Shire Horse Society stages second annual open day at Shire Farm, Rockingham Castle

Twelve months after attracting hundreds of people to its first ever open day, the Shire Horse Society is preparing to throw open its gates once again.

Visitors to this year’s event on 13^th September at Shire Farm, Rockingham Castle, will have the chance to find out more about the gentle giants of the horse world and see them in action.

Featuring demonstrations, the event will celebrate the survival of a breed that nearly died out a century ago, but is still endangered. It will also mark the second anniversary of the opening of the national charity’s headquarters at Rockingham, near Corby, on the Leicestershire/Northamptonshire border.

“Last year’s event was a great success and we were delighted to welcome so many visitors to our headquarters,” said Shire Horse Society secretary David Ralley-Davies.

“We hope that Shire horse lovers will support us again this year. Our event gives us the opportunity to raise awareness about the place the breed has in history and why it is important for us to protect Shires for the future. It also enables us to raise much-needed funds to continue the work of the Shire Horse Society charity.”

The Shire Horse Society is the only charity dedicated to the protection, promotion and improvement of the Shire horse. Since 1878 the organisation has been working to protect the breed, which was then known as the Old English Breed of Cart Horse.

It moved to Rockingham Castle from its previous headquarters at the East of England Showground near Peterborough in 2013.

The event on 13^th September will include drays from Thwaites Brewery and Youngs Brewery, ridden and in-hand displays, and the chance to see Shire horse foals. A meet and greet with Shires will take place at 1.30pm, with a parade scheduled for 3pm. There will also be a bouncy castle, stalls and refreshments.

The event, which runs from 11am to 3pm on Sunday 13^th September, is free to enter for Shire Horse Society members, or costs £5 for adults. Entry is free for children under 12.

All profits go to the Shire Horse Society Charity, which runs the Save Our Shires campaign to protect the breed for years to come.

For more information visit www.shire-horse.org.uk or follow the charity on Facebook or Twitter - https://www.facebook.com/shirehorsesociety and @saveourshires

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

Croots Farm Shop Vintage and Classic Car Day

Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire will be staging another of its popular vintage and classic car days later this month.

Running from 11am to 4pm on 29^th August 2015, the event will also include a teddy bears picnic, as well as a BBQ featuring Croots Farm Shop’s award-winning sausages and burgers.  

The teddy bears picnic gives youngsters the chance to try their hand at circus skills and balloon modelling. 

Croots Farm Shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield, has run similar events over the past few years, attracting car enthusiasts from across Derbyshire and further afield.

“The vintage and classic car day at Croots has proved popular in the past and when we were asked to host it again we thought it would be an ideal event to stage on the Saturday of the bank holiday weekend,” said Steve Croot, who runs the award-winning farm shop and Shires Eatery.

Entry to the vintage and classic car day is free. The cost of the teddy bears picnic is £5 per child and will include a lunchbox, balloon modelling, bouncy castle and circus workshop which will run from 12.30pm to 2.30pm.

The farm shop, which opened in 2008, sells a range of food and drink produced locally, regionally and from further afield. It stocks products from more than 40 producers from within a 50-mile radius of the shop. It also produces its own range of award-winning items including sausages, pies and ready meals. In June Croots Farm Shop won the Best Sweet Bake award in The Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015 for its homemade Bakewell tart.   

Tickets for the teddy bears picnic are available in the shop.    

Croots Farm Shop is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information about Croots visit www.croots.co.uk

Twitter @crootsfarm_shop  

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Focus Consultants team skydives for charity

Three brave employees from Focus Consultants are taking the plunge for charity with a tandem sky dive in aid of a cause close to their hearts. 

The parachute jump will also be part of the celebrations to mark the 21^st birthday of Focus Consultants, which is based in Nottingham and has offices in Leicester, London, Boston and Aubourn near Lincoln.

The team will be raising money for St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, which gave care and support to the wife and family of Focus senior building surveyor Darren Booker. Elizabeth Booker was 47 when she passed away last year following her diagnosis of a rare form of Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. 

Darren, who works in the Boston office of Focus, will be joined by two colleagues, 16-year-old admin apprentice Victoria Bell, who also works in the Boston office, and sustainability surveyor Gareth Morris, who is based in Leicester. Their tandem parachute jump is scheduled to take place at Langar Airfield near Nottingham on Sunday 13^th September. 

