Craig Mercer Victor Ludorum

Despite treacherous road conditions everyone arrived at 8.30 this morning to watch the final of the Instanta pool tournament.The morning's session started with Jason Poland (left) two games down in the best of five final. Jason put in a tremendous performance to win the first game but a slip in the second let Craig Mercer nip in and take the final 3-1. So Craig (pictured receiving the trophy from me)is a real Victor Ludorum having won both our golf and pool tournament in 2009. This is quite an achievement considering that he is playing with a steel plate in his back as a result of motor accident a couple of years ago.



Craig with his golf trophy.



And with the pool cup and individual trophy.



Driving to the office this morning in sub-zero temperatures, my mind wondered to True Grit as, somehow, Sefton Council had managed not to bother using any grit at all last night and the whole of Southport was turned into a giant ice rink with vehicles sliding out of control all over the place. Our buyer Gavin managed to drive from Bolton with no trouble until he reached roads under the control of Sefton when he ground to a halt. I walked the couple of miles to the Post Office to pick up our post and managed to pass most of the traffic. For the sake of a few thousand pounds, Sefton managed to lose businesses hundreds of thousands.If the weather doesn't pick up, we've all got to do it again in a few hours.



Whatever the weather Marion and I hope to take daughter Sarah to the cinema tonight to see A Serious Man. The reviews have been great and we love the Coen brothers films. Sarah can't make it for Christmas so she has popped down from Scotland to spend a couple of days with us beforehand. Let's hope the weather improves and she can get back home again.



I'm just putting the finishing touches to the March 2010 price list. We should be getting it printed just after we return to work and will be circulating it no later than Mid January. I just need the costings for the scale reducers and filters before finishing.

Still recovering from watching Liverpool's spineless performance at Portsmouth. Here's a reminder of when we were great.

Value Value Value

I've just been working on the new prices for 2010. I know that people aren't expecting any big increases but we will be adding some exciting new features to many of the boilers and these involve quite considerable additional expense - expense that will be great value in the long run.The price increases are not major and range between 0.6% and 5.5% with our fantastic value 3000LCD (pictured) increasing to just £462. We challenge you to find a better value for money boiler anywhere. The prices will come into force on 1st March 2010 and the full price list will be published in early January.



And speaking of value for money I saw the chairman of the local football club complaining in our local paper about the woeful attendance figures at Southport FC. I drove past the ground this morning on the way to the post office and saw the prices outside. Adults standing £11. Now I don't know about you but I think that £11 to go and stand in the cold and watch a non league football match is extortionate and therein lies the answer to the Chairman's woeful attendances. After all, you can go to the cinema, sit in comfort and be entertained for a couple of hours in the warmth for about £6. OK there's an Instanta hoarding at Southport FC so that gives the crowd something to look at but I don't even need to ask the Harry Hill which is better question as between Southport FC and the local Vue, there's simply no competition.



Which leads me seamlessly to our love of cinema. We were out with Mark and Nita from Workhouse Marketing last night and enjoyed a great meal at Stanley House near Blackburn. We had a super evening (thank you Mark and Nita)and towards the end of the evening we got talking about cinema. Mark asked, as we go to the cinema so often, what were our five favourite films for 2010.We haven't seen "An Ordinary Man" yet and that has rave reviews but we wracked our brains and could we think of them all? I reckoned that we must have seen over forty films but after a quick check through the blog I found that we have been to the cinema 36 times this year (clashes with Liverpool FC and holidays and weeks with nothing on reduced it from a weekly event). And here, in reverse order are our top five favourite films for 2010.



At number five it's Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. there's still life in the old dog (er until the end that is).



At number four Watchmen. A fabulous visual extravaganza with the best opening credit sequence I have ever seen.



At three it's Revolutionary Road. Great book, great film, brilliant performances from every single cast member.



Låt den rätte komma in. Let the Right One In. A fabulous low budget Swedish film with tons of atmosphere and some beautiful performances from the young cast of unknowns. Forget your prejudice about subtitles and go and see it.



And finally at number one it's Up. What a fabulous movie! If this doesn't win the best film Oscar next year, there's no justice in the world. Go and see it and take two boxes of tissues with you.Simply fabulous.

An the best short film of the year? The Workhouse Christmas video. Naturally.

Christmas Is Coming

We've been so busy lately that we haven't noticed Christmas creeping up on us but Marion has suddenly gone into panic mode and decided that she hasn't done anything and time is running out. So, suddenly, almost overnight, our house has transformed from the usual plain but tasteful look into something like this (a photo I pinched from the Internet not anybody we know).I always wonder why blind panic sets in across the land as hordes descend upon Tesco and take away enough provisions for a month when, lets face it, the shops will be open again on Boxing Day.I suppose it must be the Scrooge in me. Bah Humbug.



Despite the recession we have received a fair few very pleasant gifts from our suppliers. Thanks to those who have sent us presents. You really don't have to. We buy your stuff because we like you and your products and your services are good.But thank you anyway. After my experience in the bank when, as a young cashier, I used to watch the bank manager struggle out of the office every evening during the run up to Christmas, weighed down with bottles, cigars and more without giving his staff anything, I have made it a policy to share these gifts amongst everyone who works for Instanta and we will be having a raffle for these on Monday morning. I've got my eye on the champagne.



