Martyn Joseph Up Close and Amazing!

I was lucky enough to be a face in an intimate crowd listening to the thought provoking words of Martyn Joseph last night.

The gig was held in a village hall in Wiltshire, where Martyn gave a captivating performance.  In such a venue there is no place to hide, and it was incredible to see such a talented guitar player up so close.  It’s certainly an experience that will stay with me for some time to come.

I hold my hands up and admit that I wasn’t too familiar with his work before the performance, but my eyes are open to the strong messages he projects and the points he raises, with such power and feeling it was an awesome thing to witness, although I must say that I have rather a soft spot for the light-hearted number he played on the ukulele!

But that’s not where it ends, it is profoundly heart-warming to hear that Martyn has set up a charitable organisation called Let Yourself Trust (www.letyourself.net) where he brings awareness to “some very beautiful and life giving projects” in the UK and abroad.  He spoke passionately about the of the works of Project Somos (www.projectsomos.org) in Guatemala which his organisation has recently supported and raised a considerable amount towards.  The trust will now be working towards raising awareness and funds for Zac’s Place (www.zacsplace.org), a largely volunteer led organisation who offer a safe haven for vulnerable rough sleepers in Swansea.   

It’s not every day you come into contact with someone who promotes such compassion, but this man did, and I felt humbled as well as thoroughly entertained.

Thank you Martyn, you’re an inspiration.

Source of Image - www.martynjoseph.net/media/

Safe Urban Driving Awareness

As a business we are continually looking at ways to improve, we frequently look at streamlining our services, adding new options and features for customers, but that’s not where it ends.  We also look at ways of promoting a positive and safe way of working, and as such we are in the process of raising our driver’s road safety awareness through training.

Our drivers will soon be taking part in the Transport for London’s Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) ‘Safe Urban Driving’.  This is a course that is designed to bring awareness to the best practices that should be used when around venerable road uses, such as pedestrians, cyclist and motorcyclists.

Part of the course is designed to give drivers a cyclists’ perspective of riding on busy roads, which I would imaging, would stay in the memory especially for those who do not cycle.

The course is run by a not for profit workers’ co-operation called Cycle Training UK – www.cycletraining.co.uk who also offer a wide range of training for both cyclists of varying abilities as well as for schools and organisations.

Since when have Winter Storms been Named?

I’ve been hearing reports of the winter storm Juno over the last couple of days, and am pleased that it has caused less disruption than was expected, although anyone expecting a delivery on the East Coast of America should be aware that there are likely to be delays.

I like the name Juno, not only as it reminds me of the 2007 film, but I think it’s rather hippy vibe to it, but since when have winter storms been named?  I know that hurricanes are given names as in certain parts of the world, the Atlantic Basin for example; it is common for multiple storms to reach tropical strength in one area at one time.  The naming would go to help identify each weather system, which helps avoid confusion between each hurricane, but his is the first time I’ve been aware of a winter storm being named.

So I thought I would have a look into why the storm was named.

After a little research it seems that this is a convention started by in the US, more specifically by The Weather Channel, a cable TV station.  The Weather Channel have been giving identifying names to these winter storms since 2011.

It would seem that The Weather Channel have caused a fair bit of controversy over the years by naming such storms and the names are not recognised by the wider weather service bodies and organisations.

Personally, I don’t see the harm in giving a weather system a “pet” name, it’s rather endearing, and makes listening to weather reports a little more engaging.

Advantages of Access Points

Like many people these days I have many roles to play during a typical day.  I have a young family, a fantastic job working from home and plenty of items that have either been out grown or that we have fallen out of love with, so I have a small eBay store where these things can find a new home.

I spend quite a lot a time online, and make the occasional (and sometimes not so occasional) purchases, you know what it’s like, some things are just too tempting to leave.  So I find deliveries going in one direction or the other are often in my thoughts.

My Consumer Experience

As a consumer, I find nothing quite as frustrating as waiting in for a delivery.  I have often dedicated the best part of a day to this curtain twitching activity.

But there are times in the day that you just can’t be confined to quarters, the school run, for example.  I try to play this one as tactically as possible – leaving at the last possible minute, then “persuading” my little darlings to hurry home at top speed with a promise of a small treat to eat when we arrive back.

I don’t know if you do the same, but if I have had to leave the house when I’m expecting a delivery, I find that as I get closer to the house I start a military like scan of each road and side roads in search of anything resembling a delivery van.   Then, having a warming sense of optimism when there’s no sign of van, only to reach the house, open the door and have that heart dropping feeling of disappointment when you see that small card lying on the door mat.  “Sorry we missed you…” Great!

And now for the hassle of rearranging the delivery, with the prospect of waiting in another day, or having to traipse all the way to the depot, which for me is the other side of town.  It’s far from ideal!

My Business Experience

The other side of the coin, sending parcels doesn’t come without it’s share of hanging around either.  I have an online account with my courier where I enter all the parcel details, print a label and book a collection.  The small bonus between sending and receiving  parcels is that when I book the collection I can ask whether the pick-up can be made after the school run and often it can - which is great, but then after that time the waiting game begins AGAIN! 

Using Access Points

Well, all this is set to change for me, I’m taking back control of MY time!  I have recently found out about parcel access points.  These are ordinary shops, often convenience stores, where you can drop parcels you are sending off, and have parcels for you sent to allowing you the freedom to choose when you pick up or drop of a parcel. 

You can go to these shops at any time during opening hours and drop off or collect a parcel.

From what I gather you need to double check what time you are dropping off a parcel, as there are cut off times for sending items, but once you know the timings you can plan your time accordingly.  When collecting items you will need to show two forms of ID, so you have peace of mind from a security point of view.  These access points are growing in number rapidly, so there is bound to be convenient locations for most of us.

