Chairman’s blog Thursday 7th July 2025

Holiday season is upon us, so it was a good turn out with no visitors but 23 members in attendance. Those in attendance included the wing walking (or rather strapped in and sitting) Ben Golding whose feats of Derring-do were seen by one or two of us when it happened and all of us via Facebook. As with all things in life, he approaches it with bravery and zest.

The Performance League

Really good numbers this month. The first 3 all reached over 300 points led by Jane Malyon with 353 points followed by Howard Bullock and Toby Acton.

Education Presentation

A good one this week, with Catherine Foley talking about time management and the work life balance. It’s all about dividing up your time with lists of tasks and proper allocation. Our goals can be better achieved if you do nothing else than keep your desk tidy and learn to say no. Proof of this was Toby Acton nodding vigorously……. It must have been good!

The 60 Second Round

It was the celebrated Ben Golding who was adjudicating this week following his Oscar triumph last week. As usual he was lauding the cost savings offered by Utility Warehouse. He was followed by Darren Lamb who threatened us all by telling a couple of very bad ‘dad’ jokes……yes there are good ones I think and threatening to continue doing so until he receives referrals. As an offering challenging for the Oscar this was persuasive.

Jon Foster has been multitasking. This week, in dealing with doors he has now reverted to painting them rather than fitting locks to them. Whereas Mike Skinner showed a different insight into how he can help his clients. Where you are looking for a new member of staff a video can help advertise the position very effectively. If any of you find suitable candidates to refer to Mike, you could ask them at the same time whether or not they had effective contracts of employment, I can always oblige!

In Paul Corrigan’s absence his colleague George was emphasising the importance of a power flush to clear your central heating system.

Sarah Smith has been working for a poet although she spared us rhyming couplets.

Blake Hammond continues to offer AI advice. It’s something we should all consider. The other thing that you should consider whether your smoke alarms are working properly and are not out of date. Dave Roberts is the man to approach to get them tested.

Terry Maylin indicated that commercial disputes as referrals were probably the best that he receives.

Jane Malyon emphasised how useful and welcome a gift voucher would be from the English Cream Tea Company. Not only for cream teas but for afternoon teas. If we’ve been listening to Jane over the weeks, we would all know the difference between the two.

The Oscar winner this week was Stuart Smallcombe, which was a reward for clarity and simplicity. If you know anybody involved with care homes, ask them whether they have the old-style telephone system and refer them to Stuart to upgrade. He’s almost doing our jobs for us.

This weeks statistics and points of note

Lots of facts and figures, what with last week being the last week of the month. July saw £37,000 worth of business recorded and 46 referrals. Today therefore was a great start to August with 20 referrals and almost £10,000 worth of business recorded. Don’t forget to turn this week’s data into recording on our website.

10-minute presentation by Scott Griffiths

It was one of Scott Griffiths best presentations. With the aid of the big screen, he took us through the construction of a website. This expose of the dark arts that he practises was as informative as it was revelatory. He of course demonstrates his skills on a regular basis by maintaining the EBF website which is our very effective window on the world as well as an information source for us as a group. His undoubted skill and referability was there for all to see and the subsequent Referrals and Testimonials round, rounded off an effective and enjoyable meeting