The raffle will be held immediately after the final of the Instanta Pool Tournament which is set for 8.30 on Monday morning. Favourite Jason Poland is 2-0 down to Craig Mercer in the best of five match so there may well be an upset. I've just been to get the trophy. After that we'll have a quick staff meeting and then off to business as usual.



Marion and I are really looking forward to this evening. We are off to Stanley House Hotel near Blackburn for a meal with friends Mark and Nita from Workhouse Marketing. Fortunately for us the weathermen haven't forecast the snow that's now falling throughout the country so we should be able to get there and back safely (especially as Marion's driving).

Anfield last night saw a Liverpool win. At half time there was a tribute to the great Bill Shankly and a host of old stars turned up to support the event. Most of the team that I first saw at Anfield were there including Chris Lawler, Gerry Byrne, Ian St John, Peter Thompson, Tommy Lawrence, Roger Hunt, Tommy Smith and Ian Callaghan. Don't know what they would have made of us struggling to beat Wigan (although we did deserve it this time).It was sad that the wonderful Emlyn Hughes didn't live long enough to witness the occasion.

I'll leave you with an appropriate video for the season.

Gratulacje i wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin Rafa

Last year I offered birthday congratulations to assembly worker Rafa Kolasinksi a day early so this year I am sending him all our best wishes a day late to even things out and not at all because Craig forgot to note Raf's birthday in the diary. In his eighteen months at Instanta, Rafa, who originates from Kielce in Poland, has impressed me with both his perfect English and his calm and easy going nature.It has been a big year for him with the birth of his first son Filip and he and his wife Betty are heading back to Poland for a traditional Polish Christmas christening (don't forget the photos Rafa). I hope that he had a great day.



And speaking of Rafas, here's our very own Rafa Benitez doing his impression of us Liverpool fans. I still have two season tickets on the kop. Match days used to be a pleasurable experience but, since my bad hip developed, the trudge up the hill to the ground and the hundreds of steps to the seat have started to become an ordeal. Coupled with the constant standing up and sitting down and the dire performances on the pitch I'm starting to wonder why I bother and spend most of the games in the pose above. Tonight it's Wigan, it's pouring with rain. Oh frabjous day. I'll have to start supporting Aston Villa. I just put £10 on them to win the Premiership at 100-1. Now, looking at their recent form, I think that's not a bad punt to take.



We've just had a visit from Andrew and Jen from the wonderful Workhouse Marketing of Ribchester. Photographer Andrew had the challenging task of taking a photo of the Instanta staff for our new brochure that is being designed by Jen. I'm sure that we'll be happy with the results. It's just a pity that it teemed with rain and we were unable to get a shot of the outside of the factory.



I'm starting to wonder if the 1500lcd boilers are jet propelled. They are flying out of the factory as fast as we can make them. Have we got the prices wrong? Well, if you compare them with anything on the market with a similar price we are certainly under priced. Maybe we'll have to put them up. Watch this space.Blimey, just had to duck as another one went over.

Someone sent me a link to this video. As I'm no longer a Mercedes driver I can laugh now.

Well Done Josephine

In the absence of a photograph of son Paul's fiance Josephine in her dodge ball outfit, here's a photo of her hat. Dressed as a penguin,Josephine took part in a charity dodge ball tournament in London on Saturday.Being American she was possibly one of the few people who actually understood the rules of this wacky game and, as a result, her team triumphed and managed to raise a magnificent £5,000 in support of breast cancer. Well done Josephine. Any photos of the games?



Here's Lee Moore from our office demonstrating his skills as a Christmas tree decorator. Thank you for brightening up our reception area Lee. It looks good. Just straighten it up a little.We will be closing on Christmas Eve at lunch time and will reopen on 4th January.



The local Toyota garage just phoned to say that the Prius is on schedule to arrive on 31st December and will be ready for me and Marion to collect on 4th January. It is another of our attempts at supporting the 10:10 initiative and I'm pretty sure that by the end of 2010 we will have actually reduced our emissions by more than the target 10%.



I have been dipping my toe back into the eBay water a bit lately and just took delivery of this superb art deco vase designed by leading designer Charlotte Rhead.Being wrongly categorised and described, I am pleased that I was able to pick it up fairly cheaply. I've now got a cupboard full of antiques to sell on eBay. Only problem will be finding the time to list them all.Maybe when things get quieter here.




Stop press. An email just arrived with a photo of the dodge ball team. There's Josephine 2nd right looking suitably aggressive. I better not upset her when she's married to Paul.




Have you Seen all the fuss about the Facebook group who got together to try and make Rage Against The Machine the Christmas number one to try and get one over on Simon Cowell? It seems that they are being successful. All I can say is that anybody who buys it simply to spite Simon is a mug and wasting their money on a tuneless dirge.I've just joined the Facebook group Joe McElderry for Christmas Number one. There are 86 members already. And how many in the Rage Against The Machine group? Er 41,000. Come on Joe.

