WHITEBRIDGE NEWS

Winter 2013 / Spring 2014

Volume 9, Issue 2 December 2013

“SSPIRITPIRIT OFOF THETHE ESTATEESTATE”

The Whitebridge Estate Team are always willing and prepared to go the “extra mile” to help tenants of the Estate. Inside this BUMPER issue This resolve was tested in July when a group of “Travellers” appeared on site escorted by Police one Monday evening. The campsite was just off Whitebridge Estate and so our team barricaded the Estate to protect the Coming 2 tenants and property. Soon .. New Tenants After 24 hours of confrontation, damage, bribery and aggravation the travel- lers left to take up residence at the M6 Stafford Services where they contin- Gust Swim 5 ued their disruption. Having School have been reliably informed that it moved ! was the travellers intention to return to Whitebridge a block- Stone in 8 Bloom ade, manned by the Mainte- “Where did it nance Team was set up to en- all begin……. sure no further attempts were made to move back onto the Granting a 9 Christmas Estate. Wish for Phoe- be Many tenants and neighbours supported our team by supply- Looking for 11 ing them with drinks food and ice cream! As distressing as this episode was Donations to wards Defibril- it certainly brought out the “Blitz” spirit in the “Whitebridge Community” lator for the Estate

The Stafford 13 Knot Wishing a very Merry Christmas and a Whitebridge 22 Security Statis- Prosperous New Year to all our Tenants tics Page 2

Coming Soon…

Kip McGrath, Stone have chosen the convenient location of the Whitebridge Es- tate to set up our education centre and have received a warm welcome. Providing tuition in all aspects of English and Maths for ages 4-16, our opening hours will be 4 pm—8pm weekdays and Saturday morn- ings. We will be located in the main offices close to the entrance of the site and hope to be up and running in spring 2014

The curriculum we offer is written and delivered by experienced, fully qualified teachers using a wide variety of resources and activities in a bright and friendly environment. Our aim is to help chil- dren reach their full potential and to improve their confidence.

If you would like to find out more about us our web address is: http://www.kipmcgrath.co.uk

MedSceneMedScene PharmacyPharmacy

Major refurbishment is taking place at Unit 19 prior to occupancy by a new tenant. Dutch company APOTHEEK VOORSORG have decided that Whitebridge Estate is the place to launch their revolutionary pharmaceutical dispensing procedure in the UK. Drugs which would normally be supplied in bulk to be sorted into containers for daily dispensing will now be pouched into individual days supply via automation. An individ- ual who may be on an assortment of tablets per day will receive a whole months sup- ply, each days tablets identified and pouched separately on a continuous roll.

Unit 19 is being refurbished for this exciting new process to begin early in 2014 when Apotheek Voorsorg will begin operating as Med Scene Pharmacy.

We send them our best wishes for their new venture. Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 3

NEW ARRIVALS...NEW ARRIVALS...NEW AR

Stephen James Dodd Welcome to Landscaper Christo- Welcome to Stephen Dodd, who pher Roberts, our newest tenant, can be found in Unit 16D. Stephen who uses Unit 16F as storage for his restores oak furniture. landscaping business.

A warm welcome to Neville Palmer from Palmer Windows and Con- servatories Ltd. He will be moving into Unit 14CPT1 as of 25 December

Expansion & On the Innovate Lifting System, a newly move .. created business enterprise by Pollock Lifts, now operates from Unit 6D. Tech Management (UK) Ser- vices Ltd have relocated into larger office space, Unit 15C And finally………………… from Flat 2. Over the past six months there have Firesafe999 Ltd have moved only been 3 departures from the Es- from Unit 44 into Flat 2. tate.

Whitebridge Storage Solu- Ability Cleaning Ltd decided to close tions have acquired Unit 7AE their business. for additional storage space.

M R Mosaic now occupy Unit Best wishes to Keith Williams & John 16E. Dutton, in their retirement as the Tecni-Form Ltd recently Staffordshire Environmental Fund is moved into Units 1A Factory, being wound up at the end February 1A Office and 14CPT3 relin- 2014. quishing Units 14C, 15A and 19. Heritage Packaging (Staffordshire) Gust Swim School have re- Ltd went into Administration early Sep- cently expanded their business tember. The owner, John Nickisson and are now located in Unit P1B had been a tenant on Whitebridge since 1993, we wish him and his family well. Daniel Moore Photography will be moving into larger premises Unit 18A early next year. Page 4

Will it snow .. Will it snow… Will it snow... How is Snow Formed? Snow is formed when temperatures are low and there is moisture, tiny ice crystals, in the atmosphere. When tiny ice crystals collide they stick together in clouds to become snowflakes. Should enough ice crystals stick together then they will become heavy enough to fall to the ground.

