Fred Burton Continues to Enjoy Fame After Retirement

72 years at Latimer Hinks and Fred finally retires... but he's never been busier!

Not only has Fred featured in The Daily Mirror, The Northern Echo and on ITV News - the Sunday Telegraph are hoping to have a magazine insert featuring lives of people who have retired.

We still aren't sure if he's the longest serving employee (for one firm) in the UK. The question was asked in the Nothern Echo interview so it will be interesteing to see if we receive any responses.

See here for previous post

Colleagues at Latimer Hinks wrote a special newsletter for Fred. It makes for interesting reading

The "Mighty Atom" Bows Out.

Racey Donations for the Latimer Hinks Charity Ball

The Latimer Hinks Charity Ball is nearly upon us! I'm spending my days chasing guest lists, wine lists, donations - basically running around like a headless chicken.

I could do with a speedy sports car (preferably a convertible now that the weather has warmed up) to collect donations for the ball.

Talking of cars S G Petch and Teesside Audi have been very generous the have donated weekend use of two fabulous cars!

We're using the Mazda RX8 as a first prize in the casino. The top 4 gamblers will receive a prize and the Mazda will be first.

Teesside Audi have donated an "Audi of your choice" - yes, of your choice! I think i'd have to go with the Audi TT cabriolet (and no kids would be allowed). This prize has been placed into the auction and will be "auctioned off" with a game of golf, lunch, spa treatments and dinner at Headlam Hall near Darlington.

SG Petch and Teesside Audi are going to "place" their cars in front of Wynyard Hall - i'm sure they'll look spectacular!

North East Digital Awards - 2nd Entry!

Not to be left out, Social Networking Guineapig decided to submit an entry to the North East Digital Awards in the Digital Users/Best Use of Blogging section

Here's the blurb from their site:

The North East Digital Awards celebrate high-quality innovation, media professionalism and technical excellence in the digital world. Want to know what that really means? Our easy to navigate web site will provide you with all you need to know about the awards and their categories.
Its easy to browse, won’t give you convulsions, isn’t mission impossible and, fingers crossed, won’t self-destruct in five seconds! You can vote, interact, submit an entry or source a supplier.

Latimer Hinks now have two blogs in the running with only 10 days to go. Why not take a look, and if you like what you see - make a vote!
Social Networking Guineapig and Judith's Divorce Blog - Thanks

Knowledge Sharing through Social Networking - It Works!

As mentioned previously we are holding the Latimer Hinks bi-annual Charity Ball in May this year.

I decided that I would try to use social networking to my advantage, hence my first post about the ball.

Since this post I have received calls from:

• a photographer who will come along on the evening free of charge, sell photos and donate 10% of the profits to the charities concerned.
• an auction expert, he will supply auction items and organise a silent auction free of charge. Any profit made above the cost of the item will go directly to the charities

This will all be a great help. The companies can come in and professionally "do their thing". I will then have more time to see to the other aspect of the evening.

It's all getting very exciting! We're even looking at lighting the outside of Wynyard Hall. It is after all, a spectacular building.

"Fine"ding Your Way

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Originally uploaded by dramaqueenz

I, along with four other friends have just returned from a wonderful weekend in Prague. Such a beautiful city with so much to see!

The downside to our foreign visit was lack of information regarding directions, where to go or what to do.

I have recently undertaken some research on our website (which if it is your first visit could be referred to as a "foreign site"). If you first enter a website and cannot find what you are looking for, it can be quite frustrating. Apparently our Partner profiles are difficult to find - we are looking at remedying this. At the moment there is no search feature so old press releases are left gathering virtual dust!

But back to our trip

The weekend didn't start off too well when our Easyjet plane developed an electrical fault while we were all seated, ready and waiting for take off. We eventually arrived in Prague one hour later than planned and found that all the restaurants closed at 11pm! - we knew this because there were signs in the windows indicating a closing time!

The second day we found misleading currency exchange rates and very nearly ended up with an extremely poor exchange.

On the evening we purchased travel tickets that can be used for tram, bus and train. We knew through sites such as Virtual Tourist that you needed to have these stamped. We expected conductors to stamp the tickets on the different modes of transport.

But no, that's not how it works. There were no signs to tell us how to do this. So, we rounded a corner to be stopped by guards/tram police - whatever you want to call them. They were not in uniform but did show a badge. One of the men (quite rough looking) demanded to see our tickets (at first we thought they were beggars). We showed our tickets which were not stamped. The man indicated that we all would have to pay a 500Kc fine (around £15). We explained it was a simple mistake. He exclaimed (in Czech accent) "not my problem - your problem". He was quite aggressive, threatened to call the police and take our passports - we paid up!

So, perhaps Prague tourist information should consider displaying relevant information/signposts etc on all modes of transport.

The up side to visiting the Latimer Hinks website is that we will not fine you or threaten you with the police, we will simply take any constructive comments on board and amend our site to suit!

ACT NOW - Enduring Power of Attorney vs Lasting Power of Attorney - Deadline FAST Approaching!

I thought that i would take the opportunity to "flag up" a deadline that is fast approaching.

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is a legal document which i think of an a sort of insurance policy. I say now, who i want to deal with my financial affairs if in the future i can't deal with them personally.

What is an EPA An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), is a legal document that enables someone (the donor) to appoint one or more persons (attorney(s)) to manage their financial affairs and property, either now or in the future - and crucially whether or not you are or are not mentally incapacitated.

If you do not have an EPA If you become ill or metally incapacitated and have no EPA, no-one can act on your behalf unless they first went to Court and are appointed "Receiver" for you - all a matter of a lot of time and a lot of expense.

Don't think your spouse and children can act for you without an EPA - in the case of mental incapacity and no EPA - they can't, not without court intervention.

From the 1st October Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPA) can no longer be made. Instead they will be replaced with a revised type of power called Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). BUT EPA's inplace at 1st October will be operative!

The LPA's will be more expensive and lengthier. At the moment an EPA may cost you around £110 + VAT for a single and £200 + VAT for a double. The cost of the LPA will depend on who prepares the LPA. Estimates from lawyers vary - the figures i've heard vary between £700 + VAT + £1500 + VAT.

Anne Elliott, Partner at Latimer Hinks explains why you should arrange a Power of Attorney asap. Click here