The Holiday Season is Upon Us - Are You Safe?

Summer is here at long last, and many of us will be looking at getting away on holiday, I know I will be.  But it is not only holiday makers that love the summer season, burglars are equally excited at the prospect of empty houses.

With our evolving world of social media and our ever visible online presence, it is well worth taking a step back and remembering that it is not only our friends that are able to see what we are posting.  So, unless we are careful we could potentially leave ourselves vulnerable to the criminals in society and inadvertently provide information which can be used against us.

I know as well as the next person, that holidays are one of the best things to share with your social world, but for your safety, it is probably better to keep the news to yourself till you are home. 

But if you are looking to maintain your online voice, here are just a few things worth considering whilst you are away:

• Check your privacy to see if your post gives your current location, if it does change it before you make your post.
• Avoid checking in on Facebook, this just will confirm that you are away from home.
• Do not post information about your holiday plans, especially dates and locations, at any time.
• Check that you haven’t added your home address or telephone number to your profile.
• Wait until your holiday is over before your upload your holiday snaps.

Here is some information from www.fightcyberstalking.org on using Twitter privacy setting, you might find firmer ways of protecting yourself.

Also, there is an excellent guide from Digital Trends to help you tighten up your Facebook security settings, to make you as safe as you can be.

Don’t forget to check all other sites you have accounts with, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. too.

Stay safe and enjoy your summer!

Fresh Look for CSM’s Vans

CSM are currently rolling out our new look vans.  Have you spotted one yet?  Our new livery marks the preliminary steps towards the unveiling of our new branding – so watch this space!

Members of our new fleet can already be seen in Oxford, Northampton and soon will be up and down the streets of London

We are stepping away from our classic silver and black branding in favour of a lighter, brighter, orange and blue design, with its flowing feeling representing our reliably smooth service from door to door. 

Delivery for your business is our business, so we continually strive to invest in our fleet so we can provide a reliable service to our customers, and allowing us to maintain our can do culture.

Tour de France 2014 –Road Closures and Service Disruptions

This Saturday marks the beginning of the Tour de France; it sees Britain’s Chris Froome riding out from Leeds to defend his Tour de France title.  This will only be the fourth time in its history that England will act as host since the Tour began in 1903.  

The UK legs will be held between Saturday 5^th July and Monday 7^th July 2014.  The final UK leg will see the cyclists battling through the streets of Greater and Central London, so many roads along the panned route will be closed.  As a result of these road closures we would like to prepare our customers for disruptions.

Saturday 5^th July – The Grand Départ 2014

The Grand Départ 2014, hosted in Yorkshire, begins in Leeds.  It sees a 190 Km route which will pass Skipton, Ripon to name but a few, before it comes to an end Harrogate.  See here for an overview of the route.

Sunday 6^th July – Stage 2

The second stage the cyclists will begin in York heading through the Peak District National Park and Huddersfield before making its way towards Sheffield.  Full details of the route are available here.  The riders are then due to travel by car to Cambridge ahead to their next race.

Monday 7^th July – Stage 3

Monday is the day that will cause disruption to our customers, and other businesses, in and around the Greater and Central London, Essex and the surrounding areas.

Stage 3 of the Tour is due to start around Midday in Cambridge city centre and will be passing through Great Shelford in Cambridgeshire.  Its course is then set for Essex, passing through Saffron Walden and will travel close to both Braintree and Chelmsford then through Epping.  After which they will be heading to Greater London

The racers will be riding close to Woodford Green, Chingford, Walthamstow and Snaresbrook .

Then on to Central London the party will be traveling through Layton, Stratford, West Ham, Plaistow, Silvertown, Leamouth, Poplar, Wapping and Shadwell.

The riders will pass the Tower of London and along the Thames towards Upper and Lower Thames Streets, Victoria Embankment, passing the Houses of Parliament to St. James’s Park before finishing on The Mall.  It is estimated that the riders will be finish the stage between 15.30 and 16.00 on Monday.

Try this interactive map of Monday’s route to see if the Tour will affect you or your business, or if you need to plan a route to travel.