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Paint Out is a juried “En Plein Air” competition based in Norwichand MOA Marketing help with the advertising and social media aspects of this yearly event. A new spin off event was hosted in Wells next the sea on the picturesc Norf Norfolk close this year. This included a public “Sunrise Event” where the artists were joined by members of the public and invited to paint the amazing colours of the early morning sun. The event culminates in an auction of one piece of the artists work from the event.

Level Two and Three Art and Design students at the College of West Anglia (CWA) were given a unique insight into the world of professional tattooing as respected tattoo artist, Alice Nicholls visited the college to speak about her career, industry trends and the creative opportunities within the field.

Alice, known for her distinctive style and growing presence within the tattoo community, delivered an engaging session that explored the realities of working as a tattoo artists. The session covered subjects from building a portfolio and developing a personal brand to navigating client relationships, industry regulations and the increasing influence of social media in shaping modern tattoo culture.

Students gained first hand understanding of the creative and technical skills required in tattooing as well as the dedication, professionalism and safe practice standards expected in the industry. The session also highlighted the importance of storytelling through body art and how media skills such as photography, videography, and content creation can support artists in promoting their work.

The workshop formed part of CWA’s continued commitment to giving students meaningful encounters with industry professionals, expanding their understanding of creative career paths and helping them explore areas they may not have previously considered.

Alice Nicholls said “Visiting colleges gives young artists a real glimpse into the world of tattooing, offering honest guidance, practical skills, and the confidence to turn their creativity into a career.”

Lydia Dennis, Work Placement Coordinator for Creative Arts, said “We have many aspiring tattoo artists on our art and design courses, and it’s not always easy to provide them with opportunities due to age and safety restrictions. Alice’s workshops are perfect for bridging this gap by providing an introduction into the industry, apprenticeship and portfolio tips, and allowing our students to experience designing and tattooing first-hand in a safe environment. Alice is an inspiration and we can’t wait to work with her again!”

Students responded enthusiastically to the visit, asking questions about apprenticeships, design processes and what it takes to establish yourself in a competitive creative field.

Following the success of implementing SEO for Call Wiser, we have been commissioned to work on the SEO for Be Wiser’s other sister website, Be Wiser Business Insurance (https://www.bewiserbusinessinsurance.co.uk)

What they offer

Be Wiser Business Insurance offers insurance policies for businesses and individuals of all industries and sizes. This means that a tradesman can purchase insurance to cover his tools, his handywork and protect himself from any potential damages caused to clients and their property.

For a large enterprise, cover is available to protect the public, the property andemployees. So in the event of an accident or damages, the insurance will pay for any compensation, personal injuries, medical bills and loss of income.

For a professional like a dentist, doctor or lawyer, they can purchase professional indemnity insurance so that any if advice or procedures have adverse effects and the customer takes legal action, they will be insured for any damages and compensation.

Be Wiser is an insurance broker working with over 30 leading providers so individuals or companies will be able to make an enquiry online or phone up and after providing details of their business, they will have access to a leadingbusiness insurance quotetailored to their business.

What work we have done

We started by making the website as user-friendly and conversion driven as possible. This includes making the site fully responsive so it is easy to view on desktop, mobile and tablet. Customers have access to information about each insurance product and are always one to three clicks away from making an enquiry.

To practice SEO effectively, we started with a list of thousands of relevant keywords which we sat down and discussed with the client. We then focused our content efforts to target these keywords and included them in the URLs, headings, titles and content body, working on an even distribution of content and not spamming Google with our favourite keywords. To create a natural user experience, we have included several images and videos explaining the product. To build the site’s link profile, we have looked to generate PR on business forums, magazines, news sites and other relevant publications.

We are thrilled about continuing to work on content, videos and acquiring links for the Be Wiser Business site.We are currently on page 1 for ‘property owners liability’ and various terms relating to ‘public liability insurance’ and look forward to gaining good search results in the future.

We’ve recently had the pleasure of working with the team at Chrysalis on their first TV commercial. The long-term radio and online advertiserswanted to take the next step and promote their nationwide courses through the fabulous medium of TV, and of course JMS were pleased to be their guide.

We presented a number of options for consideration and the client chose a creative idea that explored the journey someone takes when embarking on a big change in their life, such as a new career. Filmed across 2 days and 4 locations; beach, home, office and 2 studio sets, the creative team demonstrated these thought processes by following a central character as she sets out to change her life with the help of Chrysalis.