Darren, from Bassingham, near Lincoln, said: “This is my personal challenge in tribute to Liz, who was so very brave in facing her illness and no matter how she felt she would always have a smile for you.

“St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice gave us both the support and care that was so very priceless at the most difficult of times. They were not the only organisation to help Liz but they were there right to the end. This challenge is what I have wanted to do for many years but Liz would not let me for fear of something going wrong and losing me.”

Between them, the trio hope to raise more than £1,200. Focus Consultants, which offers a range of services, including funding and economic development, regeneration expertise, energy consultancy and chartered surveying services, is donating £300 to the cause as part of the firm’s 21^st birthday celebrations. The company has also chosen St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice as its charity for 2015/2016 and earlier this year it handed over £230 after staging its annual golf day.

It will be the first experience of its kind for all three volunteers when they take the plunge next month.

Victoria, a former pupil of Haven High Academy in Boston, said: “I wanted to do the challenge for the experience. It is for a great charity so I thought there's no better time to do it as I'll be able to raise money to help at the same time.”

Meanwhile, Gareth said: “I am doing the jump because I feel passionate about the charity in question and have always wanted to do a skydive. This is an opportunity to do something from my bucket list but also help the less fortunate at the same time.”

Housing group Longhurst has also donated £100 to the challenge. Liz Booker had worked at the group for 23 years and was business development co-ordinator there before she passed away.

Trevor Newton, Focus partner based at the Boston office, said: “We are full of admiration for Darren, Victoria and Gareth, who have stepped forward for this challenge and are raising money for such a deserving charity. Everyone at Focus Consultants wishes them all the best.”

The intrepid trio will take part in a 10,000 feet freefall parachute jump, reaching speeds of more than 120mph as they dive through the air. They will freefall (without the parachute deployed) for several thousand feet, harnessed to a professional parachute instructor at all times throughout the descent, with the instructor in control of the landing.

St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice has been providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care for more than 30 years across Lincolnshire. In the last 12 months St Barnabas has cared for and supported 1,215 people within the Boston area through their day therapy, hospice at home, out-patient and in-patient services. The charity has to raise more than £4 million this year to be able to provide these services to its patients and their families.

Each of the three volunteers has their own fundraising page and would welcome any donations:

https://www.justgiving.com/Darren-Booker/

https://www.justgiving.com/Victoria-Bell14/

https://www.justgiving.com/Gareth-Morris22

For more information about Focus Consultants visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Regeneration scheme appointment for J Tomlinson

Contractor J Tomlinson has been appointed on the second phase of a major regeneration scheme in the West Midlands. 

Earlier this year the Nottingham-based company began work on phase one constructing 11 new industrial units at St. Modwen’s Albion Gateway project at Burton-upon-Trent. These are due to be completed in November. 

Now the firm has been appointed to build a further seven new industrial premises as part of the second phase of the 10-acre, mixed-use development which is replacing part of the former Pirelli tyre factory with a mixture of warehouse, trade counter, industrial units, restaurants, a public house and a hotel. 

Construction managing director at J Tomlinson Martin Gallagher said: “There were strong levels of interest in the first phase of this high-profile development and we are very pleased to have now been appointed to build the second phase of the Albion Gateway scheme. 

“This is the latest in a number of regeneration projects that J Tomlinson has worked on and is great news for the East Staffordshire economy, as well as for us as a company.” 

The contracts have supported additional job opportunities at J Tomlinson. The scheme is also providing work for local subcontractors and suppliers as both phases of the project are carried out. 

Phase one and two will bring almost 60,000 sq ft of new business and industrial premises to the market. 

Located on the main arterial route to the north east of Burton-on-Trent’s town centre, the scheme benefits from its close proximity to major transport links, including the A38 and A50. St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, is investing in the local road infrastructure, which will include two new dedicated junctions to the scheme as well as local highway improvements on the Derby Road.  

J Tomlinson, which offers services in construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy efficiency, renewables and facilities management, is based in Lilac Grove, Beeston, near Nottingham, and has regional offices across the East and West Midlands. 