When does snow fall? When precipitation falls as snow the air temperature is below 2oC. In Great Britain, the heaviest snow falls have a tendency to occur when the air temperature is be- tween zero and 2oC. Snowflakes are the collections of ice crystals that group together and can occur in countless shapes and forms, for example prisms, hexagonal plates or stars. Every snowflake is unique, but be- cause they join togeth- er in a hexagonal structure they always have six sides.

The size and make up of a snowflake is dependant on many ice crystals group together and determined by air temperature. At warmer temperatures, the snowflakes will melt around the edges and stick together to become big heavy flakes, creating “wet” snow which sticks together easily and is great for making snow men.

When snowflakes fall through dry, cool air the snowflakes will be small and powdery that do not stick to- gether. This “dry” snow is ideal for snow sports.

UK snow facts… According to the Met Office, the UK gets on average 33 days of snow fall or sleet a year (1971-2000). The majority of this is snow which falls on higher ground where temperatures are cooler. In Scotland, the figure is much higher, with snow or sleet falling on average 52 days.

The Met Office reports statistically the snowiest place in Great Britain is Banffshire in Scotland, with on average, 63.8 days of snow or sleet falling. The least likely place to get snow is Cornwall, an average of only 10.2 days of snow or sleet falling a year.

Energy saving ...

Lighting Tips:  Use energy efficient lightbulbs  Use “natural” daylight whenever possible. Turn off the bulbs and pull back the blinds. En- sure windows are clean  Get staff involved by running a “Switch Off” campaign  Turn off lights in any room that isn’t in use—and remind staff to do the same  Fit presence detector lighting controls that are not inconstant use, ie toilets  Be aware of over lighting. Just as insufficient light causes problems, too much light can lead to glare, headaches and eye strain.  Clean light fittings regularly to ensure they are used to the maximum Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 5

GUST are thrilled to bubbly, eager to help brand new location now be in their new and always has a at Stafford. We are office! We have lots smile. pleased to be deliver- more room to be able ing our sessions at to expand, a lovely Here at GUST we Walton High School kitchen and a train- have some great gift from January 2014. ing room! We would ideas for Christmas like to thank all the including Trunki If you would like to Estate staff who have Paddle packs, gog- worked very hard to gles, swim fins and get it finished and much more, please look- pop in to ing have a fan- look. tastic! GUST We Swim are School also currently very deliver les- book some sessions excit- sons at with GUST Swim ed Stone, Tren- School Ltd please do about our new mem- tham, Hanley, New- pop in to see us at ber of staff member, castle, Uttoxeter and our new abode or call Eli, who has come on Stafford. us on 01785 board to help us with 817534. answering your calls We have recently tak- and the general ad- en on lots of new ses- Thank you. ministration within sions at Newcastle, the office. Eli is very Uttoxeter and a Page 6

More New Arrivals!

Tenants’ News We are delighted to announce two new arrivals for Whitebridge of a very different kind

Macie Autumn Dalmas was born on 24 Septem- ber 2013 weighing 8lb 5oz to Jason and his wife from Bella Access.

A sleeping beauty with Thermograde Ltd are the proud sponsors of new found friend! Scot Hay Cricket Club (SHCC) and their

achievements. Here is delightful, eight month old Megyn, the 2013 saw the resurrection of the SHCC weekend newest member of Na- talie’s family from the cricket team. There were some first class Whitebridge Coffee games, and through the hard work, enthusiasm Shop. and support of the members organized fund

raising events, socials and painting and mowing the first season was a resounding

Jasmin from Renishaws to shave off her locks to raise funds for Arthritis Research UK

Jasmin Naylor has suffered from arthritis since she was 16 years old and finds it is a very poorly understood disease, and wants to raise awareness through her fundraising. As she suffers quite badly from the condition, it restricts her in terms of what she can do to raise money thus she decided to shave her head.

She has always talked about it and now is braving the clippers on Friday 13th December 2013, at work, by a fellow work colleague.

If you wish to support Jasmin, you can make a donation on her JustGiving page, www.justgiving.com/jasmin-naylor or alternatively contact her on 01785 285 006 or 07403 266 896.

You can find out more about Arthritis Research UK on their website www.arthritisresearchuk.org.

We look forward to seeing Jasmin sporting the new Buzz style and hearing about how much funds she raises in our next edition. !!Good luck!! Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 7

A hearty Christmas leftover recipe perfect to chase away those post chilly Christmas days.

Turkey Hot Pie

This pie is a delicious recipe for leftover roast turkey. Serve with mash or bubble and squeak.