We told you Joe

Not wishing to gloat too much but here is the opening to my blog of 23rd August the Monday after Joseph McElderry appeared on the first show of this season's X Factor "After a gap of what seems like five minutes, our Saturday night TV is once again dominated by Simon Cowell in his new show which,in the arena format, should be called "Britain's Got The X Factor".You've got to hand it to Simon; it really is a slick piece of entertainment but the freak show elements are starting to wear a bit thin. On the basis that (a la Susan Boyle), they have showcased the best acts in show one I think we may have already seen one of the final two. But I'm not expecting it to be Danyl Johnson (the best audition Simon has ever seen).No. Marion and I think that Joseph McElderry with his boyish good looks and pitch perfect voice has much more to offer than the dreadful Eoghan Quinn (Chucky)who made it to the last three last year. And Danyl had the benefit of a track complete with backing singers (another first). Looking at Youtube hits to date Danyl is out in front but at only 41,000 views so far he's not another Susan Boyle." And yes I did put my money where my mouth is and won £415 which has left me in profit for my year's gambling for once (just).



A few days ago I gave you a sneak preview of our fabulous new CT8000 boiler that we will be launching at Hotelympia in late February. Having taken the boiler to the photographers myself, I didn't look too closely at the photo as I assumed it to be a photo of what I took to him. But some eagle eyed readers said that the photo didn't look quite right. And if you look at the photos above you will see what was missing. It seems that our photographer uses layers to get the perfect image. This would never have happened in the days of negatives. It's a good job it was spotted before the photo got into the new brochure.

And speaking of photos, I'll finish today with a selection of snaps from the Instanta Xmas party held at the Floral Hall Southport on Friday. A good time was had by all. All captions left to right.
Lee Moore and Craig Mercer making shapes on the dance floor.

Our sales team Nick Neal and Peter Brindle get down and boogie.

Monsieur Brindle Operations Director Dave Wilson , Sales Director Nick Neal and morning cleaner Dave Boutle

Assembly workers Joey Jones and Rafa Kolasinski

Store keeper Tony Lowe and Service Co-ordinator Max Vidal

Store keeper Phil Joce and his wife Pat

Me and Marion
Marion and afternoon cleaner Margaret

Peter and his wife Linda

Assembly worker Andy Fyles and his cousin office assistant Lee Moore

Machine shop supervisor Mike Chubbs and welder Kirk Harrison

Factory leader Tony Mercer wih head of wiring Martin Rimmer, Andy and Lee

Machine operator Craig Mercer, with Joey Jones and assembly worker Maiusz Kiepas

Head of welding Craig Peach with sheet metalworker Gary Rodwell and Gary's partner Faye (centre)

Office manager Jenny Buckley and guest Natalie Drummond

Sales Despatch Craig Buckley and Jenny

Tony Lowe and ex employee Liz Bradshaw

Assistant Factory Leader Jason Poland and his wife Jude

Assembly worker Sean Johnson

It's Party Night

Yes, tonight's our Xmas works' party night and this year we are going to the Floral Hall in Southport for a big Abba tribute party. It should be a great night (it cost enough)and there are thirty two employees and friends who are sure to make it an unforgettable evening for the Floral Hall staff. Unfortunately me and Marion are off to London at 7a.m tomorrow so we won't be staying to the end tonight. I think we can be forgiven as we are off to see our son Paul having not seen him since last Christmas.



Last night we had a very pleasant evening at the Warehouse Brasserie in Southport. Our next door neighbour Vincent took us out together with his sister and her husband and another friend. Vincent's companions are a little older than us but we found that we had plenty to talk about. One of the party, Margaret is an MBE and it was fascinating to hear her story of her investiture at the Buckingham Palace.She won her award for her work on the Home Watch scheme and was astonished to find that the security at Buckingham Palace didn't come up to her expectations.



The Internet is a wonderful thing isn't it? A blog reader from India asked me if I could help him to get a ticket for a match at Anfield as he had won a trip to the UK and was a big Liverpool fan. So there I was on Wednesday night meeting a complete stranger who had come all the way from India. And did he turn up? Of course he did and a very nice lad he was too. That's what you call a real fan. I hope you enjoyed it Ram even though we didn't get the result. Email me a photo when you get back to India.



And on Sunday I'm taking another complete stranger to Anfield to watch Liverpool play Arsenal. I got chatting to fellow Reds fan Greg on the Harper Collins authonomy website. We're both budding authors and have uploaded our books onto the site (his is doing a lot better than mine). I mentioned that I had a spare ticket for the Arsenal game and he jumped at the chance to see the match as he moved away from Liverpool some time ago and hasn't been to a live match for some time.His book's about a psychopathic serial killer. Hmmmmm. Actually he seems like a nice bloke.

As the time counts down to the part, here's a song to put everyone in the party mood. This link was recommended to me by our good friend Amanda from City Servicing. I can see why Amanda, being an Eastender, liked this, Bob Dylan does Knees up Mother Brown.