I would like to congratulate our Secretary Felicity Webb of Virtual Assistant UK, on winning the South East England Virtual Assistant of the year 2018 and then coming RUNNER UP in the England Virtual Assistant of the year held at the Business Show at Excel London on 15th November. There is further information about Felicity’s success in this newsletter.
The BDCC is looking for one more person to join the committee. If you are interested, please contact peteels@virginmedia.com for more information.
Please remember to use the member to member special offers which are on our website www.berkhamsted-chamber.co.uk particularly as Christmas is approaching. If you wish to make a member to member offer, please contact peteels@virginmedia.com.
NEW MEMBERS
Katy D’Souza – Brasier Freeth LLP, 38 Clarendon Road Watford Herts WD17 1HZ – Chartered Surveyors, Valuers and Commercial Property Experts.
Chad Harwood-Jones – Ad-Rank Media R/O, 234 High Street Berkhamsted HP4 1AG – Content and Digital PR Agency.
David Mellor – David Mellor Music / The Think Ahead Group, 5 Church Farm Station Road Aldbury HP23 5RS – Professional musician and composer a member of the Royal Society of Musicians.
Paul Miller – Fairstone Financial Management, 2 The Spinney Berkhamsted HP4 3YS – Independent Financial Advisor.
EVENT REPORTS
On the 10th of October there was a Pop-Up at William Young 1876 bespoke tailors. Nigel and Liliana Salisbury showed us their full range of tailored products and both were dressed immaculately. They provide bespoke, made to measure and made to order clothing for both sexes, and it was a very interesting insight into their world. If you wish to visit them, please contact info@williamyoung1876.com.
On Wednesday 24th we were invited to the Berkhamsted Arts Centre incorporating the Vyne Theatre on Northbridge Road, for a tour of the centre and a viewing of Funny Girl starring Sheridan Smith, recorded live from the West End. The tour was great, and there is a lot happening in their site. They are asking if we can get involved with them and there is another item in Member’s News.
The breakfast meeting on the 7th November was well attended and Susan Barrett from RabbIT Training presented some very helpful information as to how to get more out of your use of Word and Excel.
On Thursday 8th November we had a wine tasting with a difference, at the Open Door Community centre at 354 High Street Berkhamsted. The wines, including prosecco and sherry, were introduced, and instead of being told what food to buy, we were given the food, which really enhanced the wine tasting. We will be booking it again for 2019. On top of that, all the wines were bought locally. So, for those of you who could not attend, they were:
Type
Supermarket
Price and Size
Prosecco – Cremant du Jura
Aldi
£8.29 – 75cl
Sherry – Exquisite Collection Fino
Aldi
£5.99 – 50cl
White – Les Ruettes Sancerre
M&S
£16.00 – 75cl
Red – Fusion Malbec
Waitrose
£8.45 – 75cl
Sweet – Asti Spumante
Tesco
£5.50 – 75cl
BDCC FUTURE EVENTS
The next breakfast meeting will be on Wednesday 9th January 7.15AM to 10.00AM which will be held at the Berkhamsted Cricket Club. The speaker is Katie Farrell Transformation Coach from Catalyst Coaching and the subject is “Kick Start 2019 with impact and intent”.
Berkhamsted Town Hall will be holding a Pop-Up meeting on Wednesday 27th February 6.15 pm to 8.00PM. For those of you who have never seen the function rooms in the Town Hall, this is an opportunity to see what is available.
There will be the annual barbecue on Wednesday 12th June which this year will be at the Berkhamsted Cricket Club.
Solario Racing will be running the Windsor Races event again in early July.
We are always open to ideas for meetings and networking events. If you would like us to stage an event or will do one yourselves, please contact Peteels@virginmedia.com
MEMBER’S NEWS
AGE UK
Age UK are selling Christmas Cards and big print calendars. The cards are £3 for a pack of 10 or £5 for 2 packs. The calendars are £3 each or £5 for 2. Please contact Melanie Clarke at OperationsMGR@ageukdacorum.org.uk.