Serves 4.

Ingredients For the filling Preparation method 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the bacon lardons until crisp. 100g/3½oz smoked bacon lardons Remove the lardons using a slotted spoon and set aside. 1 onion, sliced 2 In same pan, fry the onions and garlic for 5-6 minutes or until golden brown and 1 garlic clove, crushed softened. 2 carrots, chopped 3 Add the remaining ingredients, except the egg and pastry. Bring the mixture to the 200g/7oz roast turkey, shredded boil and simmer for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool. 100g/3½oz cooked prawns, peeled 4 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 5. 1 red chilli, chopped 5 Divide the mixture between four individual pie dishes. Cut the pastry into four 1 tbsp tomato puree pieces, each big enough to cover the pie dish. Brush the edge of each dish with 200ml/7fl oz red wine egg wash and cover with the pastry. Trim any excess pastry and brush the lid with 100ml/3½oz chicken stock the remaining egg wash. 1 free range egg, beaten for egg wash 6 Cook for 20-25 minutes until the lid is crisp and golden brown. 250g/10oz shortcrust pastry

Did you know Traditionally on the four quarter days of the year, the four major festivals: Lady Day 25th March, Mid- summer 24th June, Michaelmas 29th September and Christmas 25th December, were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun.

In the Staffordshire Folk & Their Lore by CS Burne it explains that farm servants were hired at Michaelmas / Christmas for the year, receiving a shilling as “earnest” of their wages to “bind the bargain”.

Such annual agricultural hirings would have taken place at Mop Fairs. Tewkesbury was a Mop town. The nearest modern day equivalent I would say are Ca- reer Fairs.

Even the Potters used to engage themselves by the year, like farm servants, they entered into their agreements in November.

Page 8

The 7th of Women’s Institutes; Bloom Roy Hay MBE, a horticul- and from the Society of tural journalist, was on Town Clerks to the Eng- Gold for holiday in France when lish, Scottish and Welsh Stone. he noticed how the Tourist Boards. place was filled to over- At the Heart of England flowing with flowers, Britain in Bloom was pi- in Bloom awards cere- plants and trees all in loted by the British Tour- mony held on 12 Sep- full bloom. ist Authority in 1963 and tember 2013 at Drayton Everywhere he looked went national in 1964. Manor Park before an- there were pots, tubs, Bath became the first nouncing Stone’s Gold window boxes, handing national winner. for the Large Town Cate- baskets and gardens gory, Judge Roger Bache flourishing abundantly The British Tourist Au- read out the comments with bloom. thority managed the made by the two judges competition until 1983, who had visited Stone. He was visiting during when at their request, They remarked that the Fleurissement de Tidy Britain Group, who “Whitebridge Industrial France, now called Con- had a long association Estate has to be the cours des villes et villag- with the competition, cleanest and most floral es fleuris, a campaign took over responsibility throughout the country initiated by President De for the organisation of and would shame many Gaulle to brighten up national Britain in town centres”. France and make it Bloom. To mark the beautiful. changeover, 1983 was A bloomin’ marvellous celebrated as “Beautiful achievement to the vol- Captivated, Roy Hay MBE Britain in Bloom Year”. unteer team, local busi- with the support of the nesses, community British Tourist Authority, From November 2001, groups and the borough set up a campaign to de- the Royal Horticultural council’s Streetscene velop a home grown ver- Society took full control team. Well Done!! sion and “Britain in as the organising body of Bloom” was born. the national competi- So where did it all tion. begin ….. A variety of organisa- tions and people were Over the years more cat- Heart of England in invited to help from the egories and awards have Bloom is the regional el- AA and RAC to the Royal been added, the judging ement of the national Horticultural Society; has been streamlined to Britain in Bloom compe- from the NFU, the Flow- make it fairer and a tition which began in the er and Plants Council to greater awareness early 60s. the National Federation achieved. Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 9

Christmas is such a magical time of the year with glittering lights, love, gifts, food, joy and giving and is the most special celebration for kids. Five year old, Phoebe Moon, was re- cently diagnosed with leukaemia and is undergoing chemotherapy treatment and her wish is to come home for Christmas to a sparkly garden with sparkly reindeer—a winter wonder- land!

Karen Jones, Phoebe’s godmother and Adele Cheadle from Meaford Field Day Nursery hosted a fund raising coffee morning on 7 December, 2013. The event was very well attended and at- tractions included a Brass Band, vari- ous stalls, tombola etc and raised £4000 to make Phoebe’s wish come true.

What a gift to behold to see this little brave girl’s eyes twinkling and smiling with delight when she comes home for Christmas.

