Restoring and beautifying London's most prestigious homes with love for almost 100 years.




Tuesday 26 October 2010

Bastows and Investors in People



Bastows are proud to confirm that we have completed our assessment for the prestigious Investors in People standard.

Whilst we are awaiting the full report, we are thrilled to be able to share some initial feedback received from our assessor.



"Bastows has a fantastic culture that clearly underpins everything the business does."


"One thing you want is to make everyone feel like Family, and I've seen that you achieve that 100%."


"I haven't encountered a company quite like Bastows, that is so genuine in its aims and approach."


"You aim to make everyone feel like Family, and you certainly brought me in and made me feel that way."


"Thank you to all of your team for their honesty, openness and for making me so welcome."


Thank you to everyone who supported our application, who spoke with the assessor, and who has worked so hard over the past three years to enable us to get this far... we'll keep you all up to date as soon as we have further news.

Monday 27 September 2010

NEWS: Bastows Board Appointments





We are pleased to share the news with the Family that Nancy Baker and Niki Rosenbaum have been appointed to the Board of Directors of Bastows, effective immediately.

This is in recognition of their continuous commitment to the Bastows Family and their constant endeavours beyond normal working practices to grow our business and guide us into the future. This also helps us in our ongoing succession strategy.

Nancy will take up the role of Finance Director, while Niki becomes Cultural Director.

We wish them well, and are confident that they will help us continue to grow, develop and build for the future.

Thursday 29 July 2010

What makes London special for you?


Yesterday on Facebook, we asked for our friends to tell us about their favourite bits of London, especially any 'secret' places that make the City special.


Niki started us off by posting that Bankside, Postmans' Park and Borough Market all have a place in her heart, and that the Bobby Moore statue at Wembley Stadium makes her proud!

Andrew Kerr posted The Market Porter in Borough market, best pub in Britain...can almost see it from my office....hmmm getting thirsty!!

(That is a great pub and always busy!)

Amanda Bastow loves crossing the river at night in a taxi

Stephen McGrane is enamoured of the dolphin lamp posts on the South Bank and that white deco building with a clock on opposite bank

Praful Varsani added Golders Hill Park. Has small zoo, kids play park, tennis courts, and woodland. Great pubs around corner, Spaniards Inn and the Bull&Bush to our list.

Jon Harper professed to be a fan of HMS Belfast.

Niki asked if anyone had ever been on the river cruise from Westminster to Greenwich? It's a unique and brilliant way to see the sights, including hidden bits of London that you'd otherwise miss.

Nancy has been on the boat trip at night and says that London looks magical with all the bridges, Westminster and Canary Wharf lit up.

We'll carry this one on I think, there are some great suggestions coming through, and today we've asked our younger members to share what they love about London.

We'll keep you posted!

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Bastows brochures now available


Bastows brochures go live

The brand new Bastows brochures are released his week, featuring company information, images of our beautiful projects, details of our awards and accreditations and key datafor clients, residents and anyone interested in who we are, what we do, and the unique way we do it.


We are really excited as this has truly been a family project, with everyone adding their own unique touches and ideas so the amazing Bastows spirit shines through on every page.


If you'd like to receive a copy of the brochure in eiher A4 or A5 format, please just comment below, email us a mail@bastows.co.uk, or pick up the phone to 01372 363 353- we'd love to hear from you.

Wednesday 16 June 2010

World Cup results updated on our Twitter feed

Hi all

Just an update, all WC fixture scores and updates on the sweep will appear on our Facebook and Twitter pages- follow us and join our pages, and keep up to speed on scores, news, competitive chat, cakes...

... and who’s over the moon and who’s as sick as a parrot, Brian!

Bastows on Facebook and Twitter- join in!

Bastows Promote your Page too


Follow BastowsFamily on Twitter


Friday 11 June 2010

The Bastows World Cup Sweepstake 2010




It's World Cup time again, when the shirts come out, the telly's never off, and the pubs across the world are filled with cheers, jeers and tears.




We've drawn a sweepstake for each of the members of our Facebook page to 'manage' one team through the tournament.



Here's our World Cup Sweepstake Table.

You'll see we haven't allocated a manager for England; this is because we don't think it's fair that someone gets the 'home' team, and gets to claim that they're somehow 'winning' due to the amount of flag and banners they've spotted on their way to work.
That, and we're so confident in Mr Capello and Steven Gerrard that we didn't want to jinx their magic touch.

French boss Sarah Tucker said earlier, "France. I'm happy with that."
Insightful comments from Group A, there.

Whatever you do, wherever you do it, enjoy this remarkable sporting event and cheer as loudly as you like for your chosen team... an congratulations to South Africa for showing the World a warm welcome, and being winners in bringing passion, spirit and love to 'the beautiful game.'

Monday 24 May 2010

Bastows featured on Buildingtalk.com

Buildingtalk.com is one of the industry's key sources for news, view and features and we are proud to be featured on the site with news of our rebrand and recent awards.


Buildingtalk select news and stores that they feel are most interesting and relevant in the industry, and we are thrilled that they were so interested in our recent news.


Read more here: www.buildingtalk.com/news/dba/dba101.html

Thanks to all at Buildingtalk for helping us share our message.

Thursday 13 May 2010


Bastows: truly Making London Beautiful
We have today had a wonderful message from Julian Maslinski, Chair of the Westminster Tree Trust. We have supported the work of the Trust to plant trees in areas of London in desperate need of greenery.
As part of the latest tree planting initiative, 53 trees have been planted in Weymouth Street, W1, which crosses Hallam Street, where 40 trees were planted in 2009.
This follows our work with Julian and his colleagues to plant trees at a SW1 primary school in 2009, which we hear are thriving thanks to the children at the school who have learnt so much about the different types in place that they have adopted responsibility for their care.
Bastows are proud to support the scheme by donating trees, and delighted to work with the Trust to truly help to Make London Beautiful.

Monday 10 May 2010

Considerate Constructors' Scheme Awards 2010


Bastows excel at the 2010 CCS Awards in London





We are proud to announce that we were the recipients of a Bronze award and a further Gold award at the ceremony on Thursday 6 May, held at Plaisterers Hall in the City of London.



The Bronze award was given in recognition of the outstanding performance of our project team working at 20-40 Ebury Bridge Road, SW1, led by the Site Manager Uzejir 'Chupo' Zecevic and assisted by Site Manager Vasil Lyutov. Both made their way to the stage and collected the award with pride in a job well done, knowing that they truly delighted the residents of the houses.





We were then presented with a Gold award for our work at 50-62 Eaton Square, SW1, encompassing repair and redecorations to 12 homes comprising several self-contained flats.


This award was received by Site Managers Elvis Caniparu and Almir Mujagic. Whilst they were on stage it as also announced that we were also the recipients of a highly prestigious National award for operating one of the Top 5 Most Considerate Sites in the UK for this project.





This is remarkable- the CCS attracts the participation of some of the 'big players' in our industry, and we were heartily applauded by all present for our clear sense of commitment to the wellbeing of residents, workforce and our environment as Elvis and Almir were presented with the trophy and certificate. The sense of something very special having happened was palpable, and despite the overcast day, the beautiful venue suddenly seemed very sunny indeed!




Understandably, we are delighted and so very proud of the efforts made by our Family. We are so proud that our planning, hard work and dedication to Making London Beautiful has been rewarded in this way; for a company of our size to achieve this is truly outstanding... but for a Family of our calibre, it's well deserved!



You can read more about our 2010 awards at www.bastows.co.uk/bastows/bastows_awards-2010.htm

Wednesday 5 May 2010

Haute Couture!


This Summer's must have accessories!
We can unveil the 2010 Bastows Ready to Wear Collection- this year's must have accessories for the discerning safe and responsible worker-about-town.
Created with painstaking detail to ensure the wearer remains safe, visible and identifiable both on site and in the local environs.

Monday 3 May 2010

We can finally share...







... the fantastic news that Bastows has rebranded to reflect our growth and to drive the business into the future.



Above you'll see our new logo which has been created to reflect the values of the business as well as the way we work.



The BLACK represents how we plan carefully at every stage of a project; how we take into account every impact we may have, and consider everyone that may be affected by our actions and works. It reflects how we plan for the future, investing in our people, projects and relationships to create lasting value wherever and whoever we work with.



BLUE stands for how we deliver; there are many experienced and skilled contractors out there in our market, but we deliver something more than just a completed project, to the agreed contract sum- we give peace of mind to all we work with and for.



RED illustrates the love we have for what we do and the people we call Family. We take great pride in our skills, our people and our projects. We care for people as well as buildings, and show consideration, respect and love for everyone we come into contact with.