Earlier this year J Tomlinson was named in Deloitte’s Businesses Leading Britain 2014 report, which provides insights into the UK’s 1,000 fastest-growing businesses with annual revenues between £30 million and £1 billion. 

Recently the company announced four key contracts in the West Midlands, potentially worth £25 million. The company was appointed to a four-year framework contract by Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police covering servicing, maintenance, reactive repairs and minor works which has a potential value of up to £9.1 million over the lifetime of the agreement. 

The firm also won a five-year contract worth £10 million to replace kitchens and bathrooms in around 1,600 properties in Birmingham, Coventry, Stoke, Walsall and Wolverhampton for housing organisation Midland Heart. In addition, J Tomlinson was appointed on two contracts in Sutton Coldfield for a new 65-bed care home and a new building for Sutton Coldfield Conservative Club. 

These contracts are contributing to the continued growth of the company which is expected to see its turnover increase from £54 million in 2014 to £67 million this year, and with a forecast to rise again next year to £85-£90 million. 

For more information visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Great Taste Awards for Derbyshire’s Croots Farm Shop

Croots Farm Shop has struck gold in this year’s Great Taste Awards, with gold stars for a trio of products.

Croots sloe gin earned two gold stars and the label of ‘outstanding’, with judges saying: “Beautiful looking sloe gin, great colour and lovely ‘on the nose’.”

The drink is made by Croots Farm Shop owner Steve Croot from sloes collected around Farnah House Farm, in Wirksworth Road, Duffield, where the farm shop is based.

Croots leg of lamb and Croots sticky maple and hickory belly pork also each won a gold star in the awards, which are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the fine food world.

Steve said: “These awards are presented to the very best food and drink products, so we are over the moon to have won gold stars for three more of our products. I only started making the sloe gin last year, so I’m particularly pleased that the judges regarded it as outstanding.”

In previous years Croots has scooped Great Taste Awards for a range of home-produced items, including sausages, smoked salmon pâté, bacon, pork pie, muesli and lemon oil.

Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the acknowledged benchmark for speciality food and drink and has been described as the ‘epicurean equivalent of the Booker prize’. Products awarded two stars are deemed ‘outstanding’, while those that receive one star are viewed as ‘simply delicious’.

The judges included hundreds of top chefs, restaurateurs, acclaimed cooks, food experts, retail buyers and food writers.

They said of Croots leg of lamb: “A good leg of lamb, great aroma, great taste, simple and does what it’s supposed to.” Their description of Croots sticky maple and hickory belly pork was: “Great flavour to the meat and fat. Clean, tender and very tasty.”

“Our meat is either bred at the farm or comes from nearby farms, and our butchers have built up a great reputation for their skills and their products. I’m so pleased that two of the popular items from the butchers’ counter have been recognised in such a high-profile award scheme,” added Steve.

Croots Farm Shop opened in 2008 and is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road. It is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information about Croots visit www.croots.co.uk

Twitter @crootsfarm_shop 

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

 

Croots Farm Shop helps Wentwell Brewery to crowd funding success

A Derby brewery has smashed through its £5,000 crowd funding target after receiving a £2,500 pledge from local farm shop Croots.

Pub entrepreneurs George Lambert and Walter Scott, who own a micropub in Derby and a pub in Burton, launched the appeal in the hope of raising £5,000 to grow their original venture, Wentwell Brewery.

The pair ran the crowd funding appeal through Crowdfunder, a website that allows the public to donate money in return for rewards….in this case ale.

With less than a week to go before the 28-day deadline, Wentwell Brewery had been pledged £2,850 of the £5,000 target.

But when Steve Croot, owner of Croots Farm Shop, based at Duffield in Derbyshire, heard about the venture he stepped forward and pledged a further £2,500, which has taken the brewery past its target and now means the project will go ahead.

Real ale fan Steve Croot said: “It’s a win, win situation. Wentwell Brewery can go ahead with its expansion plans. Croots Farm Shop can stock additional beers, and our customers will benefit by being able to buy more ale from a local brewery.

“This is a case of one established local business stepping in to support another growing local business. We are delighted with the partnership and are looking forward to taking our delivery of beer in due course.”