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WHITEBRIDGEWHITEBRIDGE COFFEECOFFEE SHOPSHOP

Well folks, it’s that time of year INTRODUCING OUR NEW HOT BAP RANGE again, the mornings are getting darker, the days are getting colder and Santa will soon be on his way! That’s why, here at Whitebridge Coffee Shop …. we’re ready!! With To get your mouth watering, we have: hot food and drinks available week-  Hot tender beef, onions & gravy days 7 am—3pm … being cold and  Juicy chicken, stuffing & gravy hungry will soon be a thing of the  Succulent pork, apple & stuffing past! All served on a fluffy bap or stick of your choice. We also serve hot fresh creamy We’d also like to take this oppor- soups in a variety of flavours, seasonal lattes, coffees and teas to keep you roasty tunity to thank all our loyal custom- toasty through the working day! ers, who have kept us going over the last 12 months, (God knows it has been a hard one for us all), we couldn’t have done it without you, so “THANK YOU!” We’ve got a new team member this year, Ken, Gina and Natalie will be back soon NEW WEBSITE after giving LAUNCHED!! birth to her Pop into Steve Flather and his wife, Rae, who daughter, .. Ask about our our shop for operate Prettyness, Unit 10C, have Megyn (who is our latest launched a new website: Pret- Christmas buffet tyness.co.uk now 8 months menus and old!!!). They’re service, ideal for see our hot (A note to wordsmiths—the spelling all here to office parties and special of is deliberate!) keep you fed the day. and watered private functions ... On the website you will find hun- dreds of lines of HAIR ACCESSO- over the fes- Above all, RIES. So if you need hair accesso- tive season, have a ries for school, weddings, parties or gifts (including stocking fillers just why not ask them about our Christ- wonderful Christmas! now), take a look at what’s available. mas buffet service, ideal for office parties and private functions. From all the staff at Gentlemen don’t be put off. There Not forgetting Chris, our delivery Whitebridge Coffee Shop are even gifts for the ladies in your van driver, providing the surround- life! ing area with fresh hot and cold See you in the New Year! Don’t forget to register (see top of meals, snacks, drinks and much Home Page) and put in-put the launch code (also top of Home more in all types of weather! What XXX Page) for 10% off your order. would they do without her!?! Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 11

Health and Safety …………….. from Phil Darby

The HSE has recently implemented changes to simplify the reporting of acci- dents, injuries and diseases under RIDDOR.

The classification of major injuries is re- placed with a further specified injuries list. The existing 47 types of industrial disease are replaced with 8 categories of These machines cost between £1500 - reportable work related illness and fewer £2500 and the Estate would find the types of dangerous occurrence require difference in cost. reporting. More details can be found on the HSE website. A plaque detailing the sponsors would be hung next to the defibrillator which will Whitebridge Estates and our sister com- be housed in a locked glass cabinet and pany Whitebridge Properties have a resi- maintained by Whitebridge Estates. dent St John’s trained first aider who is Please contact me if you are interested in Jim Bufton. It would be helpful to the Es- donating to this “life saver”. tate if tenants could inform us of their own first aiders so that a list can be com- Have a Safe and Happy Christmas piled for use in any emergency circum- stances. and New Year.

As it is the season of goodwill the Estate Phil is looking for benevolent tenants who would donate £100.00 each towards a defibrillator for the Estate which would be kept in a central location readily ac- cessible.

Out of Hours Keyholder Information

If your out of hours keyholder information has changed, please can you notify Reception so we can keep our records up to date.