Capitalising on the advertising already being used, we incorporated some visual ‘nods’ to the butterfly icon that is part of the company logo – small reminders of the branding that appear throughout the commercial connecting directly with our central character.

The commercial broadcasts nationwide from April 2016.

Celebrating 10 Years of Freebridge Community Housing

Freebridge Community Housing celebrate their 10th birthday on 4 April.

It’s now ten years since 6,700 homes transferred to Freebridge from the Borough Council after 77 per cent of voting tenants elected for the move, and a great deal has happened since.

Tony Hall, Chief Executive of Freebridge said: “The transfer of homes to Freebridge in April 2006 was a enormously significant event for tenants. At that time fewer than 30% of tenants’ homes met the Government’s Decent Homes standard. Now almost 100% have been improved above this level, with just a few remaining to be completed within our bigger regeneration projects.

“Through working with our tenants, our employees and our partners, we have improved the quality of homes that our tenants live in and supported the communities where our tenants live.

“Reaching this 10 year point gives us the chance to look back at what we have achieve, whilst continuing to plan for the future. The world we find ourselves in is very different to the world that existed when Freebridge first started out, which means that we will need to be increasingly prudent with any plans we have to make sure that we continue to be a responsible landlord that develops homes and creates opportunities for people in the area.

“I would like to thank our tenants for their involvement and interest over the last ten years, our employees for all of their hard work, and our partners who have worked closely with us in supporting a better West Norfolk.”

In Freebridge’s first ten years we’ve:

• been open for business for over 2500 days.
• started over 7000 new tenancies.
• spent over £45 million in the local area up to 5 miles from
• our Juniper House office in King’s Lynn.
• employed over 400 members of staff.
• given community groups over £46,000 in grants from our Community Fund.
• visited over 4000 homes whilst out and about in west Norfolk.
• presented over 50 awards at our Community Awards nights.
• installed 5324 kitchens, 4436 bathrooms, put new windows in 5418 homes, new doors in 6161 homes, new heating systems in 5273 homes and had re-wired homes 4354.
• developed or acquired over 150 new homes.
• completed over 200,000 repairs.

M+A Partners Lily Pomfret yesterday becameone of only 20 Intuit QuickBooks UK Advanced Pro users in the UKby passingwith a score of 94% to come out top of all those that sat the exam.

If you are new to Cloud Accounting or would like to brush up on your skills, let us know if you would like to be at one of our next Quickbooks training sessions hosted by Lily.

In the meantime, to see Lily’s Quickbooks tutorial videos click here forQuickbooks mobiletutorialsand click here forQuickbooks desktop tutorials

The Best Employers Eastern Region survey is now open for employersto gain essential insight into employee opinion and to be in with a chance of being crowned one of the region’s best employers.

Employers are being encouraged to register as soon as possible to get the most out of the biannual employee survey which is provided free of charge to businesses in East Anglia as part of the Best Employers Eastern Region initiative. This ongoing initiative was founded in 2012 by professional recruitment specialists Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) and people development and psychometrics experts eras ltd. It aims to help strengthen the region’s economy by supporting local businesses to attract and develop talented employees and to showcase the many exceptional employers in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge and Essex.

The confidential employee survey, which would normally cost in the region of £2,000, is available to local organisations of all sizes and sectors. It captures the data employers need to monitor how engaged their employees are and comes with a tailored report summarising the findings and an action plan for further development. By registering now, employers will have plenty of time to make the survey completely bespoke to their organisation, working with the experts at eras ltd to incorporate any existing surveys or specific questions they would like to ask.

All participating organisations will automatically be entered into a series of awards which will be presented later this year to celebrate the region’s Best Employers. They will also be invited to join the growing network of Best Employers across the region, attending regular employee engagement seminars to share best practice.

Lynn Walters, director at Pure, said: “The Best Employers initiative gives organisations access to free tools and expert guidance which can actively evolve their workplace culture and increase employee engagement. The business benefits of doing this are significant. Evidence shows that highly engaged employees generate 43% more revenue than the average worker.

“The additional opportunity to win a Best Employer award could also help to improve the bottom line. These fantastic accolades don’t just demonstrate how well companies treat their staff, they are also an excellent endorsement for customers and help to distinguish organisations from their competitors. Being seen as a Best Employer will also inevitably help to attract future talent to the organisation, and research shows that the ability to recruit good people is one of the key elements to achieving business growth.”

The Best Employers survey is easy for employees to complete online. Because it is hosted by an independent party, employees are more likely to trust the confidentiality, providing honest answers which give an authentic reflection of the working environment.