BERKHAMSTED TOWN HALL
Berkhamsted Town Hall, in conjunction with Gadebourne Lodge will be holding a charity Burns Night on Saturday 26th January 2019. Tickets are £35 each and include a 3- course meal (with haggis), a bar, some Burns Poetry, and a few toasts. There is also a calling band The Hayloft, for those who wish to indulge in energetic dancing. Profits will go to various charities, including the Town Hall Trust and AgeUK Dacorum. Please order tickets from peteels@virginmedia.com. Arrival is 7.00 PM for 7.30PM and dress is highland, black tie or lounge suit.
BERKHAMSTED TOWN COUNCIL
Berkhamsted Town Council are looking for a new Deputy Town Clerk. If anyone knows of any person who would be interested, please contact the Town Clerk Janet Mason on 01442 800152.
FELICITY WEBB – VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
Felicity Webb has given us more information on her 2018 award and says that “The VA of the year award recognises professional excellence within the industry, especially looking for good practice. The judges are particularly keen to see how each nominee’s passion for their business and awareness of vision, purpose and values is reflected in their successful business model” For more about the UK VA Awards 2019 visit www.vaconference.co.uk or contact Felicity on 07702 349962 or email felicity@thevirtualassistant.com
RICHARD PERRY – ACTION COACH
Richard Perry of Action Coach, runs the Growth Club: The 90 day planning club for ambitious business owners,
He is offering a taster session for BDCC members at an introductory rate. This is a series of four 90 day action planning workshops per year, using practical sessions and workbooks to reassess every aspect of your business. The Core elements are:
- Strategy Review and Re-Align
- Accelerate Sales and Marketing
- Review Annual Goals
- Build 90 Day Action Plan
The price, including preparation pack and a comprehensive planning pack, plus the coach is £200 + VAT.
Please contact Richard at richardperry@actioncoach.com
SUSAN DOBINSON – BEAUTIFUL CEREMONIES
It has just been announced that the cost of funerals will be referred the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), but we have a member Susan Dobinson of Beautiful Ceremonies, who specialises in this business sector. Susan has informed me that the cost of funerals has increased by two thirds over the last yen years, and crematoria fees by over 80%. She also said that there has been no discernible improvement of quality. Susan, who is an independent celebrant, offers independent advice on personalising funerals and at the same time massively reducing costs, yet many people are unaware that this service is available.
On a lighter note Susan also helps clients celebrate weddings, bar and bat mitsvahs, and important anniversaries. Please contact her on 07958 112335 E Mail susan@beautifulceremonies.org for more information.
THE VYNE THEATRE
The Vyne Theatre and dance academy are looking for advertisers for their next Vyne Events brochure. They are finalising their issue for Spring/Summer 2019 and produce some 3000 full colour A5 brochures which they distribute in Berkhamsted and Tring, they have a number of classes and events and state that they are almost open 24/7!!! Their rates are from £109.
For December and January, they are showing:
- Sunday 9th December at 6.00PM Anthony and Cleopatra from the National Theatre
- Sunday 23rd December at 3.30PM The Nutcracker from the Bolshoi
- Sunday 20th January at 3.00PM La Bayadere from the Bolshoi
- Sunday 27th January at 2.00PM The Queen of Spades from the Royal Ballet
For both the brochure and shows please contact them at admin@berkhamstedartscentre.co.uk
OTHER NEWS AND ACTIVITIES
ROYAL MAIL
They are holding a Christmas Competition with four prizes. The first two are £1000 each and are for either a photo of your festive shop window display or tell them about the special festive communications you have planned for your customers. There are also two runners up prizes of £500 each. The competition is from now until Sunday 16th December. You can apply by social media by uploading your photo or comment to Twitter or Instagram including #RoyalMail and #smallbizfestivecompetition as well as your own username. Don’t forget to tag @RoyalMail on Twitter or @RoyalMailOfficial on Instagram.
I hope you all have a very good Christmas and a Happy New Year
Best Regards,
Pete Elsworth – Chair