Page 12

Local Business In Brief Use Social Media for Local a community, engage and pro- Marketing Strategy vide value this helps build £4m Jobs and Growth Fund goodwill and cement your Programme . Follow individuals who in- place as the go to person in fluence and are leaders in your area for the services and The Jobs and Growth Fund is a your area, get their endorse- products you provide. £4m fund available to SMEs ment or support if you’re still across Staffordshire that . Participate in regional wish to expand or invest “hours” Another simple and Let’s Do Mentoring to create sustainable jobs effective way in which to con- where this investment The North Staffordshire Cham- nect with other local business would not happen due to ber of Commerce also offer a owners and quickly build a a lack of available finance. Let’s Do Mentoring service. It’s network and following. Twit- Grant funds will cover free of charge. Mentors offer ter doesn't have the facility to capital expenditure which their time voluntarily. Mentors to set up discussions groups/ creates substantial new are drawn from a diverse range of communities however many of employment or safeguards businesses, who should be viewed its users have co-opted the jobs, such as premises, de- as a sounding board and business hashtag functionality in order velopment, plant and ma- friend to help generate problem solving ideas and encourage stra- to help people connect. chinery and infrastructure. tegic thinking. The breadth of their expertise and knowledge Regional “hours” is one popu- Applications are open until could help businesses overcome lar way this is done, where at May 2015 or until grants issues and grow. set times of the week people are fully allocated. will tweet using this hashtag (ie name of an area) to identify If you are seeking finance themselves as being from a for such projects you can find building up credibility. Social certain area and looking to out if your business is eligible media, such as Twitter, makes connect to others. and how to submit an applica- it easy to connect and engage tion by contacting jobsand- with such individuals. . Local Listings When some- [email protected] or the one is searching for a specific . Getting involved in local local company on the web it is groups important to use local listings online. to be found easily for example Google, Google offers Google+Local UK economy grows by 0.8% LinkedIn and Pages. Facebook List your business onto review In October it was announced in Q3 the provide the and rating websites, such as GDP rose by 0.8%. Services were the ability to cre- TripAdvisor, Yelp and other main driving force behind the increased ate discussion sites that are appropriate to but output grew in agriculture, groups based your business. construction and production. on share in- terest or ge- ographical location. North Staffordshire Chamber of You need to find out where your market “hang out” and Commerce on 01782 202222. take your message to them. Become a valued part of such Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 13

The Stafford Knot is the most visible distinctive three-looped knot symbol long associated with Stafford and the county. It can be seen on village signs; it forms part of the Staf- fordshire County Council logo and it has also formed part of the insignia of the North Staffordshire Regiment, South Staffordshire Regiment, Staffordshire Regiment and is the arm badge of the Mer- cian Regiment.

The knot first appeared in the county on the de Stafford family heraldic shield in 1583. A knot of some antiquity, even before the de Stafford family adopted the symbol, an exact rep- lica of the knot is etched on a 7th century bell from the church of St Mure in Ireland.

In the Church St Peter ad Vincula in Stoke on Trent the knot is carved onto an Anglo-Saxon stone cross and also appears on a 7th century object from the Staffordshire hoard.

This suggests the knot predates the Norman and medieval period and could probably be a heraldic symbol of early Mercia or a Celtic Christian symbol brought to Staffordshire by mis- sionary monks from Lindisfarne.

Its origin — there are several local traditions as to how the knot became popular within the county—it is said that three convicted felons were sentenced to be hanged at Stafford. When the executioner arrived in town he found he only had one rope to deal with the trio. Apparently at the time, it was illegal to postpone the execution or to give one of the three criminals precedence over the others. The hangman solved the problem by devising the three looped knot and hung them simultaneous. A variation on this story has one of the con- victs as the inventor of the knot and being spared his sentence for devising the solution!

Some claim that the knot represents the high quality of steel that was once manufactured in the southern half of the county—the knot predates the era of steel making in Staffordshire. Others say the knot is nothing more than a double “S” representing Stafford-Shire and the first heraldic mention of the knot in 1342 supports this.

Another story handed down to a gentleman from Albrighton, by his family, who were all born in Stafford. His family took part in the Stafford Millennium Pageant circa 1913 to celebrate a thousand years since Elthelfleda built a defended stronghold at Stafford. As told to him, Ethelfleda in a symbolic jesture took off her girdle and said to the local thanes something along the lines of “That with this girdle I bind us together” and so the three different local ar- eas were bound together to form what eventually became Staffordshire. This was the birth of the Stafford Knot as told at the Stafford Millennium Pageant.

What a fabled Knot!!

Page 14

Bubble and Squeak Cakes

Ingredients Preparation method 3 large spring onions, roughly Heat a frying pan and add the spring onions, the butter and a good drop of 1 chopped olive Large slice butter oil to stop the butter from burning. Olive oil, for frying Meanwhile remove the black seeds from the cardamom pods using the back of 2 a 3-4 cardamom pods knife. Place in a mortar (or alternatively use a plastic bag and a rolling pin),

add 1 heaped tsp coriander seeds the coriander seeds and cumin seeds and work the pestle or the rolling pin

until 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds they are coarsely ground. Don’t grin them to a complete powder—you want Leftover mashed potato texture and nuttiness from the spices. Small pot (150ml/5fl oz) double Add the spices to the spring onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they 3 cream turn Handful fresh coriander leaves, a pale golden brown but before they start to burn and crisp up. Add the on-

chopped ion mixture to some leftover mashed potato in a bowl and form into four potato cakes using your hands. Place the cakes back into the frying pan and cook until crisp and brown on each side, literally a few minutes, that’s all and remove

from the pan. For a quick sauce, add the cream to the pan used to cook the bubble and 4 squeak cakes with some fresh coriander. Bring to the boil and season well. Serve the bubble and squeak cakes straightaway with the sauce.