Margaret Burnside, Director of People Development at eras Ltd, added: “To be seen as a Best Employer, business leaders need to seek regular employee feedback so that they have the information they need to create a company culture which remains attractive to an evolving workforce. Employee engagement levels are dependent on a wide range of elements. It’s not necessarily about having the best employee benefits or providing the highest salary. It encompasses everything from the overall work environment and great leadership, through to inspiring vision and progression opportunities. Many employers struggle to know where to begin when it comes to understanding how engaged their employees are and what, if anything, they need to do to improve things. That’s why we are working with Pure to provide the expertise needed to help businesses in our region.”

Previous participants, which have gone on to win Best Employer awards, include Benefit Cosmetics in Chelmsford, crowned the region’s Best Overall Large Employer 2014, and Bidwells in Cambridgeshire, Rehabworks in Suffolk and Tobar in Norfolk.

The Best Employers Eastern Region survey runs between April and September 2016. For more information or to register to take part visit https://www.prs.uk.com/about-us/best-employers-initiative or email Lucy Plumb on Bestemployers@prs.uk.com

Norfolk-based industrial supplies company ESE Direct, have appointed a new Managing Director as part of a strategy to deliver further growth and continuous improvement to the brand.

The new recruit, Jackie Wells, comes with a wealth of experience from sales and call centre management gained both in the UK and in Australia. Jackie says, “I am excited to be part of the ESE Direct story, helping them continue to grow and get the best from a very good team full of enthusiasm and knowledge”.

The appointment of Jackie comes at an exciting time for the company, as they continue to expand the product range and invest heavily in a new computer infrastructure. This new system is designed to streamline ordering, accounts and customer service, whilst providing single-view customer data, which will enable the team to harness their extensive customer base and create more targeted marketing material.

In 2015, the company was sold by previous owner Simon Francis and was purchased by a large PLC within the same industry. Commenting on the recent appointment, Group Sales & Marketing Director, Lee Wright said, “It was vital that we got the right fit for the culture of the business, and we feel that Jackie is the best person to guide ESE Direct into a bright new future”.

ESE Direct was established over forty years ago and are an active member of the local business community with their mascot George the Traffic Cone Dragon proving popular at networking events. This year, for the first time, they have decided to support a headline charity, selecting East Anglian young people’s charity Break as their partner for the year.

There’s still time to get your staff involved in the 2014 Best Employer survey! Closing at the end of July, the online questionnaire is free to all employers who want to develop their employee engagement strategy, and give people a great place to work.

Usually costing around £2,000, the survey responses are presented in insightful, tailored reports, which give organisations guidance as to how to improve and advance engagement. In fact, Essex firm Benefit Cosmetics is a big supporter and uses their report to keep a close eye on staff opinion.

Although Pure and eras ltd have designed the survey to be quick and easy to do, we also understand that people may feel that they’re too busy to answer the questions. Our 10 terrific tips will encourage your workforce to take a few moments to contribute to your Best Employer mission!

1. Announce the opening of the survey

When the survey is live and open for participation, announce it to everyone at an all-staff meeting. Or if this isn’t possible, ask managers to let their teams know and encourage everyone to take part. This way, the news will filter across all teams.

2. Maintain momentum through meetings

With the school summer break just around the corner, you need to keep up the motivation among people who are probably thinking about holidays, barbeques and other exciting plans. To keep them interested, ask line managers to give regular updates at weekly meetings, encouraging people to complete by the closing date.

3. Add an incentive

Although the survey is not a competitive activity for staff, offering a token incentive may help things along. How about a prize draw for participants? Why not give away a small picnic hamper or store vouchers? Not only does this add a nice touch, but it also tells everyone that you value their opinion.

4. Hold an inspiration session

Many employers already engage with staff through inspiration sessions, where they invite visitors into the office to give lunchtime talks. Ask a 2012 Best Employer award winner to tell everyone how they’ve benefited from the survey and what their employer does to make work enjoyable.

5. Message from the top

Support from senior management can make such a difference. By asking people for their honest opinion and explaining the reason for the survey, a CEO or MD can really drive along participation. Workers feel they are contributing to a bigger vision and understand why they need to take part.

6. Posters and email banners

Whether it’s in reception, on noticeboards or even in the loos, posters are a great way to maintain everyone’s focus on the Best Employer survey! Internal email banners are also fantastic reminders since the survey is just one click away. If you’d like to use the Best Employer logo or use a poster template, contact Anna Hill, Pure’s Marketing Manager: anna.hill@prs.uk.com.

