Tasty award for Croots Farm Shop's sirloin steak

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has been named as a place that’s serving up some of England’s top steak after scooping a silver in England’s Best Sirloin Steak 2015 competition. 

The farm shop near Duffield has won scores of awards for its sausages, pies and meat products, but this is the first award that’s been dedicated solely to the steak. 

Store owner Steve Croot, who is the current Derbyshire Food Hero, said: “This is fantastic news for Croots. We do get a lot of compliments for our steaks, and they are very popular with our customers, but it’s really great to hear that the judges in these awards felt the same.” 

The awards were organised by EBLEX, the trade organisation for the English beef and sheep industry and were part of the first ever Quality Standard Mark Excellence Awards, which were developed to recognise and reward quality, innovation and excellence in beef and lamb production. 

Beef sold at Croots is reared by farmers Richard and Margaret Heath at Hazelwood Hall Farm, Hazelwood, near Belper in Derbyshire, and prepared by the shop’s team of butchers. Sirloin steak is taken from the back of the animal. 

Croots, which is based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, launched in June 2008 and is renowned for its extensive and award-winning meat counter, which has doubled in size due to demand since the shop first opened. 

It employs three full-time butchers and two assistant part-time butchers, as part of a 28-strong workforce employed in the shop and the restaurant, Shires Eatery, which has also doubled in size since opening. 

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

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk 

Twitter @crootsfarm_shop

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

Cherizena Coffee celebrates its 10th anniversary on the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire border

Coffee specialist Cherizena is celebrating ten years since it became the first business to move onto the Wartnaby Estate on the Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire border. 

Kate Jones and husband Tom bought the business in 2004 from two Northamptonshire women who had launched it some years earlier. After running it in its existing premises for a few months, the couple moved the business to a converted cow shed on the Wartnaby Estate – becoming the first enterprise to move into what is now a small rural business hub. 

Since then, Cherizena has steadily grown and now supplies premium, speciality and flavoured coffees across the UK and abroad to both consumer and trade customers. 

“We were looking for somewhere to run the business from that was not too far from our home near Melton Mowbray so we asked Wartnaby Estate manager Geoff Johnson if there was a unit, barn or suitable space on the estate somewhere that we could rent,” said Kate. “It was agreed that we could move into a former cow shed. When we saw it the first time it still had straw on the floor and a trough in the corner. 

“The estate converted it into a unit, with an office and other facilities, and we were literally the first business to move onto the estate in January 2005. We used to have cattle and sheep looking out at us across the farm yard when we first moved in.” 

Cherizena sends out 6.5 tonnes of coffee from its premises every year. It specialises in flavouring its own coffees, and has more than 20 different flavours available ranging from salted caramel flavour, sticky gingerbread flavour coffee and its most recent blend, banoffee pie flavoured coffee. 

“There’s been a definite increase in demand for coffee over the years, both in premium and speciality coffee, and in flavoured coffees, which are particularly popular with the younger generation,” said Kate. “The British public has a real taste for coffee at the moment. 

“The amount we sell has steadily grown and we’re delighted with the way we’ve been able to expand from our home on the Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire border.” 

As well as specialising in flavoured coffees, Cherizena at times also supplies rare and unusual coffees from far flung places in the world, depending on availability. 

The company sells direct to customers via mail order, with regular customers all over the UK and further afield such as Australia, USA, Cyprus and EU countries. It also supplies to trade customers such as coffee shops, hotels, pubs, restaurants and farm shops and regularly sends to trade customers as far afield as Singapore and India. 

Cherizena is a regular at food and drink fairs across the country, as well as those closer to home such as Melton Mowbray Food and Drink Festival. 

As part of its 10^th anniversary celebrations, Cherizena is offering 10% off everything on its website including coffees and coffee equipment during January 2015. For more information visit www.cherizena.co.uk

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

Focus Consultants in Science Museum exhibition role

Youngsters are being inspired to think like engineers by an interactive exhibition at the Science Museum that has been put together by a team led by Focus Consultants.

The company has been the project manager, quantity surveyor and contract administrator for Engineer Your Future – its first appointment at the museum in South Kensington, London.

Photo copyright of Science Museum 

The three-year exhibition, recently opened by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales in the museum’s contemporary science wing, puts visitors’ problem-solving skills to the test, exploring engineering through large-scale, high quality interactive games and digital experiences that bring to life the skills engineers use every day.

It is hoped the free exhibition will encourage more young people to enter engineering as a profession in the future.

Focus Consultants, which is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and has branches in London, Leicester and in Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, has worked on projects at numerous museums over the past 20 years including the Victoria & Albert, the National Army Museum and the National Maritime Museum.

Focus Associate Eleanor Clarke said: “We are very pleased to have worked alongside other highly skilled professionals in the team who have put together the Engineer Your Future exhibition, and we hope it will inspire the next generation of engineers.

“Although Focus has worked at many prestigious museums across the UK, this was our first at the Science Museum which is one of London’s major tourist attractions. We were delighted to have been appointed as the project manager for such an important exhibition that has the backing of internationally known organisations.” 

Engineer Your Future has been generously supported by key organisations, including ABB, BT, EDF Energy, IBM, Mott MacDonald, National Grid, Network Rail and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, with additional support from the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Inspiring the next generation of engineers is vital if the sector is to grow and compete internationally which is why a long-term commitment to world-class skills is at the heart of our Industrial Strategy.

“Through the Your Life Campaign we have joined forces with industry, academia and institutions, including the Science Museum, to encourage young people to study maths and physics. We are committed to ensuring young people have the skills employers want and need and are delighted to be investing in this innovative exhibition.”

Visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk for more information.
Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Thousands raised for charity after Mount Kilimanjaro climb for BSP Consulting MD

Managing director of an East Midlands-based civil and structural engineering company, David Sumner, has raised around £6,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society after climbing the world’s highest free-standing mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, for charity. 

David was also part of a four-man team that raised more than £3,500 for Plumtree Cricket Club. Their efforts have kick started an appeal to develop a second ground at the Nottinghamshire club so the club can provide the best facilities for disabled cricketers and encourage more young players, and those who are less able, to take part in the game. 

“It was the most amazing experience, and I am delighted and proud to have raised so much money for two causes that are very close to my heart,” said David. “I’m very grateful to those who sponsored me and donated to either or both fundraising efforts. A big thank you to everyone, including many firms in the construction, development and property sector in the East Midlands who supported my challenge.” 

David, who jointly founded Nottingham-based BSP Consulting in 1999, was part of a 

30-strong group of people who tackled Mount Kilimanjaro, which is 19,341 feet above sea level. 

He undertook the challenge to raise money for MS research as his wife Pat has lived with the debilitating condition for around 20 years. As a member of Plumtree Cricket Club, he also wanted to support the appeal to expand club facilities and climbed the peak with three fellow cricket club members - Steve Daft, Patrick Shortt and Tony Westbrook. 

“Physically it was a tough challenge but when we reached the top it was literally breathtaking. Not only are you gasping for breath due to the altitude, the view above the clouds is quite astonishing. It was stunning and well worth the climb,” added David. 

BSP Consulting has its headquarters at Oxford Street, Nottingham, and branches in Derby, Leicester and Sheffield. It operates across the UK, providing a comprehensive range of services to all sectors of the construction industry from architects, project managers and contractors to developers and estate agents. 

The links to the two causes that David raised money for are https://www.justgiving.com/David-Sumner/ and

https://localgiving.com/fundraising/plumtreecc

Visit www.bsp-consulting.co.uk for more information

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

  

New website to showcase Shire Horse charity

A charity which promotes and protects one of the nation’s favourite horse breeds has unveiled a new website to help raise awareness of the animals. 

The Shire Horse Society has updated its website with a fresh new look and a wealth of information about the horses, which as a breed almost died out a few decades ago. 

The website www.shire-horse.org.uk features a library of documents, a calendar of events, details of the charity’s approved centres, an up-to-date news page, as well as a section showcasing horses for sale and links to the group’s social media feeds. 

It also hosts a webshop stocked with Shire horse-related gifts from jigsaws, cards, and mugs to hooded tops, t-shirts and ties. 

“We are using the new website as a platform to raise awareness of the Shire horse and the work we and our breeders are doing to protect this wonderful breed,” said Shire Horse Society secretary David Ralley-Davies. 

The charity, which is based at Rockingham Castle, near Corby, 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. 

Annually it holds the largest gathering of Shire horses in the world. The next Shire Horse National Show takes place on March 21 and 22 2015 at Arena UK, near Grantham, Lincolnshire, and is expected to feature 250 Shire horses from around Europe. 

“Shire horses have had a fascinating history in the UK, and were once used in many trades and in a range of roles, but when technology advanced, the need for Shire horses fell. Numbers dropped from well over a million to just a handful by the 1960s and the breed was in serious trouble. Since then a group of enthusiasts has worked to ensure that the breed survives,” said David. 

“We hope our new website will play a key role in ensuring that this work continues and thrives.”   

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

Focus Consultants helping to determine the future of the iconic Vulcan XH558

Nottingham-based Focus Consultants has been working with the Vulcan to the Sky Trust to undertake an options appraisal to identify the best possible future for the iconic aircraft Avro Vulcan XH558, The Spirit of Great Britain. 

The Vulcan was flown by the RAF for 33 years between 1960 and 1993. She was built to deliver Britain’s first atomic bomb, ‘Blue Danube’, as a deterrent against Soviet aggression during the Cold War. Through fundraising and restoration work, widely believed to be the most complex technical heritage project ever undertaken, she was returned to flight in 2007 and has since performed in numerous air shows across the UK and Europe. 

However, for a range of technical reasons, the aircraft is coming towards the end of its flying life. The Vulcan to the Sky Trust, which owns and operates the aircraft, is keen that there will be continuing public benefits once she has stopped flying in the form of education and inspirational activities around the aircraft aimed at helping to solve the shortage of engineers and technical staff that is currently a significant challenge for British businesses. 

In recognition of this, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust has been awarded £10,000 funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Start Up Programme to identify the most effective future role for the best conserved large British aircraft of her era after she is grounded. 

For the last three months, Focus has been working with the Trust to examine a range of options which will allow the Vulcan to maintain the value endowed upon it by the public and enable her to continue to deliver substantial public benefit.   

Dr Robert Pleming, chief executive of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust said: “We are thrilled the Heritage Lottery Fund has recognised the potential of Vulcan XH558 to bring value to our economy and pleasure to the public even when she is no longer flying.  We have been working with Focus to look at how XH558 can continue inspiring young people with the excitement of engineering and innovation, helping to solve the UK’s technical skills shortage.” 

Associate at Focus, Heather Frecklington, said: “The Vulcan has incredible significance, as a powerful reminder of the knife-edge tension of the Cold War, an innovative engineering triumph and a symbol that continues to pull on the heart strings of the British public. It is essential that her revered position is maintained once she has been permanently grounded and is not lost for future generations.  At Focus we are proud to be working with the Trust to identify an option that not only ensures her survival in outstanding condition, but also ensures she continues to inspire and benefit the public who have shown boundless support for her hitherto.” 

The Vulcan is currently based at Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster. 

Focus, which is celebrating its 20^th anniversary during 2014, offers a range of services in the heritage and development sector, including funding and economic development, regeneration expertise, energy consultancy and chartered surveying services. 

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has secured more than £925 million of grant assistance and delivered more than £1 billion of projects and programmes - making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country. 

It has worked on a range of high-profile projects in the arts, heritage and tourism sector, including some of the major museums across the UK, and important historical and ecclesiastical sites. 

As well as its head office at Phoenix Business Park in Nottingham, it also has branches in London, Leicester, and Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire. 

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

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

J Tomlinson in the driving seat as world’s fastest car relocates

Image ©Coventry Transport Museum/Mark Radford

Nottingham-based contractor J Tomlinson was in the driving seat of a delicate relocation operation to move the world’s fastest car Thrust SSC into its new home as part of a development project at Coventry Transport Museum. 

Thrust SSC is being given pride of place in an all-new ‘Biffa Award Land Speed Record Gallery’, which is set to open in early 2015. 

As part of the daring relocation manoeuvre, the 54ft long, 10-tonne supersonic car was hoisted over the rear gates of the museum, before being transported to a low-loader lorry and driven at walking pace around the outskirts of the building. The vehicle, which measures almost the same length as two double-decker buses laid end-to-end, was then once again lifted in the air on a crane and placed into position just outside the new gallery, at the front of the museum, before being manoeuvred into the brand new exhibition space. Thrust SSC’s predecessor Thrust 2 had been moved in the same way just minutes before. 

J Tomlinson is the contractor for part of the £8.5 million redevelopment of Coventry Transport Museum, which got underway in April this year and is due to be completed by Summer 2015, when 12 of the museum’s 14 galleries will have been transformed, giving visitors a fresh perspective on Coventry’s fascinating transport history. 

Martin Gallagher, construction managing director at J Tomlinson, the company tasked with managing the base build works and moving the Thrust vehicles, said: “Transferring these two very special cars into their new home was not only a unique operation for J Tomlinson, it also marked a key point in the extension and refurbishment of Coventry Transport Museum. 

“Thrust 2 and Thrust SSC are the two fastest cars in the world, and we are very pleased to have been part of the team that has created a new, prominent gallery for them so that they can be displayed in all their glory. We will now begin work on the area that these cars previously occupied, as J Tomlinson continues the development of the home of this internationally significant transport collection.” 

Gary Hall, chief executive at Culture Coventry, the trust which runs Coventry Transport Museum, said: “This was a fantastic moment for everyone involved. Thrust SSC has lived permanently at Coventry Transport Museum since it was acquired in 2001, four years after it smashed the World Land Speed Record in the Black Rock Desert – and this was the first time it had moved since its arrival. 

“We are absolutely thrilled to be giving both Thrust SSC and Thrust 2 a new home in their own specially designed Biffa Award Land Speed Record Gallery, where they will be joined by an all-new 4D Land Speed Record simulator – the whole thing is set to be a real ‘WOW’ for visitors old and new.”  

The relocation manoeuvre was managed by Leicester-based MFH Construction Projects, and the moves were undertaken by Collett & Sons Ltd, a Halifax-based company specialising in transport, heavy lift, marine services and transport consulting. 

Visitors will be able to see Thrust SSC and Thrust 2 in their new Land Speed Record Gallery from February 2015 onwards. The new gallery has been supported by Biffa Award, a multi-million pound environment fund managed by the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa Waste Services. 

The Transport Museum redevelopment is also funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Garfield Weston Foundation.  

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