I’m certainly going to use these access points in the future, and will spread the word to my ebay customers too.

So as far as I’m concerned, waiting in for deliveries is a thing of the past. I feel liberated!

Change is as Good as a Rest, Well it Seems to have Worked Well for us

We have all just welcomed in a new year but are you content with the way your business developed through 2014?

What could make your 2015 brighter?  Sometime the key is change; it seems to have worked well for us.

We have taken a short time to reflect on our business activities through 2014, and on analysis we have undertaken large business changing projects that, we believe, have contributed to a successful year.

We began with the launch of our new branding, which injected a new sense of vibrancy into the way we project ourselves.  This fresh brighter look has translated well on the livery of our new vans.  We are particularly pleased with the eye catching orange and blue design with its suggestion of movement.  It feels like a perfect representation for our company and reflects where we are now.

This was followed by a seamless office move for our Oxford branch, causing no break in service for our customers.

Our most ambitious change was the launch of our new website.  This was by far the biggest project and the one which offered the most to our customers.  We ensured that the wording of the site was carefully chosen; while meticulous planning was given to the functionality and ease of navigation for customers.  Our customers were consistently at the forefront of our minds during the development process.

Lastly 2014 saw CSM introducing a new delivery service, aimed at e-Commerce traders.  Our e-Com+ service gives a 3-4 day delivery service at a very competitive rate.  We feel this addition to our delivery service options complements our existing service and allows us to offer a complete range of delivery options.

We strongly believe that these changes have helped path our way to a successful year!  As they say a change is as good as a rest, and we are feeling energised and ready for our next set of challenges for 2015.

Some Christmas Traditions from Around the World

People around the world are gearing themselves up to celebrate Christmas in one way or another.  Many Christmas traditions revolve around gift giving in some form, but some traditions are very different from the way decorations are put up to a ritual which is observed yearly.

Take Finland for example, the home of the great Santa Clause himself, here the festivities begin on Christmas Eve.  Being Santa’s first stop presents are delivered on Christmas Eve.  In the morning families share a traditional meal of creamy rice pudding topped with cinnamon, sugar and spices, or a sauce made of dried prunes.

In the town of Turko, in Southern Finland “The Declaration of Christmas Peace” is read after the cathedral bell strikes 12-noon.  As well as celebrating with family and the giving of gifts, at Christmas time many Finnish families use this time of year to visit graves of relatives and lighting candles at the grave-sides.  There are even memorial areas in the cemeteries where people can light candles for loved ones buried elsewhere. 

Christmas decorations vary around the world.  People celebrating in India decorate banana or mango trees with decorative things that they find.  Whilst a folklore story in the Ukraine, sees Christmas trees decorated in spider webs.  The story tells of a poor woman who couldn’t afford to decorate her tree.  Her children woke the next morning to see that their tree was covered in cobwebs.   When the first light of Christmas touched the webs they turned into silver and gold and the family were never wanting again.

In the UK we are accustom to children hanging a stocking out on Christmas Eve night for Santa to vist, but not every child does this.  Children in the Philippines leave highly polished shoes and fresh socks on their window sills, in wait for the Three Kings to leave them a gift when they pass the house.  In Haiti, children leave their straw filled shoes on the porch in wait for Santa to remove the straw and leave presents in and around their shoes.

In contrast to some of the wholesome traditions, there are some darker characters linked with Christmas, like Krampus known in Germany and Austria as a demon thought to be the anti-Santa.  Krampus is used as a reminder for children to be on their best behaviour, otherwise they will be punished.  The Icelandic Yule cat Jólakötturinn is thought to eat lazy people who do not do their chores, this folklore story was originally used by farmers to encourage their workers to complete their work processing Autumn wool before Christmas  Workers who took part would be given new clothes, those that didn’t could be identified by the and preyed upon by the Yule cat.

On a lighter note, the Japanese tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas brings a commercialised smile to the face.  This tradition starting after the fast food chain promoted their fried chicken as a Christmas meal.

Another, slightly off the wall tradition started in 1966 in the town of Gavel in Sweden.  A 13 metre tall goat made of straw was built.  At midnight on Christmas Eve the goat was lit.  Every year since the goat has been built, but it has fallen foul at the hands of vandals on many occasions.  Most commonly it had been torched before Christmas Eve, but one year it’s legs were destroyed and on another occasion it was hit by a car.  We hope 2014 goes without incident!

However you will be celebrating, enjoy and be merry and remember to stay on Santa’s Nice List, because I don’t know about you but I don’t like the sound of Krampus one bit!

Christmas Collection Dates

At last December is here, it is without question a magical time of year, but without planning it can cause a fair amount of stress!

Let us help you to avoid a last minute panic with details of last collection times, along with a few other tips to get our deliveries through safely.

Don’t worry if you have missed other postal and delivery cut off times, there is still plenty of time for CSM to make sure your parcel arrives in time for Christmas.

To get your parcel to its destination by Christmas Eve you will need to order your collection by 10.30am on the following dates:

Date	Destination
Tuesday 23rd December*	UK (including remote areas) and New York
Monday 22nd December*	Europe and America

It is worth remembering that we can’t rely on the weather and adverse weather conditions can affect both the UK and International deliveries, so please allow as much time as possible when planning to send your parcels.

We’ve mentioned in a previous blog post the importance of packing your parcel so as to protect your goods inside, here is a link to the post, feel free to use it as a reminder, we want to help you get your deliveries through in the best possible condition.

*The collection dates given above are for CSM's Express Service.