STAY SAFE ON OUR ROADS

Weather update at your fingertips

Visit: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/snow VolumeVolume 9, Issue 9, Issue 2 2 Page 15 Page 16 NETWORKINGNETWORKING !!

North Staffordshire Chamber of Com- suppliers and the chance to meet like- merce held a networking forum here at minded entrepreneurs. We are pre- Whitebridge in September using the fa- pared to hold several Network meetings cilities kindly provided by Come Into a year providing we get the support Play. from our tenants.

It was well attended by some Business networking is not all about ex- Whitebridge tenants and many Cham- posure; it can also serve as a very valu- ber members. able medium to get unbiased help and support from other business owners Hopefully those who attended found it and entrepreneurs. to be useful and informative. Some For any business willing to succeed, have gone onto attend the Business for growth is central to ensuring that the Breakfast meetings which are held at service, brand or product survives and Come Into Play premises every other becomes a success. Wednesday.

Networking is an essential tool for mod- “BE ACTIVE IN OUR ern business it is a part of setting up and running your own business, helping COMMUNITY” to find potential customers, partners,

Once again, we are approaching the end of another eventful year !

Advancement in science saw American Scientists earlier in the year use a 3D printer to create a living lab grown ear from collagen and animal ear cell cultures. Great progress for organ replacement.

On the theme of science, we have a pharmaceutical dispensing company joining us in January who spe- cialise in custom automated packaging of medicine for patients using the state of the art technology. Catch up on new arrivals to the Estate on Page 2.

Pope Benedict XV1 resigned becoming the first pope to do since 1415 and the first voluntarily since 1294. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected the 266th pope, taking the name Fran- cis, becoming the first Jesuit pope, first pope from the Americas and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere.

Conflict and natural disasters are never that faraway wherever in the world—the Syrian Civil War, the Boston Marathon Bombing and Bush Fires in Australia , Typhoon Haiyan tearing through the Phillip- pines—and close to home, the Estate had their own mini campaign involving travellers. See our front page on how adversity brought us all together.

To chase away those winter blues, the foodies amongyou may enjoy the Christmas Leftover Recipes amid the articles and pages of this edition.

The festive holiday is approaching, check out the Estates’ Christmas and New Year arrangements, lo- cated towards the back of the newsletter. VolumeVolume 9, Issue 9, Issue 2 2 Page 17

Fans of Paul Hollywood will love this scrumptious recipe for leftovers.

Turkey, Stuffing and Cranberry Chelsea Buns

Ingredients 2 x 7g sachets fast acting dried yeast 500g/ 1lb 2oz strong white flour, plus extra for dusting 150ml/5fl oz lukewarm milk 50g/2oz caster sugar 90ml/6 tbsp lukewarm water 10g/¼oz salt 280g/10oz cranberry sauce 40g/1½oz unsalted butter cut into small pieces, plus 300g/10½oz roast turkey, shredded extra for greasing the tin 200g/7oz leftover sage and onion stuffing 2 free range eggs

Preparation Method 1 Place the flour, caster sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter, eggs, yeast, milk and warm water. 2 Mix the ingredients with your hands until a rough dough is formed. 3 Tip the dough onto a well floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. 4 Place the dough into a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for one hour. 5 Tip the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. 6 Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 50x28cm / 20x11in. Turn the dough so that the longer edge is closest to you and “tack” the dough to the work surface by pressing it down firmly with your finger. 7 Spread cranberry sauce onto the surface of the dough with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the shredded turkey and stuffing on top. 8 Roll the long side of the dough towards you quite tightly, forming a spiral inside. When rolled up, release the tacked edge and place it onto a floured part of the surface. With a sharp knife cut the sausage shape into 5cm/2in rounds. 9 Place all spiral rounds, swirly side up, into a large, deep roasting tin or baking tray greased thoroughly with butter, leaving a 1cm/ ½in space between each one. You want them to be close enough so that they will bake with their sides touching. 10 Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for an hour. They should have expanded and be touching each other. 11 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.Gas 6. 12 When the buns are ready, put them in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. 13 After removing the buns from the oven, let them cool slightly before removing them from the tin and placing on a cooling rack. 14 When ready to eat, pull the buns apart to reveal the soft edges.

