A corner is in sight...

It's all been so busy here- between reassessments for Chas, ISO 9001 and 14001, working on tendering for new work and starting projects as far apart as Borough and Camden, we've hardly had a chance to stop and blog.

Does all this mean a corner has bee turned in our industry? Are things on the up? We're not certain, but at east we can see the corner now. We know from past experience that, teamwork, commitment to doing a great job and a steady hand on the tiller will see us right...

Our projects continue to run beautifully, with our newest Site Manager Alen (it's official now!) going great guns in W1, and foundation stone of the family Tommy stepping up to take charge on his first project with support from Site Manager Almir.

We've had some brilliant family news too, with new additions- Adrian got married to the lovely Djisha, and Solomon to his darling Hilena. We know they will all spend long and joyful lives together and we wish them every happiness.


Niki and Tori are welcoming a new member of the family too- Alastair the Border Terrier moves in this weekend, and we will be sure to update you on his progress.

We had our third Beer and Pizza Night recently, with great food, excellent company, the unveiling of our fascinating ColourWorks team and individual results and possibly the most impromptu and hilarious quiz ever- but the prizes of Amazon gift vouchers for all who got their specialist subject question right went down well.

On the left you can see Marek and Jack and a quality photobomb by Tommy- the lad has great timing!

On a serious note, our sites continue to perform well on the safety and customer care fronts, with messages of thanks received from residents and caretakers at Cundy Street, Carlton Gate, Cheyne Gardens and Berwick Court. Our safety record remains strong, and we thank all our teams for their dedication to running professional and safe sites, and care for their own wellbeing and that of colleagues.

Our annual wellbeing survey is scheduled soon, and we are confident that this year will see further improvements in the wellbeing of our people and, in turn, our business.

We're off to the Family Business United awards on 12 June, where we have everything crossed for our nomination for Family Business of the Year; the best part is that we'll spend time with people from other family businesses, share experiences and celebrate together on what we're sure will be a great evening.

The FBU website has great resources for any business, whether family owned or not- check them out, sign up and stay in touch to tap into their wealth of expertise and experience. 

Lastly, we wish to send our thoughts and condolences to the family of the man so horrifically killed in Woolwich yesterday. This was truly a senseless crime in a wonderful city, and we call on all our friends to remain positive and true to the belief that our city is beautiful. Thankfully, these crimes are rare. There has been condemnation from all quarters, and we know Londoners will come together as they have so many times to prevent further incidents and stamp out hate and fear.

Inspiration in a cup

I am just back from visiting the Leatherhead Youth Project. In short- they are still doing astounding work.

The last 18 months has seen some rapid growth for LYP in terms of young people attending their projects (over 200 unique visits per month, up 30%) and their work.
They are now also recognised both locally and countywide as a leading deliverer of high quality youth work.

Never have they been more aware of the local needs of the community in these difficult economic times, whether it's through finding out about terrible home situations through many of the vulnerable young people they meet every day or through the '2011 census stats' for Leatherhead North that paint a bleak picture. One of their biggest challenges is the low % of young people achieving 5+ A*-C (including Maths & English) GCSE- only 37.2% compared to a county average of 61.4%. Another appalling statistic for Leatherhead North is that 1 in 5 of our children live in poverty- twice the district average.

Despite the challenges the team have succeeded and gone from strength to strength, opening the All Saints coffee bar which helps young people learn business and customer service skills. Martin (right) who manages it is 19 and a former user of the centre. He has trained 15 young people since opening in January- and aims to make this 100 by the end of the year.

Andy Gill, the head of the team, is up for an award that recognises their achievements and will help them make a strong case for funding and support from local businesses. More importantly, he deserves this.

Please, as soon as you can-  take a moment to vote for Andy here.

Hat trick!

Yesterday we shared the news that we've been shortisted for the Family Business Place 'Customer First' Red Ribbon award. That was pretty cool in itself, right? But it seems they rate us even more highly...

