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Seeing the iconic Jacobean mansion of Blickling Hall bathed in light while you enjoy a slice of Blickling wood-fired pizza on the main drive is a treat which for many has become a family tradition.

This year, that quintessential Norfolk estate – the first complete estate ever to be cared for by the National Trust – will once again be celebrating the festive season with two very special and unique experiences, each aimed at creating lasting memories.

During the day, the beautifully decorated hall will open its doors to reveal rooms packed full of decorations, lovingly created by staff and volunteers. Nutcrackers, an estate children’s party, cocktails in the South Drawing Room and an Ice Ball all help to create a fantastical experience for visitors.

Property Curator, Megan Dennis and her team are excited to share it with visitors.

“Christmas in the hall at Blickling is so special. This year we are celebrating the magic moments of Christmas – all the special family traditions and games. We welcome visitors to explore the house, decorate a tree, help the cooks prepare for Christmas Day and take a whirl on the dancefloor. The beautiful decorations created by our talented volunteers really make the hall a unique place to visit at this time of year. Their passion and enthusiasm for Blickling shines through in every room.”

An army of florists, gardeners, crafters and artists have all contributed, under the guidance and direction of Jo Pipe, Blickling’s House and Collections Officer.

“We have created a 1930s fantastical adventure for our visitors to explore. Meet people from the past and create your own special memories in this beautiful place.”

In the evening, the house doors close and it is the turn of Blickling’s gardens to take centre stage.

Transformed into a riot of colour and illuminations, with little ‘wow’ moments tucked around every corner; an accessible, level route will help all visitors enjoy an after-dark festive adventure in one of Norfolk’s most special places.

For Experience and Visitor programme Manager, Sebastian Billing, it’s his favourite time of year.

“I’ve known Blickling all my life and for my family, it’s always been a playground for the senses. Our Garden of Lights event transforms the outside spaces – once the sun goes down, it feels like every inch is painted with imagination. Seeing visitors of all ages laughing and making memories in a place that means so much to the local community, shows us that the essential fundraising we do as a charity can look and feel pretty magical.”

Blickling’s festive celebrations kick off on Monday 28 November and run through to Sunday 18 December 2022.

• The House is open daily from 11-2pm, tickets are free for National Trust members, no booking necessary.
• The Garden of Lights event takes place daily between 4-8pm, all tickets must be pre-booked. Weekend tickets have almost sold out, but there are still tickets available to visit Monday – Friday. Bring the kids for a memorable after-school adventure, or visit after work for a fun evening out with colleagues or friends.
• Children under five go free.
• Free carer tickets available on request.

Christmas lights and events at Blickling | National Trust

We are delighted to announce that we have been selected as a finalist at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Awards 2022.

The CSJ Awards are national and high profile, recognising charities that are innovative in tackling poverty and exclusion in Britain. They exist to ensure that the voices of those working to address these issues are given access to decision makers in Westminster.

As an organisation, we are delighted to be recognised for the outstanding work we do in supporting vulnerable young people through vocational training. We raise their self-esteem and confidence, whilst enabling them to gain trade related qualifications, employment opportunities and a much improved quality of life as well as being accepted in the community.

We are very grateful for this opportunity and the positive outcomes it will bring.

Previous award winners can be found at www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/about-the-csj-alliance/awards-2021

https://st-eds.org/csj-award-finalists/

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve been awarded the Investors in People’s (IIP) UK Employer of the Year Gold award (50–249 employees).

Why did we win?

This award recognises our employee engagement strategy as truly special. It’s something that’s very close to our hearts – our leadership team have worked hard on it to make sure that, as the business grows, we remain true to our values.

Our approach helps us focus on the wellbeing of our people, how we hire and retain them, how we communicate, and our reward and recognition structure. And we’re so pleased to be recognised for it – especially as we celebrate 20 years of Pure in 2023.

