In an attempt to do our bit for global warming, Marion and I are now proud owners of a Toyota Prius. We've only had it for a few days and have only driven some short journeys but it looks like it's going to give us some good fuel consumption figures. One thing that is very noticeable is the engine noise (or lack of it). When driving on the battery the car is virtually silent. One thing that attracted me to the car was the automatic parking assist which allows the car to reverse park itself (if you've ever seen my attempts at reverse parking you will know what an asset this could be). Only problem is I can't work out how to use it yet. I'll have a practice in the car park here later and see if I can manage.
How things have changed. I remember Christmases past when the kids were eagerly anticipating the arrival of Father Christmas with all the latest gadgets whilst sad old mum and dad got something for the kitchen. This year the tables were completely turned with Sarah and Paul buying us a Nintendo Wii whilst we were giving them stuff for their kitchens. The Wii is good but you have to stand well clear of Marion or a black eye is a real possibility.
Shortly before we shut down for the Christmas break I reported that buyer Gavin had proposed to his partner Julie but illustrated the news with an inappropriate photo of Gav in shorts outside a beach bar. But now we've got something a bit more like it. Here are the happy couple in front of a romantic Caribbean sunset. What a glamorous pair they make.
Marion and I came into the office during the holidays. Marion tidied up the books whilst I wrote a newsletter that we're sending out very soon. It's all about prices for 2010. They come into effect on 1st March. We've managed to keep the increases to a minimum and any big price hikes will be matched by a corresponding improvement in features. From 1st March our CT and WM range will offer programme upgrades that will be in keeping with the 10:10 initiative. We'll tell you more soon.Here is a sneak preview of the prices. There are a few gaps, it's a work in progress.
It's freezing today. I hope the car park is not too icy to try the parking assist. And I hope the Prius holds the road better than this.
It's been quiet on the birthday front around here for a few weeks but then, like the proverbial bus, two come along at once. Yes, today little Joey Jones from our assembly department reaches the ripe old age of 18. Last night he went to Anfield to see the not so mighty reds lose to the not very mighty Fiorentina. Well actually he would have seen them lose if he hadn't left five minutes from time. At least he travelled home in the misguided belief that Liverpool had drawn.
It never ceases to amaze me how football clubs manage to field weakened teams for unimportant matches on the basis that they are resting players for more important games. Having shelled out the best part of £130 on tickets for the game I felt that I deserved more than that. It's a bit like going to see an Elton John concert and getting Jedward because Sir Elton needed a rest before his next performance.I mean to say! They've got another game on Sunday. Talk about a hard life!
Anyway, I digress. It's been an up and down year for Joey. He joined us last year and then, when the recession hit, he was one of the unlucky few to be made redundant but as we liked him so much, we were happy to welcome him back when things turned better. Joey is a big Liverpool fan and he's also a bit of a comedian having entertained us with a five minute stand up at our last Christmas do. Have a great day Joey.
And, no less important, it's Sales and Marketing Director Nick Neal's forty somethingth birthday today. Congratulations Nick. Nick also went to Anfield last night to see the boys put on their inspired performance. Here he is beneath the statue of the great Bill Shankley. Nick has been at Instanta for eleven years now and has become the face of the company for our customers throughout his area. In fact, Nick has become so well known to many people that I sometimes get calls asking to speak to MD Nick (what have you been telling them Nick?). Nick loves fishing, technology and DIY. He has just finished a marathon DIY effort on his house. It's been a labour of love that has taken him about five years but he says that he's finally finished having completed the toilet last week. So you can get rid of that bucket now Nick. Have a great day.
Here's another sneak preview of next year's models. Our WA5 has been a big success and we're giving it a bit of a faclift in 2010 and a couple of new models to keep it company. Keep watching this space as more will be revealed in the next few weeks. In the meantime I'm busy working away on getting the sales literature ready in time.
We're supporting the 10:10 initiative next year both here and at home.At work we are introducing some green initiatives to the new products. At home, Marion and I have reduced our home power consumption by an amazing amount (mind you, sitting under a blanket in the lounge makes us look like a couple of paupers). We are really determined to do something about climate change and the Prius arrives in a few weeks. It probably won't affect our lives but we're thinking of the grandchildren (if we ever have any) here's a short film to make you think.
I'm late - so late - for writing today's blog. By the time I finish this it will be time for tomorrow's blog. Why? Well I've been off to Ribchester to visit the super Workhouse Marketing and plan next year's brochure. "About time he did some work" I hear echoing behind me. We've come up with some good ideas. It's very difficult to improve on something that is already nearly perfect but we've taken on board the few criticisms levelled by Nick and Peter (feedback from their customers)and hope to iron out those few minor niggles.If there's anything you don't like about the current brochure, speak now or forever hold your peace.
One thing we will be highlighting in our new brochure is our ongoing commitment to green issues. We are supporting the 10:10 campaign. One of the first things that we have to do is run more fuel efficient vehicles. I've got my Prius on order. The lease on Nick's BMW will be expiring next year so, sorry Nick, looks like you will be joining me.
I decided to watch the second half of Liverpool's game against Leeds last night. I didn't want to impose the football on Marion and said that I would watch it in the spare upstairs bedroom so she could watch something of her own choice. But Marion kindly agreed to go upstairs and watch our thirty year old Hitachi portable (which works great). It's quite amazing watching high definition on a 30 year old set. They don't make things like they used to do they?
Spare a thought for young Craig Buckley. He planned his second week on the road meticulously and drove out into the extremities of Wales. He arrived at two of his appointments bang on time only to be told "Sorry "x" (who shall remain nameless)is not in". Now I don't know about you but I think that's pretty bad form. How much does it cost to phone and make a cancellation. That would have saved Craig a long drive, a huge waste of fuel emissions and the expense of his time and motoring costs.