Page 18

BUSINESS NEWS ……….. from Janet Darby

HEADLINE NEWS: Business Rates EMPLOYMENT NEWS: Abolition of National Insurance Contributions George Osborne stated in his Au- for under 21s tumn Statement on 5 December To make it cheaper for businesses to employ young 2013 that he was to continue with people by abolishing employer National Insurance contributions. From 6 April 2015 employers will no the Small Business rate relief un- longer be required to pay Class 1 secondary National til April 2015. Insurance Contributions on earnings paid up to the Small business owners with Upper Earnings Limit to any employee under the age of 21 premises worth up to £50,000 will be entitled to a discount of up to Personal Allowance, Rates of Tax, National £1000 on their business rates for Insurance Contributions for 2014 to 2015: the next two years, and a 50% As announced at Budget 2013, people born after 05 April discount from business rates for 1948 will be entitled to a basic personal allowance of new occupants of previously emp- £10,000 for 2014/2015. The higher rate threshold (the sum ty retail premises for 18 months. of the basic personal allowance and the basic rate limit) will be £41865. As the personal allowance will be £10,000 for And as widely expected, he 2014 to 2015 this means that the basic rate limit will be promised to limit rises in business £31865 the rates of tax will be announced at Budget 2014. rates to 2%. Businesses will also For 2014/2015 there are no changes to the percentage rate of contribution for Class 1, Class1A Class 1B and Class 4 be allowed to pay their rates over National Insurance Contributions but there are changes to 12 monthly instalments. all of the thresholds and limits. The weekly rates for Class2 and Class 3 NICs will be increased. The Class 1 Upper Earnings Limit and the Class 4 Upper Profits Limit for NICS will continue to be aligned with the point at which higher rate tax becomes

Key Dates and Deadlines payable £41865.

Date Action

31 Jan 2014 SELF ASSESSMENT Deadline for filing Self Assessment tax returns on line

31 Jan 2014 INCOME TAX PAYMENTS Any balancing payment for previous tax year and 1st in- stalment of income tax on account

6 Apr 2014 INCOME TAX RATES/RELIEFS New bands/rates to be applied 19 May 2014 END OF YEAR PAYE/NI RETURNS PAYE/NI to be filed on line

You can find a month by month diary of dates and procedures on the HMRC website: www.hmrc.gov.uk Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 19

Have fun finding Santa’s names...

Babbo Natale Christkind Ded Moroz Dun Che Lao Hoteiosho Jolasveinn Jouleupukki Julemanden Julenissen Jultomten Kanakaloka Kerstman Kris Kringle Mikulas Noel Baba Pai Natal Papai Noel Papa Noel Pere Noel Ren Saint Nick Santy Santoclos Swiety Mikolaj Weihnachtsmann Page 20 ENERGYENERGY TIPSTIPS

Energy saving …

Heating Tips:

 Keep curtains and blinds open at windows that face the sun when it’s cold. This contributes solar heat to your interior and reduces the operating burden on your heating system. o  Reduce the temperature by 1 C can cut heating bills by 10%.  In winter, close windows and blinds as it becomes dark. Temperatures drop much faster during this time and this will reduce heat loss.  Reduce heating in areas not used often by people. o  Set hot water supply to 60 C to prevent legionnaires. Any hotter is

Plug In Tips:  Whenever possible replace electronic  When computers equipment and office applicances with are not in use, set ones that have an Energy Star standard them to kick over or an equivalent. to sleep mode or turn off the monitors  Use electricity power tools rather than manually compressed air versions. These will use  Share printers as much as possible roughly 1/10th of the energy  Unplug computers, laptops and other of- fice equipment at the end of the day or Energy saving … use power strips and turn off Resources:  Battery charges also continually draw power when they’re plugged in, so un- The Carbon Trust plug them when batteries are fully www.carbontrust.com charged or when they’re not in use  Run photocopiers in batches to ensure The Energy Saving Trust that the photocopier doesn’t spend www.energysavingtrust.org.uk more time than needed switching be- tween high power and sleep modes Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 21 Whitebridge Security Information & Update Welcome to the Security especially, so any unex- update page for 2013. plained water leakage is reported as are any ma- All Security Officers work terials that are left unat- a 12 hour shift pattern tended outside. All rub- that covers the silent bish skips are monitored hours at night during the for fly tipping and ap- week and 12 hours dur- propriate action taken. ing the day on Saturday and Sunday. The fact that the Estate is surrounded by the At the commencement of railway line on one side, our duties we first check the canal and security the key press in the se- fencing on the others curity office and account Bill McKinnon mean that we have visu- for all issues and return, A retired Ministry of Defence Police al control of the entry Officer then the mail folder in and exit to the Estate the main office for any via the only vehicular mail and memos. All access. This road is mail left for us is usually monitored by one of our delivered when we carry 11 cameras. our first initial security check of the Estate. Since January 2013 the Security Team have We check doors and win- dealt with 147 incidents dows of all units for any during their shifts. The insecurities on our initial figure for unit insecuri- patrol and then at irregu- ties is up from last year lar intervals throughout so please double check the duty. If we are una- your unit at the end of ble to secure units on our the day. own we will call out the Bill Stockton If you have any security key holder. All units still A retired Stafford Police Officer problems contact the occupied during our Estate Office during the rounds are noted and a week between 8.30am regular check kept until and 5.00pm and at all the unit is secured. other times contact the There are security gates Security Office on 0797 on and around the Estate 478 8484. One of the to be checked as well as security team will be fencing and lighting. Any pleased to help. problems or damage is Please have a Merry reported to the main of- Christmas and a Hap- fice. All parked vehicles py New Year and be are kept under a watchful a s s u r e d t h a t eye to prevent theft or Whitebridge Estate is break in. being patrolled through- Roger Hawe out the Christmas and Previous experience within security Water pipes have a ten- having carried out security duties for New Year holiday. dency to burst, at night British Rail and other companies

