to reduce your energy consumption.”

Manufacturing Manager, RPC Containers

It’s the season of celebrating and no better way to celebrate than with a Year End Party! Are you having a work function this festive season and not sure what to do or where to have it? Perhaps you want a themed party or something different than the usual meal out? Marquee Hire have the perfect solution, why not hire a pop up marquees and pick a theme, dress code and décor?

Marquee Hire have years of experience in the entertainment and corporate arena and specialise in large events. They will assist with the type of marquee or part tents required right down to the finer details of the event. They will give you the most practical and honest advice about what is most suitable thus ensuring be it a wedding or a corporate event will be successful.

Marquee Hire Sussex will assist you with the finer details such as the layout of furniture and equipment in the marquee which requires careful consideration.

Their vast knowledge and years of expertise will guide you through the options to ensure you achieve the optimal use of space and flow of guests.

Areas of consideration include:

• Arrival/entry
• Formal seating
• Soft seating
• Table types (we stock a large variety of tables types including round, oval, poseur and trestle)
• Chill out area
• Dance floor
• Bar areas
• Outside areas

From the team at Marquee Hire we wish our customers a very merry festive season!

If you live in South East of London, Marquee Hire Surrey will be able to assist with your hiring needs.

South Africa who had a bad start to the World Cup Rugby 2015 tournament against Japan have gone from strength to strength getting into the Semi Finals against New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 24th October at 16.00.

South Africa captain Fourie du Preez snatched the Springboks a 23-19 quarter-final victory over Wales with a try five minutes before the end which his coach Heyneke Meyer described as”pure genius”.

With Wales leading 19-18 and poised for only their third victory against the Springboks in 109 years, number eight Duane Vermeulen broke away blindside from a scrum near the Welsh 22-metre line and threw an audacious pass behind his back to scrum-half du Preez, who sprinted to the corner to touch down.

The clever move, which the Springboks had been rehearsing all week on the training field, secured South Africa a place in a semi-final against either New Zealand and France, who meet in Saturday’s later quarter-final.

“I would like to kiss Fourie. I have always said coaching is overrated. You have to pick players with character and who perform under pressure,” Meyer said. “That try was just pure genius.”

The Springboks, who began the tournament with a shock loss to Japan, proved they have developed a fighting character during this tournament to turn the match around.

CONTRASTING STYLES

Fly-half Handre Pollard set the foundations for the South African victory with 18 points from his boot, after a first–half try from scrum-half Gareth Davies and 14 points from goalkicker Dan Biggar had put Wales within reach of one of the biggest victories in their history.

Biggar had to watch the last seven minutes on the touchline after he was taken off for a head injury assessment. The fly-half had been inspirational for Wales, setting up the try which secured a 13-12 half-time lead.

As expected, the match was an intensely physical encounter that featured two contrasting styles of play, with South Africa attacking largely through their powerful forwards while Wales tried to move the ball wide with their backs as often as possible.

Welsh indiscipline helped South Africa to an early 9-3 lead courtesy of three penalties from Pollard, but in the 18th minute Biggar’s brilliance gave Wales their only try.

The fly-half put up a high kick on the half-way line, raced ahead and caught it on the Springbok 22-metre line, before squeezing a brilliant pass to Davies on his right to score near the posts. After a fourth Pollard penalty restored the Springboks’ advantage, a long-range drop goal from Biggar secured Wales a one-point lead at the break.

SPRINGBOK PRESSURE

South Africa missed an opportunity to regain the lead at the start of the second half when Pollard missed a penalty attempt, before a 45-metre effort from Biggar stretched the Wales lead to 16-12.

The Springboks applied all the pressure in the third quarter of the match, running multi-phase attacks through their pack. However, Wales defended superbly and South Africa’s only reward for a dominant period of play was a Pollard drop-goal.

The Springbok fly-half missed a second penalty kick, while his fifth success from the tee was matched by Biggar to keep the Welsh one point ahead at 19-18 with 10 minutes remaining.

But with Biggar off the pitch and the Welsh tiring, South Africa kept up the pressure before seizing their winning try in clinical fashion, du Preez (pictured above celebrating) crossing the line in the 75th minute for the match-winning touchdown.

“We are absolutely gutted. I am proud of the performance of the guys,” Wales coach Warren Gatland said. “The boys gave everything, emptied their tanks but we just weren’t good enough to hold on for 80 minutes.”