Today we add a nomination for their 'Family Business of the Year' award to our growing list of things to cross our fingers for. What does this mean to us?

We have supported FBP and their great work to promote the interests of family businesses for over 2 years now, and love their ethos and people. They work with the finest family businesses in the UK, including many which go back over 200 years. As we celebrate 50 years in London and look to our centenary in 2019, we are privileged to be a part of things.

We were so proud to pick up their 'Corporate Environmental Responsibility' award last November in recognition of our efforts to be a socially and enironmentally responsible and aware business, and to be shortlisted for their 'Innovation' award too; to add two more nominations to the tally this year is wonderful.

The awards take place in London on 5th July.

So that's two nominations from Family Business Place in 2013- add this to our amazing achievement in making the shortlist of the Family Business United 'Family Business of the Year' award and it means we not only complete a hat trick of achievements, but could mark 50 years of Making London Beautiful by being Family Business of the Year twice over! (PS- You can still vote for us here!)

This trio of nominations recognises our values and ethics, our people, their skills and our unique approach; we are proud to share this news and thank every member of our Family for giving us reason to celebrate.

Customer First

Great news- we have just learned that we are shortlisted for the Family Business Place Red Ribbon award in the category ‘Customer First’.

The judges are deliberating and we will know in July if we’ve been successful.

Add to this our nomination for Family Business of the Year from Family Business United (and I hope you have all voted!) and 2013 is shaping up to be a year where we’ll have not just our 50^th anniversary of Making London Beautiful to celebrate but lots more besides.

Thanks to everyone who helps our Family keep achieving and gaining recognition- what you do and how you do it is important!

Could we be the Family Business of the Year?

So we got an email yesterday evening confirming that we're up for the Family Business United Family Business of the Year award... like, totes amaze, right? And in our 50th year of Making London Beautiful too!

We are shortlisted alongside some big household names and feel honoured to have been recognised in this way.

We are so proud to be shortlisted and it's  amazing  recognition for our people and our values, so PLEASE CLICK and vote for us! 

A year of celebrations

We promised news this week and on this fabulous Friday we are delighted to share some of our plans for 2013- the year we celebrate 50 Years of Making London Beautiful.

Our origins are in the North- our CEO Frank's grandfather Robert established a specialist restoration business in Yorkshire in 1919, passing the business to his son Derek when he retired. It was Derek who brought Bastows to London in 1963, setting down values of quality, care, and a love for what we do that we still work with today.

We could wait until 2019 to mark our centenary as a family business, but we are so proud to have served London's finest homes and estates that we couldn't let the big 5-0 slip by unnoticed.

In this special year we want to look back on the projects and people we remember as well as keep an eye on the future as we move into the next fifty years.

STUBBING OUR TOES DOWN MEMORY LANE!

Starting today on our Facebook page, we'll be sharing fifty photos over the coming weeks that capture a memory from the past five decades.

BADGE OF HONOUR

We'll soon unveil a special 50th Anniversary edition of our logo that you'll see appearing online, on our social media and on our vans (spotted all over London!) Take a snap of a van sporting the special logo in 2013, tweet it to us at @BastowsFamily and win a special little piece of history from 1963.

FIFTY SHADES OF... 1963

We'll be blogging weekly about an event from the past fifty years, covering the story of our Family as well as topics from news to music, fashion and society. What was life like when Derek set up in London? We'll be welcoming guest bloggers, too- so do you have your own memory you'd like to share?

BRINGING US TO BOOK 

This year will see the release of a handy new book that will provide our Family and friends with the story behind Bastows' growth and values, offering insight, honesty and incredibly useful tools for business and life. Indispensable advice, free and on us- because you're worth it.

GROWING AND EVOLVING

We'll also be posting some video interviews with our people over on YouTube about how Bastows has grown and changed in their time. How different are things from their first day with us? What's the best bit of being part of the Bastows family? What are our plans for the future?

There will be lots more happening, including a family party in the Summer when we can be (almost!) sure of better weather- watch the blog, Facebook page and Twitter feed for news!