What the award means to us

Caroline Batchelor, Director, said: ‘I’m so proud that we’ve won an IIP Gold award. Our people are so important to us. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. We work hard to maintain and develop our positive culture. I just want to say thank you to everyone at Pure. This is all about you – you’re what makes Pure a great place to work!’

Ben Farrow, Operations Director, said: ‘Creating an engaged culture is an ongoing process and continually evolves. Achieving our IIP Gold accreditation earlier this year was an opportunity to hear how we’re doing. And winning this award is the cherry on top. We’ll continue to focus on sharing ideas, giving everyone a voice and building on our values to make sure Pure remains a great place to work. This award recognises what we’ve achieved so far and our commitment to investing in our people.’

Executive Director Lynn Walters said: ‘On behalf of the whole team, I’m so proud to have won this award. We have a brilliant team of people who care passionately about doing the right thing for jobseekers, clients and each other, as well as the communities we’re part of. At Pure, our culture is the top priority – it guides how we work every day. And we’re fortunate to work with some fantastic organisations across the eastern region who we share experiences with, something which helps keep us fresh and continually evolving. We’re looking forward to celebrating this award with the whole team.’

CEO, Ian Walters summed things up: ‘As a team, we’ve always valued helping people above recognition. But I still feel really proud and honoured that Pure has won this prestigious IIP award.’

Collecting our award

David, Caroline and Ben went to collect our trophy at the awards evening in London on Tuesday 15 November. It was great to see so many other inspirational organisations at the event, all of which are doing great things to #MakeWorkBetter. But only a few get to take home one of the sought-after trophies. And this year we were very proud to be one of them. ‘It was a fab night and a brilliant result for us all,’ said David. ‘I’m so proud of our organisation, our culture and, most importantly, all our people.’

Paul Devoy, CEO, Investors in People, said “The Investors in People Awards 2022 marks a new chapter for us. We came together again after three years in our biggest celebration of exemplary leaders and organisations who have transformed themselves into a force of good despite the challenges. I am proud of every organisation that entered this year, demonstrating the value in making work better and setting an example for other organisations to do the same.”

Our thanks

This award and our gold accreditation recognise our commitment to creating a great workplace. We’d like to thank Investors in People and the judges who made it happen. But most importantly, we’d like to thank the people who make Pure such a great place to work.

Want to work for an award-winning organisation?

Find out more about what it’s like to work with us.

In order to select their chosen charity of the year, several charities are presented to the Swans (employees) who are then asked to anonymously vote for the one they would like to support for that year. The charities presented are those that have shown an interest in working together or have approached them for our support.

For the past 5 years Indigo Swan have supported Norfolk and Waveney Mind. It’s a charity they hold close to their hearts, which is why they are excited to reveal that tjhey will be supporting them for another year. It was a very close vote (the closest yet), so they have decided to support the runner up next year.

James commented: “We all have mental health, but poor mental health is something that all of us will come in contact with at some stage during our lives – whether that’s someone you know, a friend, a family member or even yourself. At Indigo Swan we’re passionate about being upfront, honest and open about challenges facing people with poor mental health. We want to continue to help with raising awareness and support all of the Swans within every aspect of their wellbeing.”

Find out more on their blog.

Business leaders from across the region were given some valuable insights into how to achieve the best possible performance by football international and Premier League star, Paul McVeigh.

Paul, who had a 16-year career as a professional footballer with Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City and Northern Ireland, was speaking at the Larking Gowen Autumn Business Breakfast, at Milsoms Kesgrave Hall, near Ipswich, on 22 November 2022.

His experience of competing with and against some of the best players in the world, and being the first Premier League footballer to qualify with a Master’s Degree in Psychology, formed the basis of his presentation into how to achieve the right mindset to boost performance.

“In the four corner model of performance, you have technical, physical, psychological and social. The most important is psychological. The question you have to ask is: How much of your day are you dedicating to improving this?” he said.