Steve’s pledge will entitle him to hundreds of bottles of beer which he will add to the range of local beers already on sale at Croots.

Wentwell Brewery began its life in a domestic garage as a half-barrel plant and after doing well at beer festivals, George Lambert and Walter Scott invested in a two-and-a-half barrel plant. When the business outgrew the garage, they opened Derby's first micro-pub, the Little Chester Ale House, in Chester Green Road in 2012. Earlier this year they took on The Derby Inn, in Derby Road, Burton upon Trent.

George Lambert said: “We were delighted with the support we received from the public to our crowd-funding appeal, and really pleased when Steve Croot came forward with his generous offer to invest in our plans. It’s great to see local businesses helping each other.”

The project will allow Wentwell Brewery to buy a hot liquor tank and a new heat exchange unit, which will increase the efficiency of the existing plant and allow the brewery to sell more ale to the free trade.

“Making our existing plant more efficient means less disruption at a very important time in the business with the new pub,” said George. “For this we need a hot liquor tank (HLT) and a new heat exchange unit. We are so pleased that we have received enough pledges to allow us to go ahead and would like to thank everyone who backed us.”

The brewery, which is based at Perkins Industrial Estate, Derby, was pledged £5,650 in total. Backers are expected to receive their rewards in ale during August.

Croots Farm Shop opened in 2008 and is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road. It is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

It supports many local producers and businesses, with around 40 producers from within a 50-mile radius supplying items to the shop.

For more information about Croots visit www.croots.co.uk For more information about Wentwell Brewery visit www.facebook.com/WentwellBrewery

Twitter @crootsfarm_shop @wentwellbrewery

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

 

Focus Consultants delighted by opening of restored First World War warship

Heritage and exhibition specialists at Focus Consultants are preparing for the opening of the Royal Navy’s only Gallipoli surviving craft following a major restoration of the First World War warship.

On 6^th August, The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) will open HMS M.33 to the public for the first time in her history, following a distinctive and extensive conservation project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Come the centenary of her launch, HMS M.33 will be the only First World War warship to allow visitors to walk her decks this year.

Nottingham-based Focus Consultants has been a part of the team involved in the £2.5 million ‘Commemorating Gallipoli – the HMS M.33 Project’, part of the NMRN’s wider ‘Great War At Sea 1914-1918’ programme to mark the Royal Navy’s First World War.

With the help of Focus as cost consultants, the restoration project secured almost £1.8 million from the HLF. Focus, which also has branches in London, Leicester, and in Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, was also CDM (construction, design and management) coordinator for the scheme.

“This project has brought HMS M.33 back to life and will enable visitors to go aboard this historic warship for the first time and explore the stories of those who fought on board,” said Focus Associate Eleanor Clarke. “The team at Focus Consultants has been proud to have played a part in the restoration of such an important ship in time for the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign she took part in.”

HMS M.33 is positioned in No.1 Dry Dock at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, alongside HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Museum. Focus has been involved in a number of schemes in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Working with Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and the International Boatbuilding Training College, the company is project manager and quantity surveyor on a development to restore and refurbish Boathouse 4 and create a new £5.5 million Boatbuilding and Heritage Skills Training Centre.

HMS M.33 is the only surviving Navy ship from the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, and as such, holds great historic importance. This is despite the fact she was constructed and sent into service so speedily that she did not even warrant a name. Fabricated in just seven weeks she was one of nearly forty “monitors” built in a rapid construction campaign following the outbreak of First World War.

Sir Peter Luff, Chair of HLF, said: “The role played at Gallipoli by the Royal Navy and Monitor Class ships like M33 in protecting soldiers in the August 1915 landings is an incredible story of perseverance, endeavour and bravery. It has a personal meaning for me as my father and his two brothers served in Gallipoli. So I'm particularly grateful that, thanks to National Lottery players, M33 is now open in the campaign’s centenary year and people can experience first-hand the conditions in which the men aboard lived and fought.”

The NMRN commissioned Ian Clark Restoration to conserve the fabric of the ship.

HMS M.33 launches on 6^th August 2015 and welcomes its first visitors on 7^th August.

Focus specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK. Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £953 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.1 billion of projects and programmes.

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk