Among the first names on the Peace Gate list of Standish men lost in the First World War is that of Charles F. Asbrey. Despite the fact his death occurred on 2nd December 1918, almost a month after the Armistice, he was still on active service in France, which is why his name appears alongside …
Continue reading So Near Yet So Far: The Story of Charles Asbrey…
With the centenary of the Armistice almost upon us, this year’s Remembrance Day will be especially poignant. Anyone with strong family links to serving personnel, especially those who were killed in action, will be keen to participate in the many commemorative events that will be held. I grew up believing that no-one from my family …
Continue reading A Corner Of A Foreign Field That Is Forever…Standish
Introduction “The Impotence of Being Earnest” I believe it was Søren Kierkegaard who once said “If you label me, you negate me”. Already, I’m sensing you’re rolling your eyes at the audacity of my quoting a 19th-century Danish philosopher, without any warning. “Oh no, here we go. What an absolute [insert insult of choice]”. Hold …
Today, I went to Chorley. Nothing particularly noteworthy or even relevant in that, on this day of all days, you might think. In fairness, you’d be right – unless you’re aware of then significance it has to me. What’s the tale? Okay, ‘long story short(er)’ version: It’s Euro ‘96. I’ve managed to get corporate tickets …
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For many years, we’ve offered a range of bespoke training sessions both internally as part of our wider service to our clients. Now, we believe this capability is something we can offer to new or existing clients as a stand-alone service.
It’s interesting to note that a week of Health & Safety awareness, especially one in which the subject individual health was covered, one of the main additional benefits we found was the fact that people from very different parts of the group were encouraged to work more closely together, learning and even exercising together, which can only be of benefit to the whole company.
“It all adds up to a warning to all those who’ve defined themselves by their involvement in the oil industry that the heady days personified by the Clampetts and the Ewings are starting to seem as dated as the width of JR’s lapels.”
As you’d expect, the site is designed to smartly alter its layout, depending on the dimensions of the screen on the device you’re using so it looks equally impressive whether you’re accessing it on a 27-inch desktop machine or an old iPhone – and everything in between!
The information is designed to be easier to navigate, immediately helping you to distinguish between our commercial and domestic services. Further innovations such as a quote calculator for domestic collections (similar to the function on our Oil Monster site) are expected to be added in due course.
Our diesel saving alone in 2017 would have been enough to fuel over 70 such cars for a full year – the equivalent of a large housing estate or even a whole village’s annual use!
There’s a simple reason that it’s important to see people helping each other, people empowering each other, even people occasionally arguing passionately with each other. They’re all symptoms of a workforce that cares about the work they do – a commodity that can sometimes seem to be vanishingly rare in the wider economy.
CSG are a firm supporter of apprenticeships and have found the scheme beneficial to the development of many individuals in roles across the company. Our Managing Director Neil Richards is firm advocate and has in the past stated that investing in programmes that develop skills is a great way to counter perceptions that the waste industry is too reliant on low-skilled labour.
The activities of the ‘MHT’ are tangible examples of the widely-held sense amongst the CSG team that they belong to an ‘extended family’, with Hilary and Heather to be greeted on strictly first-name terms. It enables those who may have once believed themselves to be simply “employees” to become more akin to life-members of a club.
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” wrote the Roman satirist Juvenal around the turn of the 2nd century, raising questions of the capability of those in authority to discharge their duties responsibly. It’s a question that for the almost two thousand years since, civilisations have grappled with, resulting in the notion of auditing – to ensure that others can see that responsibilities are being met, as they should be.
With such a rich history, and a key part in the Industrial Revolution, the Co-operative movement and then the subsequent decline of mining and steelworks, Cadishead and Irlam’s development has, to a large extent, become a textbook example in the very history of industry over the last two hundred years. With CSG’s focus on recycling and commitment to development to achieve better waste outcomes in future, it combines two of the most sought-after elements to meet the challenges ahead: environmental sustainability and the so-called knowledge economy.
Travel. It’s such a short, functional word which has come to represent something far more profound than its brevity implies, like ‘time’, ‘life’ and ‘politics’. Too often, it’s a word associated only with the mechanics of moving around the world, rather than the effect of doing so. Perhaps the term ‘transportation’ would better describe the simple relocation that is the very minimum requirement of ‘travel’ in its correct, widest sense.
2017 has been another busy year, here at CSG, with more customers served, more volumes moved and more satisfaction with our services than ever before. It was a year that saw the launch of ‘The Hart of Waste’, the second edition of the book, which contains the official history and current portrait of CSG. It was also a year in which we strongly identified the four pillars that make our brand so strong: Customers, Heritage, Innovation and People.
All in, we’ve raised over £160, which will be split between the two great causes. Thanks, as ever, go to our wonderfully caring team who keep turning up in all manner of costumes throughout the year – and donate to show their support for a number of very worthy initiatives.
Using GEA’s new scroll drive system, it produces upto 15,000Nm of torque – roughly 10 times that of the fastest supercars – and it’s capable of removing upto 1,700Kg of dry matter every hour. It’s not all about brawn, there are brains as well: the system continuously monitors torque and will automatically change the differential speed in order to ensure maximum dry solid content at all times.
One curious discovery we made was that very often, the people closest to the technology were so used to its capability, they didn’t always recognise the significance of what it enabled them to do. On several occasions, impressive processes that are done every day were seen as ‘everyday’ in nature – and that’s nowhere near the same thing! Using the freshness of a different perspective, we were able to remind ourselves – and, importantly, the very people who use the technology – just how amazing it all is!
Since the early 1970s, when dumping of hazardous materials led to major regulations of the waste industry, environmental legislation has been made ever stronger. In such conditions, innovation became essential for CSG to survive and flourish over the last 45 years, which is why it’s something we hold dear to this day.
Each (opposable) thumb in the supply chain pie claims to “add value” but is that always the case or is there a lot of money for old rope being paid? And, according to the ‘law of the jungle’, for how long will that remain to be the case?
Kevin remains unabashed about his self-engineered solution: “I identified a risk and found a solution to the problem, which, in a nutshell, is what I’m here for. We looked at things in the market but nothing suited so the only difference was that I had to adopt an engineer’s view in order to find it.”
Like the BBC, BETA only seems able to demonstrate its impartiality by displaying an uncanny ability to court equal dissatisfaction from all sides – which, when you think about it, takes some doing.
“We have knowledge gained from the experience of doing hundreds of jobs and we try to apply as much of that know-how as we can into our training” said Gavin Lucas, Willacy’s General Manager. “The proper use of the machinery we’ve supplied not only ensures the jobs are done more effectively but it also reduces the chances of faults or performance issues occurring on the machinery itself.”
CSG has always tried to combine the best of both worlds: the achievement and capability of a dynamic corporation with the lighter touch and firmer identity of a family concern. It’s a rare combination and one that’s a testimony to the vision, not just of the man who started it all, but to his descendants who have worked to retain the essence of that family business, established 83 years ago.
The net result is that upholding consistent, mutually-fair customer service is more difficult today than it’s ever been. Some simplicity helps ensure consistency but clearly, a one-size-fits-all approach guarantees that sooner or later, the wrong outcome will be reached.
There will (and should) always be judgement calls. As in judicial process, consideration must be given to things like previous good character and mitigating factors. I recommend you ask yourself these three questions…
With the industry’s successes in extracting waste oil for re-refinery, together with the growing capability for separating precious metals from waste streams to create a ‘circular economy’, it’s tempting to think of waste treatment and recovery as a modern-day form of alchemy, the mythical ancient art of turning base metals into gold. For centuries, many cultures have tried in vain to find a process to do just that. Are we, figuratively speaking, now at that point with a large proportion of our waste?
Customer retention rates, longevity, average life-time value are all longer-term measures of customer behaviour that almost define the very point of offering an unbeatable ability to meet and exceed expectations, consistently. Customer service is not really about what it achieves today but what it continues to enable in future. In an era where we’re used to demanding and delivering instant gratification, it’s worth remembering that its true value is one that arrives very steadily, over time.
Online selling offered nothing short of a revolution of data and visibility – if marketing went from the Medieval era of retail to the Renaissance of direct marketing, the web quickly whizzed us through the Industrial Revolution and straight into the Space Age. Cosmic, man! ‘Newer’ equals ‘better’, doesn’t it?
I can only presume that in 2017, ten years after the stadium’s opening, the debenture terms have elapsed and different rules now apply. The good news is that 68-odd thousand is not really any lower than any other year so the “lowest attendance” story is (and I hasten to give this term the credence it ill-deserves) ‘fake news’. The bad news, rugby fans, is that for a decade, we’ve been kind of kidding ourselves about the true numbers.
Our intention was to establish the things we’re strongest at and put them at the forefront of our identity – which is just an exercise in common sense, when you think about it. Land Rover never seem to miss a chance to tell you how good their vehicles are off-road and why shouldn’t they – it’s their very reason for being! We’re very aware that all our customers have a choice of waste partner and only by presenting ourselves in the best way possible can we hope to become – or remain – your first choice.
Since 2010, there’s been an explosion in web browsing from hand-held devices and websites today simply have to look as good and behave as well, whether you’re using a smartphone, a tablet or a desktop computer to browse it. It’s therefore no surprise that the new site will be ‘responsive’ – i.e. the site responds to the screen requirements of each device used to view it – unlike the 2010 edition.
In 2008, Willacy were asked to lend their cleaning services to the Petrotrin refinery on the island of Trinidad. Since then, work there has become a regular fixture on their calendar. Trinidad and Tobago has a long association with petrochemicals – the distinctive sound of the steelpan in calypso music was defined in part by the availability of oil drums there in the early twentieth century.
“These leviathans of a bygone age may seem a comforting reminder of constancy in an uncertain world but bear this in mind: Next have flirted with charging for their directory and are also very sophisticated at deciding which customers should (and shouldn’t) deserve to be on their ‘VIP’ list to whom free directories are sent. If you happen to find your coffee table supporting the Next directory, their hard-bound Summer Fashions volume and the extensive Next Furniture opus as well, clearly, someone in your household is spending a fortune with them.”
It’s no exaggeration to use the phrase ‘life-changing’ to describe Cheryl’s experiences of the past year. Through tragedy, she’s gained a new perspective, raised thousands for charity and given inspiration from a friend’s memory.
In the world of waste, the pace of change has been just as bewildering. A veritable slew of legislation in the last fifteen years has led to innumerable disposal practices that were commonplace in 2002 becoming outlawed – each requiring a more professional, more regulated technique of treatment. It may be ‘only fifteen years’ but in truth, it’s easily enough to warrant an entire re-telling of the official story of CSG.
When it’s not thrilling funfair riders on a Saturday night, centrifugal force has a day job – and it’s one that we really couldn’t do without: separating solid matter from water. Many industries use large quantities of water to carry out a number of processes, whether it’s washing potatoes or to apply a glossy coating to some types of paper. Having completed its process, the watery substance can’t simply be flushed away. It needs to have the solids removed – which has the secondary benefit that the water is left in a re-usable state.
CSG were recently pleased to present the River Bourne Community Farm in Salisbury, Wiltshire with a funding boost of £20,000.
The contribution was made via the Landfill Communities Fund, an innovative scheme, which incentivises operators of landfill sites to work closely with and provide financial assistance to environmental projects in nearby areas.
With a few days to go until the Windermere swim, I’m delighted to reveal he’s now passed that notional target of £500. There are so many people who have already said some wonderful things about him and pledged their hard-earned money to support a cause that they may only be aware of because of Charlie’s efforts. It really is humbling stuff to see and we’d like to thank everyone who has already donated.
Living with a horsey partner – and by extension, the horse as well – is a challenge not every mortal is capable of meeting. At its most demanding, it requires reserves of diplomacy that can have ambassadors offering you chocolates, military-grade levels of resolve in the face of adversity and a Solomon-esque ability to apply judgement fairly and honestly. If you can cultivate this particular set of skills, you’ll need them because they will be tested, possibly on a daily basis.
Earlier this year, Dan, now 22, completed the programme and gained his Level 2 & 3 qualifications. Three years into his career with CSG, he’s come a long way from the quiet lad who joined the company.
Marketing is a field which has attracted some strong stereotypes over the years, with many still believing it to be the domain of brash, risk-taking ‘Mad Men’ types, too often full of their own self-importance. In fact, in most companies, day-to-day marketing has undergone something of a quiet revolution over the last decade. Since the arrival of the Internet, search engines and, more particularly, social media, it’s now a department awash with very detailed performance data.
here lies the essence of the problem: it’s a vicious circle. Riding is simply not welcoming enough to boys, therefore it’s unpopular with boys, which inevitably skews it towards girls. This has the effect of marking it out as “a girls’ sport” to the mainstream, which acts as a further disincentive to any boy who then dares to cross the Rubicon.
This was one of a number of training initiatives undertaken by CSG this year, demonstrating our commitment to continually raise our standards by investing in our fantastic team.
Of course the reason Brett can be so elusive is that he’s simply just so busy. As Engineering Supervisor for CSG, he brings an extensive knowledge of pumps and pumping – an ideal specialism as moving liquids is a mainstay of our services. He alternates his time, seemingly daily, between our Head Office in Fareham and any of a number of sites that he oversees.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on April 21st 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/customer-service-ask-the-experts/ The data is in and we’re pleased to see our customer service targets (for our domestic customers) being met and in some cases, exceeded! Being a customer-focused organisation, we’re keen to see what we do well and where we can improve so we make a point of asking the …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on April 19th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/475-2/ CSG acquired two more tankers in March, bringing the total number of tankers in our fleet to 46 across all our brands. Four more will be added this year to bring the total to 50 and will bring to a conclusion the £6million roll-out plan of new vehicles we’ve …
I recently came across an article on LinkedIn, rather provocatively entitled ‘Marketing in the Equestrian Industry – Why it Really Needs a Shake-up’ by a lady called Isobel Witts. Reading it, I raised at first one and then both eyebrows as its author describes how poorly you’re all doing at connecting with ‘the customer’ – …
Continue reading ETN: Criticism – Are You Shaken or Stirred?
I’m sorry if this sounds like a combination of ‘Mein Kampf’ and the American constitution but a visit to America provides so much insight as to what we in Britain lack. It is only through reflecting on the successes across the pond that we can be made to fulfil our own potential.
The sun has gone down now; only a red hue exists over Chicago — and the vapour trails of another plane as presumably, others are going home too. The seat-belt sign is on, the (video) emergency performance is about to begin and we’re asked not to use electrical instruments until we are in flight.
Last night, we went to Double Dave’s again. In a bout of wanton decadence, I bought us two huge pizzas – unlimited toppings. We all but demolished them, leaving enough only for breakfast this morning. Ahhh, wake up and smell the pizza!
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on March 31st 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/looking-good-for-comic-relief/ The team at our site in Cadishead, Manchester were invited to brighten up the office on Red Nose Day 2017 and once again, they didn’t disappoint – the office was certainly brighter!! The twist this time was to ‘dress from the decade you were born in’ – so there …
Imagine the bar in any Burt Reynolds film, the bar out of ‘Terminator 2’, the bar off the Carlsberg ad: (“You English”?), blur them all together and there you have it; a stereotypical American bar.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on March 29th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/exhibiting-our-knowledge/ CSG were out and about recently, when we exhibited at Southern Manufacturing & Electronics, one of the biggest events of its kind in the UK. We were one of around 800 exhibitors promoting goods and services to thousands of visitors from dozens of industries from 21st to 23rd March. …
Today I got my first real “gee you have a really cute accent — are you English?”. This is a much stronger form of accent recognition, more than the generic “Are you from England?”, especially in this case where the woman in question asked me to say her name — presumably so she could hear it pronounced properly!
Friday, we walked to the Holiday Inn and had the Mexican buffet (‘Fajita Friday’) — damn hot and only $3 for the pleasure of having one’s internal organs systematically corroded. We came back and caught a bus into downtown Austin. It was Friday night and we checked out Emo’s, a live act night spot, one of many on 6th Street, for which Austin is apparently quite famous
Ch 2, 3 and 4, there are the usual crappy soap operas that all seem exactly the same; flicking through them, you see an identical man/woman scene with a sort of strained silence, with slightly different variations in the room and in the faces.
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics.
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics.
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics. Sunday 20th March 1994, 11:39 (CST) PAUL’S FLOOR, AUSTIN, …
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics. Saturday 19th March 1994, 08:39 (CST) PAUL’S FLOOR, AUSTIN, …
A verbatim record of a diary I wrote while visiting friends (Paul & Rice) in Austin, Texas during the Easter holidays of my second year at University in 1994. Re-blogged on the anniversary of each entry. 2017 Commentary, where necessary for context, added as footnotes in italics. Synopsis: I call this account “a video diary in …
Willacy Oil was established in 1989 by George Willacy to clean the parts of the oil industry that other cleansing companies couldn’t reach. If you’re familiar with that part of the world, you’ll know it’s dominated by the huge Stanlow refinery, the second-largest in the UK. It’s not surprising that as specialist a service as this should have flourished in such an important petrochemical area.
Despite the impressively forward-looking venue (you can’t deny it, ‘proper’ industries have their trade fairs at the NEC), it seemed to me to be a collective populated overwhelmingly by a certain ‘type’: white, middle-aged, land-owning men – mostly decent chaps of course but very much of a particular sort.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on March 2nd 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/45-years-on-csg-to-the-rescue/ 1972 was a hugely significant year for the waste industry. It was a year when operators were forced to act far more responsibly in their disposal of hazardous waste. It took an incident that made national headlines to bring about these changes, an incident that CSG helped bring to …
If you have a property with a septic tank, there are some upcoming changes to the law that may affect you – and time is running out for you to comply with them.
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 23rd 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/a-greater-focus-on-health-safety/ CSG recently welcomed Kevin Mooney to our ranks, in the role of Health & Safety Manager. It’s an appointment that highlights the paramount importance of the health and safety of our staff, our trading partners and everyone else with whom we come into contact. Kevin joins us from Pentalver …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 17th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/creature-comfort/ ‘It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good’, as the old saying goes but in the world of recycling, such a sentiment is little short of a mindset. Any form of consumption or manufacture that produces a by-product or other waste is simply an opportunity to provide a …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 14th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/kind-hearts-this-valentines-day/ Whatever happened to Valentine’s Day? Do you remember the special thrill of an unknown admirer professing their anonymous, unrequited affection? Remember how such a simple gesture meant so much more than any flowers or cuddly toy? This year, CSG decided to make Valentine’s Day mean something more than just …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on February 9th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/how-a-septic-tank-really-works/ You may not have given much thought to the way your septic tank works – which is fine as long as it is working – but knowing just a little can help you ensure that it remains in good order for many years to come. Okay, here’s the really basic …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on January 18th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/the-erimus-star-where-oil-and-water-mix/ One of CSG’s more unusual oil disposal services can be found in Middlesbrough, on the river Tees, performing a valuable task at any time of day or night. The Erimus Star started life as a Dutch barge, converted from her previous life carrying fuel to barges on the Rhine …
Continue reading CSG: The Erimus Star – Where Oil and Water Mix
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on January 13th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/csg-turns-83/ On 12th January, we celebrated our 83rd birthday – the anniversary of the date when our founder Edgar ‘Bunny’ Hart started trading as the Hampshire Cleansing Service. As a company, that makes us eight days older than Fujifilm, who were ‘only’ formed on January 20th that year, in Japan. …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on January 9th 2017 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/the-annual-csg-tea-party/ Earlier in 2016, the annual CSG tea party for retired employees took place, our chance to recognise many of the people who have served the company so well over many years. The tea party is one of a number of services the CSG can offer retired employees as a …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on December 22nd 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/merry-christmas-from-all-at-csg/ As the year begins to come to a close, it’s time to offer all our customers and friends the compliments of the season. As you can appreciate, we’ll be operating slightly differently over the festive period but rest assured, we’re still on hand to help for part of the …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on December 16th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/all-in-another-good-cause/ Fresh from their recent Children in Need contributions, CSG’s Sales team went one further, today by supporting Save The Children’s ‘Christmas Jumper Day’. Together, they raised £160.00 – just by wearing their favourite festive knitwear to work. What a great effort! It’s one of a number of ways that …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on December 13th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/welcome-to-csg-louis/ In October, we were pleased to welcome Louis Spencer to our Sales team at CSG Lanstar at Cadishead, Manchester. A recent Biochemistry graduate of Manchester University, Louis brings a level of technical expertise to our sales function. Louis’ main responsibilities are outbound sales calls and handling queries from existing …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 30th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/317/ If have a Small Waste Oil Burner (SWOB), aware you aware of the changes to the law permitting their use? Since 1st April 2016, DEFRA (The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) changed their classification of SWOBs, ruling that they now fall under the Industrial Emissions Directive. …
Continue reading CSG: Small Waste Oil Burners – Are You Legal?
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 22nd 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/autumn-leaves-its-problem/ Autumn has certainly arrived and as a result, it’s a good time to think about interceptor cleaning for all businesses required to have one on their forecourt. After a mild start to season, in which the leaves tended to stay on the trees, the recent downturn in the weather …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 18th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/csg-the-movie/ It’s an exciting time for CSG’s Marketing team – not only are we about to publish a much-anticipated revision to our very own hardback corporate history Waste Matters but we’ve decided to add the ‘film’ to the ‘book’ and create our own corporate video too! In reality, the two …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 11th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/confessions-of-a-septic-tank-novice/ We’re often called to help when someone has had a problem with their septic tank. Our advice to know a little about your system and follow a few simple steps and you should never have to call anyone out to deal with a problem. Here’s an example from one …
Hey America! Hi there. I’m a friend of yours from way back. In fact, I come from the same place as Myles Standish so I guess I may even be related to a whole lotta you guys. Anyways, I just wanted to say something to you, you know, ‘As A Friend’… We in the rest of the …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 8th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/itea-and-biscuits/ As you’ll know if you’re reading this blog, waste matters but at CSG, we also know that so do a few other things, such as being a good neighbour – which has led to yet another example of our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility. We were delighted to be …
Follow me on LinkedIn My Skills, Experiences and Values I’m well-qualified I hold a degree in Marketing from Lancaster University, consistently ranked as one of the leading Higher Education establishments in the country, whose Management School is one of the most prestigious in the world. While experience within a specific industry is always helpful, the …
Posted on www.csg.co.uk/blog on November 2nd 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/waste-matters-more/ In 2002, CSG did something rather amazing and we’re about to do it again! Fourteen years ago, we commissioned Nigel Watson, a respected corporate historian, to write a definitive ‘History of Cleansing Service Group’. In 2016, we’re about to launch the updated version! The original book was (and …
Posted on http://www.csg.co.uk/blog on October 17th 2016 http://www.csg.co.uk/blog/csg-attend-high-tide-foundation-ball/ In September, CSG were proud to attend the prestigious High Tide Foundation Fundraising Ball in the opulent surroundings of Wynyard Hall near Middlesbrough. Created to improve learning and employment opportunities for the young people of Teesside, the High Tide Foundation hold this annual event as an opportunity …
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Mark Haddon) This tale of a boy with Asberger’s Syndrome and his daily struggle to understand the world around him was a truly ground-breaking novel and came highly-recommended to me. The eponymous dog is found stabbed to death in the opening paragraphs and despite (or actually, because of) his …
Continue reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Shakespeare: The World as a Stage (Bill Bryson) I love reading Bill Bryson’s work. There, I said it. Some works of his I have loved more than others but I can’t say I’ve ever read anything he’s written that I haven’t enjoyed. Enjoyment is therefore a minimum expectation when it comes to Bryson. The real question I …
The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History (Boris Johnson) Perhaps the biggest problem that can befall any tome with a ‘celebrity’ author is that it’s difficult for the reader ever to get beyond the context of the writer’s identity in all that is written, when the subject matter is (or should be) the main reason …
Continue reading The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History
For once in English football’s long and undignified history of ‘hitting rock bottom’ has come a scandal that I’ve actually welcomed. Proving that sometimes, two wrongs actually do make a right, Sam Allardyce has come to the rescue of all those who thought him woefully under-qualified and over-rated to lead the national team – by …
I’ve always loved to read. At times, my interest in reading has lapsed and at others, I’ve wished I had more time to read more often. Whenever I’ve found myself with enough time, like on holidays, I found I always rediscovered the simple pleasure of reading. People talk about ‘binge-watching’ of entire TV series as …
First, thanks for all your expressions of sympathy after we lost Sam, last month. He really was a once-in-a-lifetime dog and it amazed us how many others thought so too. We were therefore thrust into the state of being a one-dog family for the first time in 8½ years – something which saw the household considerably, …
– Oh, he’s not going off one one about the BBC again, is he? Well, yes I am, I’m afraid. Normally, I’m motivated to assault my keyboard (and your attention) by the need to defend dear old ‘Auntie’ in the face of some current slight or attack on her being. This time, it’s slightly different. My …
We never knew Sam’s real birthdate but as he joined our family on March 31st 2005 at the age of “10 months”, as far as we were concerned, he was born on May 31st 2004. He died on August 31st 2016, aged 12 years and three months. Sam came into our lives in March 2005. At the …
A photograph from my archives, every week, marking something that happened this week, a multiple of five years ago.
To Mr Colothan, Mrs Kneale and all the staff and PTFA at St. Wilfrid’s, Today was Charlie’s last day with you and I want to thank you all for everything you’ve done for him and the rest of the Class of 2016. In 2008 (two minutes ago), I remember visiting the school’s open day to …
Continue reading An Open Letter to St. Wilfrid’s Primary Academy
If I’ve learned anything over the last few weeks of pitiful so-called ‘debate’ leading upto today’s EU Referendum, it’s that politics is even more of a sham than I had previously dared imagine. Whichever way the vote goes, the most depressing conclusion is that due to the forces that have led to this conclusion, such …
Since Muhammad Ali’s death was announced yesterday, there’s been a flurry soundbites, platitudes and #RIPMuhammadAli hashtags floating about on social media – and I confess, I’m responsible for a number of them. What can this blogpost possibly add to such a weight of collective emotion? Well, this, I hope: It’s an understandable reaction to the loss of an icon of our …
You may or may not know that I have a wonderful god-daughter called Amelia. Amelia is seven and has a rare combination of learning difficulties and spectrum conditions which mean that she doesn’t speak and has a mental age well below her actual age. You may think this defines her but it doesn’t. She loves swimming, …
Earlier this year, we weren’t happy with Marley‘s health. He was becoming less active, drinking more water than before and just looked less happy with life. He’s always been a ridiculously active dog and, with his 9th birthday not far off, we knew he’d have to slow down at some time but this… …this seemed …
Resonation 