7. Appoint Best Employer champions

Since the survey happens every other year, you’ll probably have employees who were not around when you took part in the last one or maybe this is your first year of participating. Why not identify Best Employer champions who can encourage new staff to answer the questions. They can also give longer term workers friendly reminders too. After all, it’s for everyone’s gain.

8. Make a commitment

By pledging to your employees that you’ll address any concerns that arise from the survey responses, you encourage their trust. But you must follow up on this promise, otherwise you’ll risk losing respect in the long term, and you may find it very difficult running surveys in the future.

9. Engage staff all year-round

Although it may seem obvious that staff who are already engaged will need less prompting to get involved, it’s still worth mentioning. If you’re thinking of taking part in the 2016 Best Employer survey, take measures now to create an engagement strategy. Use our case studies of previous Best Employer award winners for some brilliant ideas!

Good luck and we hope your survey results get you a glitzy Best Employer award in the autumn! Get in touch with Pure to find out more: anna.hill@prs.uk.com or call 01223 209888.

A Graphic Design student at the college of West Anglia (CWA) has helped spread festive cheer beyond the classroom after winning a Christmas card design competition for environmental services company MVV Environment. 

Ezme South, who studies the UAL Extended Diploma in Creative Practice (Level 3) – Graphic Design, created the winning design, which was selected by MVV Environment to be used as the company’s Christmas eCard. As part of the prize £300 was donated to British Heart Foundation a charity of Ezme’s choice, alongside a £30 gift voucher for Ezme.

Ezme undertook the design independently, applying the creative and technical skills developed through her studies to produce a professional piece of work for a real organisation. 

This achievement highlights how CWA students are able to take initiative beyond the classroom, using their learning to pursue external opportunities and build experience within the creative industries. 

Clyde Dunn, Graphic Design Lecturer at the College of West Anglia said: “Ezme embraced the opportunity and challenge offered in the MVV Environment Medworth Ltd Christmas Card brief. Her design response meets the client’s requirements of combining a Christmas vibe with communicating an environmental message that is so important to the company’s ethos and values. It is a testament to Ezme’s design and creative skills that MVV’s Community Liaison Manager Andy Houghton and his team felt her work (over entries from a range of other schools and colleges) would carry the company’s festive greetings to their clients and customers. Ezme’s winning design is evidence of the strong Graphic Design training she enjoys at the College of West Anglia as well as her creative flair and ability. Well done Ezme!”    

Ezme said “It was a great opportunity and a chance to show my creative skills. I’m proud to have won!”

The College of West Anglia supports students in developing the skills, confidence and independence needed to pursue creative opportunities and progress into employment or further study. 

Our latest No8 monthly newsletter was sent out yesterday.

In this month’s newsletter we looked at;

– The Story of No8 – One year on, we look back at how and why it all started…

– Meet the Team; Richard Mills

– First Aid Training at No8

– Events coming up at No8

If you missed our newsletter and would like to read it click here

If you would like to be added to our mailing list please contact mitchell@redcat.gb.com

Reflecting the continued growth of the firm, Chartered Accountants and Chartered Tax Advisers, M+A Partners has further strengthened its leadership team with the promotion of a new Partner.

Effective from 1 October 2025, Sam Holloway joins the firm’s partnership – bringing with him a wealth of experience in corporate, personal and property tax.

Since joining the firm in 2008, Sam’s talent and dedication have seen him take on increasing responsibility, leading to his current position as Senior Tax Manager. He specialises in tax advisory with a particular focus on corporate structuring, capital gains and income tax planning. Sam also brings a strong commercial, tax, and accounting insight into all matters relating to property, making him a well-rounded and trusted adviser to his clients.

Commenting on his promotion, Sam Holloway said: “I am excited to contribute to the continued growth of M+A Partners and to further strengthen our expertise across both corporate and private client tax services. The property sector is a key area of my expertise. With regulatory requirements continually evolving, I will be working closely with landlords to help them understand their obligations, make informed decisions, and achieve the best possible outcomes.

“My focus will be on delivering clear, forward-looking tax advice in an increasingly complex and technology-driven landscape. I look forward to working alongside the M+A Partners team to help clients respond with confidence to emerging challenges, shifting regulatory demands, and future opportunities. Exceptional client service remains my priority, and I am committed to building trusted relationships that support each client’s individual needs.”