Carlisle Youth Zone's Royal Visit

As Chairman of Carlisle Youth Zone I had the pleasure of showing HRH The Duke of Gloucester around the Youth Zone. His Royal Highness was accompanied by the Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria, Sir James Cropper KCVO and Lady Susan Cropper.

This was a great honour, as it was clear to everyone just how much the facility meant to the young people, who were enjoying the prestige of the event.

Youth Zone patrons Joe & Shirley Wilkinson showed off the Stobart Enterprise Suite and CFM's very own Robbie Dee and Di Campbell demonstrated the fantastic DJ equipment donated by CFM Cash For Kids.

His Royal Highness was impressed and had a message for the young people - that by coming together they can achieve more.

David Allen

Caldew Careers Fair

On Friday afternoon Kirstie Somerville and I attended a Careers fair at Caldew School in Dalston. This was a great opportunity for the Year 11 pupils to meet employers and get an insight into the huge variety of careers available to them.

Whilst there, we talked to the students about career opportunities in accountancy and gave them information to help them find a suitable training position.

We discussed the accountancy standard qualifications which are AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) and ATT (Association of Taxation Technicians). These qualifications give students a flexible route into a finance career; they gain experience in the workplace and avoid student debt.

Overall, it was a successful afternoon with lots of pupils, parents and teachers visiting our stand. It was fantastic to see the students so enthusiastic about the opportunities available to them.

We would like to wish them all the very best in whichever career they choose.

Sophie Waugh

Making Carlisle Magical this Christmas

Last night, Linda Rayson and I had the pleasure of attending the official opening of Carlisle Christmas Market, as guests of Justin Farnan, Advertising Director of The Cumberland News.

On arrival at the Crown & Mitre Hotel, we were greeted by Caroline Dean, Media Manager at CN Group, who directed us to the drinks reception on the first floor of the hotel. Overlooking the bandstand, we eagerly awaited Santa and his reindeer’s arrival for the finale of Santa’s parade.

Over warm mince pies and glass of wine, we chatted to lots of different people – all of whom were there to catch an early glimpse of Christmas.

This included our friend and client Joe Wilkinson. I’d like to thank Justin, Caroline and The Crown & Mitre for holding what we thought was a very successful start to the festive season.

Sara Deans

University of Cumbria - Installation of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Strike

On Tuesday 22 November 2011 I was honoured to be invited to Carlisle Cathedral to celebrate the installation of Professor Peter Strike.

Prior to becoming Vice Chancellor of the University of Cumbria Peter Strike was Professor of Genetics and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Knowledge Exchange and Business Engagement) at the University of Sunderland.

With over 28 years of research and teaching experience at the University of Liverpool, we feel very privileged to have Peter join us at the University of Cumbria. This will not only enhance the University but it is great news for Cumbria too.

I'm sure everyone involved felt very proud - I certainly did.

David Allen

Penrith RFC v Bradford and Bingley RFC

On Saturday 19 December Sandra, Michael, Kevin, Derek (our new Wealth Management Director) and myself, along with a few clients attended the Penrith RFC v Bradford & Bingley RFC match, held at Penrith Rugby Club.

Taking a hospitality table, we wined and dined our guests before the match. Our client Frank Jackson is the caterer for the club and wow… the food was terrific. We had the most delicious soup followed by a roast pork carvery served with all the trimmings.

The game was thoroughly exciting and Penrith played one of their best games of the season – a game that we hope has brought to an end their recent run of poor form. And what a result… they beat Bradford and Bingley who were near the top of the league 29 – 13.

Following the game we all returned to the club house for some much needed refreshments – this gave us the chance to catch up with our clients, guests and players.

We’d like to thank Chris Lilley, Frank Jackson and the lads on the team for giving us a fantastic day out.

Mark James

For one night only...

Last night, several colleagues and myself had the pleasure of attending the exclusive Carlisle Living Christmas Preview event.

This fantastic event was hosted at Celebrations Card and Gift shop in Carlisle.

We arrived at 6.30pm to a warm welcome of champagne and canapés and had private access to the store; giving us the opportunity to purchase Christmas presents from the fabulous array of merchandise on sale. Tanya and Sonya kindly gave us 20% off as an added bonus, which meant we could actually spend more.

On entering the restaurant we were delighted to see the effort that had been put into the table decorations... candles, jewels, tall vases of flowers, Christmas crackers, wine and a really good three course dinner.

The whole evening, the company, the atmosphere was truly fantastic and we can’t wait until next year.

We’d like to say thank you to Carlisle Living and Celebrations. All pictures from the night will be in the next issue of Carlisle Living at the end of November.

Sara Deans

Carlisle RFC V Widnes RFC

On Saturday 12 November, David Allen and I had the pleasure of attending Carlisle RUFC’s clash against Widnes RFC as guests of Baines Wilson Solicitors of Carlisle.

David and I arrived at the club shortly after 1pm and were greeted by John Wilson and Duncan Harty of Baines Wilson with a drink from the bar. After having a good chat with other guests including local businessmen and other professionals, we were treated to a hearty warming meal of lasagne or chicken curry followed by cheese and biscuits before heading outside to watch the match.

Before the match, Carlisle were 3rd from the bottom in the league, whereas Widnes were 3rd from top. Carlisle’s team dominated from the outset, with the much-fancied Widnes being on the back foot for most of the game. Carlisle beat Widnes 20-13 and it was an entertaining game from start to finish with a fantastic end result.

After the match we returned to the bar to continue talking to John, Duncan and the other guests.

David and I much appreciated the invite from John and Duncan and would like to give our thanks on what we thought was a great day.

Sarah Seavor

Networking with NABO

On Tuesday 8 November 2011 NABO Cumbria held its first networking meeting in the 'Andalusian Bar' in Carlisle. Julie Osborn and myself went along to see what tips business owners and professionals could pick up to grow their businesses through better marketing.

NABO, which stands for the Nationwide Alliance of Business Owners, is the UK's fastest growing business network and after a fantastic response to events held in Cockermouth the networking organisation is now branching out and holding events in Carlisle.

The Carlisle launch event was very well attended - 45 local business owners and professional people spent the night sharing their own experiences and learning from the experiences of others. The event was hosted by Tanya Moxon (of Fearless Feat) and Nick Lawler (NABO Group Director). They talked us through the benefits that can be obtained from the organisation and because the format and atmosphere was relaxed it meant that it was really easy to meet people who are just like us, i.e. wanting to grow our business.

After welcome drinks and a bit of mingling we all introduced ourselves and briefly talked about our businesses. Following a really tasty hot buffet we then broke into groups for further discussions and ended the event with more mingling.

Although the above may sound a bit daunting the event takes on a very relaxed approach, and the fact that everybody is there because they want to be means that they are run on a very friendly basis and any nerves we had quickly disappeared.

Future meetings are being held on a weekly basis and will alternate between Carlisle and Cockermouth. The Cockermouth events are held in the 'Saints Rooms' with the Carlisle events alternating between an evening event at the 'Andalusian Bar' and a breakfast meeting at David Allen Accountants, Dalston.

For more information about NABO have a look at their website - www.nabocumbria.co.uk, or alternatively give us a ring as we had a fun night and will definitely be attending future events.

Lucy Metcalf

Carlisle College Awards Evening

On Friday 11 November, David Allen and I attended the Awards ceremony at Carlisle College to celebrate and recognise the achievements of students. Before the ceremony started we were lucky enough to have a guided tour of the new development of the college with it’s fantastic facilities... it definitely has the ‘wow’ factor. We were then treated to a buffet which was prepared and served by the catering students, restaurant quality at its best!

Then the awards ceremony began; introduced by David Carter, Chair of Corporations at the College and Moira Tattersall, Principal. All nominated students deserved to be recognised for their achievements - it was a humble experience with some students working against all the odds, and who were an inspiration to us all.

It was an excellent evening with a lot of hard work put in by the students and teachers to ensure the evening ran smoothly. Another facility in Carlisle for students of further education, and something that will hopefully help to keep our future talent in Cumbria.

Jackie Matthews

H & H Borderway Agri Expo 2011

On Friday 28 October 2011 H & H Borderway mart held the 5th annual Agri Expo.

The event has grown over the years and this year was no exception, with even more trade stands, livestock and visitors.

We were proud sponsors of the Young Farmers Stocksman of the Year award; the winner of the senior’s award was Elaine Gill-Pattinson and winner of the junior’s award was Joanne Ridley. Congratulations and well done to both of them.

We had a broad range of visitors at our stand and our booth and the event gave us a fantastic opportunity to catch up with our clients, professional contacts and also individuals who were looking to find out more about David Allen.

Each year we have a competition on our stand for anyone who wants to win a luxury hamper. This year it was to name cuts of beef and if I’m honest it proved to be more difficult than it looked! We had 54 entries... the winner was Scott Jefferson. Thank you to all of you who entered the competition, and better luck next time.

All in all it was a fantastic day and we’re already looking forward to being part of Dairy Expo and Agri Expo next year.

Emma Thomlinson