Bill McKinnon Page 22

Emergency Procedure & Security incidences Contact Numbers for dealt with by our Whitebridge Security Team during 2013

In the event of a major incident such as 51 Unit insecurities fire, explosion or flood you may need to evacuate your premises and notify your 12 Vehicle insecurities immediate neighbours to do the same. In 4 Suspect vehicles normal business hours please contact the Estate office and at all other times please 5 Theft contact Security. 3 Criminal damage Below is a list of contacts who may also need to be notified. 24 Activated burglar alarms

EMERGENCY SERVICES 12 Unauthorised persons removed 999 from the Estate (not including chil- dren) POLICE (non emergency) 101 2 Fly tipping

TRANSCO (Gas) 7 Power failures 0800 111 999 3 Water leaks SEVERN TRENT (Water) 4 Assisting Staffordshire Police 0800 783 4444 7 Miscellaneous reports involving se- CENTRAL NETWORKS (Electricity) curity issues 0800 328 1111

ESTATE ELECTRICIAN (Craig from Electrical Power Installa- tions) 07876 406365

ESTATE PLUMBER (Matt from GPH Services) 07974 472562

WHITEBRIDGE SECURITY 07974 788484

WHITEBRIDGE OFFICE 01785 817170 Volume 9, Issue 2 Page 23

Christmas and New Year Office, Security & Maintenance Arrangements

The Whitebridge Estate Office will be

closed from 13:00 hours on Tuesday 24 December 2013, re-opening on Thursday 2 January 2014 at 08.30 hours.

The maintenance / fork lift truck ser- vice will also be suspended during this period. Our Security Officers will be on duty throughout the Christmas and New Year holiday. THE WHITEBRIDGE TEAM

Mrs Baines & Charles Baines

[email protected]

Phil Darby (Health & Safety/Operations Manager)

[email protected] WHITEBRIDGE ESTATE LLP Janet Darby (Accounts Manager)

[email protected] Whitebridge Lane Stone Staffordshire Helen Lawton & Janis English (Reception/Administration) ST15 8LQ [email protected] Phone: 01785 817170 Fax: 01785 812406 [email protected]

Dave Kinder, Jim Bufton,

Peter Arnold & Kevin Leah

(Maintenance)

Bill McKinnon, Bill Stockton & Roger Hawe www.whitebridge.co.uk (Security)

Mobile 07974 788484

THE BACK PAGE FROM CHARLES

Where has 2013 gone too?? tenants in various ways, I the extra mile this year and This must have been one of hope you have picked up on I’m sure will energetically do the busiest years I’ve ever Janet’s business page. the same in 2014. had in my 32 years at My thanks once again to my As I write world leaders Whitebridge. There have editors for their hard work have just attended the me- been in total 8 new tenants, in putting this newsletter morial service for Nelson 15 tenants expanding or together, please remember Mandela, might this be his moving units around the site it is not just for us to blow final act of peace? I’m sure and only 5 departures!! We our own trumpet but also that we will never see the have also signed up a further for you tenants to fly your likes of him again. 2 new tenants for early in flags, rather like the network All that remains for me to the new year along with a meeting which we helped to say is that my Mother and I further existing tenant ex- lay on with the Stafford wish you and your families a panding in March 2015. On Chamber of Commerce, top of this we presently have which sadly wasn’t very well very Happy Christmas and a active enquiries for all re- supported by tenants but peaceful and prosperous maining vacant units. Is this a was very well attended by 2014. sign that the country has members of the local cham- turned a corner I ask? ber. My thanks must also go Charles George Osborne is certainly to all of the Whitebridge trying to help many of our team whom have all gone