“People are busy working throughout life. It’s just a case of being clear on what you are working towards every day, every month, every year. Normally, you are told what your goals are professionally, but nobody tells you what your goals are for yourself,” he said.

Since his retirement from professional football, besides becoming a thought leader in performance psychology, Paul has become an established radio and TV broadcaster and has published a book, ‘The Stupid Footballer is Dead’.

Graham Mummery, Audit Partner with Larking Gowen’s Corporate team, said: “We’re very grateful to Paul for a fascinating insight into the world of elite performance, and how lessons can be learned from sporting achievement at this level that apply to all aspects of life.”

The event was sponsored by Beckett Investment Management Group.

Find out more about Paul’s work here.

More and more people are electing to take up an apprenticeship in Norfolk. The results for 2021/22 have seen an increase in the number of people who start an apprenticeship, figures which had been in decline since 2016. Many employers who are new to apprenticeships are unaware that apprenticeships are not just for school leavers aged under 19, and that there are also apprenticeships opportunities for all ages, including for existing employees who may be looking at upskilling current staff.

Across England, new apprenticeship starts were up by 8.6% compared with 2020/21, whilst in Norfolk new starts were up by 17.7%, demonstrating the impact of work which organisations in Norfolk are doing in helping to buck the wider trend.

One of the areas with the largest increase compared with the same period last year was in Information and Communication Technology apprenticeships, which saw a 90% increase of people taking up an apprenticeship compared to 2020/21.

Cllr Graham Plant, cabinet member for growing the economy, said: “Being or hiring an apprentice can be so rewarding for both parties – it’s a great way to expand your business while also passing knowledge on. There are so many different types of apprenticeship to explore, from agriculture to the arts, and engineering to tourism. These qualifications are offered at different levels: intermediate, advanced, and higher, so there is bound to be something for everyone on offer.

“Apprenticeships aren’t just for young people, with almost half of apprentices this year being over the age of 25. Not only does it help the individuals on the course, but it helps to expand the Norfolk economy by creating jobs and enabling companies to grow to meet the demand of the future.”

Apprenticeships Norfolk, a free and impartial service run by Norfolk County Council, offers a wide range of support for both apprentices and companies looking to take on an apprentice, including information and guidance, as well as financial support. The Access to Apprenticeships grant, which is funded through the European Regional Development Fund, offers businesses up to £500 to enable them to overcome barriers to hiring an apprentice. The grant can be used for a variety of things, such as providing travel expenses, or the technology required by an apprentice to complete their studies, or for purchasing specialist equipment which would be needed, but can present a barrier to companies thinking of hiring an apprentice.

One company who was awarded the grant was BH Trees, a tree surgery company based in Norwich. They hired a female apprentice in a typically male dominated industry, which presented a challenge for them as a lot of standard safety equipment is designed for men. This equipment would be ill-fitting, and she would have had to share it, but the Access to Apprenticeships grant enabled the company to purchase equipment specifically designed for females.

Ben Hogben, from BH Trees, said: “We used the Access to Apprenticeship grant to purchase a tree climbing harness designed for arborists and for the female shape. I found the application for Access to Apprenticeships grant very straightforward – it was a single sheet to complete.

“I would urge other businesses to take advantage of the grant, it’s available to fund a huge range of equipment. It’s certainly made a difference to our business, and it’s certainly made a difference to our apprentice.”

Apprenticeships Norfolk has been running the #MadeInNorfolk campaign, aimed at encouraging businesses to take on an apprentice or to upskill an existing staff member using an apprenticeship. The campaigns success was recently recognised at the regional Chartered Institute of Public Relations awards, winning both the Best Low Budget campaign and the Best Public Sector campaign categories. The campaign was also highly commended at the national Annual Apprenticeship Conference awards.

For more information about starting an apprenticeship, or if you are a company looking to take on an apprentice, visit www.apprenticeshipsnorfolk.org and to learn more about the Access to Apprenticeships grant, visit www.apprenticeshipsnorfolk.org/access-to-apprenticeships