I'll finish today with some skaters trying to replicate a game very much like Tetris. It's not quite the Baa Studs and their sheep but as they asked me so nicely I couldn't refuse.
It would have been nice if it was my novel "Give Your Tomorrow" that was grabbing all the headlines this morning following it's massively successful launch. But, sad to say, it wasn't. No, it was Dan Brown and his new book "The Lost Symbol". According to the reviewers in the posh papers it seems that the book is a load of rubbish but, with Tesco reportedly selling nineteen copies per minute and ASDA shifting 18,000 yesterday, I doubt that Dan will be losing much sleep over the reviews. I haven't read any of Dan Brown's books but I believe that this one takes a swipe at the Freemasons and that can't be a bad thing.
So what have I got against the Freemasons? It's a long story so I'll try and keep it short. I once worked for a bank. It was full of Freemasons. I had a very nice manager and one day I had a heart to heart with him and told him how much I disliked the way that the masons were getting business by scratching each others' backs. It was a way for mediocrity to rise to the top and all the top jobs in the bank were being taken by them. My manager nodded sagely in agreement.
A few weeks later it was my annual appraisal with my manager. I was gobsmacked when I had was given a C rating having only ever had A ratings throughout my entire career. I complained to head office who were sympathetic. My manager was apologetic but stood by his appraisal with no valid explanation.
A few weeks later I was working late and the manager's door swung ajar. He rushed to shut it but not before I spotted him dressed in full masonic regalia, apron and the lot. I didn't spot if his trouser leg was rolled up but the mystery of the C rating was solved.
Along similar lines, the Harper Collins Authonomy website seems to have developed a mutual support mentality. Budding novelists such as me upload their books onto the site and wait for constructive comments. The more support a book gets, the higher it rises in the rankings. The prize at the end of the month is an appraisal by the Harper Collins editorial team. But members are inundated by fellow eager novelists asking for comments on their books in return for comments on yours. Are you going to write "This is worse than Dan Brown" if you think that they might support your novel? No. So the upshot is the person who writes to the most members asking them to look at "The Book Wot I Wrote" is more likely to be at the top at the end of the month than the new (but very quiet) William Shakespeare.
If you are new to this blog and are asking yourself "what the hell has this got to do with boilers?", here's our best selling 1500LCD just for you. We sold out of these for the first time last Friday but Jason got the lads together and with a big effort we were back in stock with another 100 plus yesterday leaving customers boilerless for just a couple of days. I'm hoping that production is running to target as Factory Leader Tony Mercer is back from his holiday next week and we'll never hear the end of it if we miss targets in the only month that he's off for a fortnight (again).
We are supporting the 10:10 campaign - the campaign to save 10% emissions in 2010. As usual for Instanta we aren't doing the obvious like saving on lighting or heating, we did all that years ago when we got our ISO14001 accreditation from BSI. No, we are making our contribution to 10:10 through extra energy efficiency measures in our new ranges to be launched at Hotelympia in February. We aren't going to tell you what these are as we know that our competitors are regular blog readers but all will be revealed at Hotelympia. Lincat will have plenty of time to come and have a look as they won't be exhibiting this time.
Got to fly now to go and get Marion and Jane tickets for Orange Wednesday's showing of Julie and Julia. I'll leave you with an appropriate tribute to the wonderful Patrick Swayze. R.I.P Patrick.
The Guardian is promoting the 10:10 campaign today. The campaign is aimed at encouraging individuals and businesses to reduce their energy use by 10% in 2010 hence the 10:10. Regular customers know that Instanta was amongst the first business of this type to establish a real environmental management system and we were accredited with the prestigious ISO 140001 by BSI as long ago as 2004. As a result it might be quite difficult for Instanta to achieve yet another 10% saving but we will be encouraging our customers to do so by implementing even more energy saving ideas in our new product range to be launched at Hotelympia in February 2010.
On a personal note, Marion and I intend to change all our spotlights for those made by our electronics supplier John Walkinshaw's company LED lighting solutions. I have mentioned these on the blog before but their energy saving potential is phenomenal. The product is the first true replacement for MR16 lamps, it uses LED technology to provide the same brightness as a normal lamp and yet uses only 7 watts of power compared to 50 watts for a normal lamp. It contains no harmful products unlike fluorescent lamps and emits a warm natural light for domestic use. In addition, the gas guzzling Mercedes is going back next week to be replaced by the Toyota Prius although unfortunately demand is such that we can't get one until January. (Thanks to my mum for loaning her car to put us on).
Marion and I had a month of not drinking wine in an attempt to lose weight. The month ended last night and I baked us a pizza to celebrate and cracked open a nice bottle of Californian Merlot brought by my mum. Amazingly this is the bottle this morning with almost half its contents still intact.If I had shown you that a month ago you would have asked me where the other empty bottle was. But do you know? We just couldn't be bothered. We're not going to come over all preachy and teetotal but we've realised that alcohol is no big deal.
Orange Wednesday tomorrow and this week we're off to see the new Final Destination in 3D. I know, I know it's not exactly high brow but it should be a bit of a laugh after a busy week of year end accounts and some escapism won't go amiss.
Things are steaming ahead with Paul and Josephine's wedding. They have now set up a website. It's really sweet. You will soon be able to check it out and I'll put a link on the blog.
And speaking of true love, did you see ITV's adaptation of Wuthering Heights last night? I thought it was great although I bet there wasn't a single person over 40 who didn't at some point hear Kate Bush singing in their head.