We hope you enjoy visiting our new website, launching at 8am on May 4th, as well as our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/bastows_ltd

We're also launchng a YouTube channel where we'll share information and ideas at http://www.youtube.com/user/BastowsFamily


We look forward to sharing our future with you, and seeing our Family grow, develop and learn in the years to come.

Thursday 22 April 2010

News Update

So, somebody angered the volcano god and created chaos...

Hoping that those stranded are now safely home or on their way. (And I bet we all start to see air travel as the luxury it is once again!)

As a result of the problems we've all faced to varying degrees, we are postponing the launch of the new brand by one week. Launch week is now week commencing 3rd May.

We want all our Family to be part of the launch, and with some stranded right now, it just doesn't feel right to go ahead until we're all here to enjoy it.

We know you'll love what we've created, and hope you don't mind waiting a little longer to enjoy it.

Tuesday 13 April 2010

This is the week when...

... things really start taking off with our exciting new project.


Amongst everything else, the new stationery is in production, the new sitewear is starting to arrive, and the new website is well under construction.




A lot of thought, consideration, care and love has gone into creating the new image. Everyone in the Family- including clients and residents- has had an important part to play, and we thank you all for creating this.

Friday 26 March 2010

Easter Holiday


Easter is approaching...
A reminder to all to put the clocks forward this weekend, and have a relaxing, peaceful long weekend next week...
Good Friday: 2 April
Easter Sunday: 4 April
Easter Monday (Bank Holiday): 5 April
Our sites and office will close as normal at 5pm on 1 April and re-open on Tuesday 6 April at 8am.
Have a wonderful weekend with your families and friends, and welcome in the Summertime with a smile.
Happy Easter to you all.

Tuesday 9 March 2010

I love London in the Springtime...


Spring is well and truly on its way!
There's a marked improvement in the weather (well, it's cold but there's no snow), the daffodils are creeping into the florists' shops, and I even saw a scattering of snowdrops the other day.
People seem happier, too... there are more smiles around town, that's for sure, and less grimaces- faces screwed up against the cold, or partially covered with scarves.
We're enjoying more daylight; who doesn't love leaving work in the evening and realising it's still light? That will improve again soon when the clocks go forward (Sunday 28th March 2010) marking the official start of British Summer Time. We may be losing an hour's sleep for one night, but with extra daylight in the evenings and a long summer ahead, there’s plenty to look forward to after the clocks change.
It's been a tough winter and a long one, but things are turning warmer, brighter and sunnier- here's to a wonderful Spring season for the Family.

Wednesday 3 March 2010

CCS Audit Reports


Considerate Constructors Scheme:
latest scores and report now in.
Today we received back the site monitor's reports on our three largest sites in Belgravia.
Our scores remain consistently high, with our work in the areas of safety, cleanliness of sites, communication and consideration and respect for residents, neighbours and the environment singled out for particular praise. The auditor also thanked us for the unique welcome he received from our Family, who as always worked together to get a great result.
Special mention to our Site Managers Chupo, Almir and Elvis for their hard work to attain these high standards.
The next CCS award events take place in April and May, and we are nominated for two awards or projects completed in 2009. We look forward to meeting the very best in our industry and hope to add two more Gold awards to our collection.

Tuesday 23 February 2010

Audit Day


Well, the (actually very nice) auditor has been here at the Site Office, and has now gone off to inspect the sites. The meet seemed to go very well, and so now all we can do is a little reflection on what we might improve upon, and await the scores, George Dawes...


Monday 22 February 2010

Ready, set... GO!


Busy gearing up for not one but THREE site audits tomorrow by the Considerate Constructors Scheme (http://www.ccscheme.org.uk/) with whom we register the majority of our sites.

As winners of a Gold and two Silver Awards, and nominated for two more this year, you'd think the pressure would be on to achieve the high standards we've set previously.

Luckily, being us, being conscientious, being aware of our impact of our work and having systems in place makes it stress-free... well, relatively. There's always the challenge of what we do that was better than before...


Thursday 18 February 2010

Welcome to the Family


Welcome to the Bastows Family blog
This will be a place to share, to inform, to communicate and update.
Please feel free to add your own comments as posts appear; your feedback will be crucial in making this valuable and effective.
We do what we do with love, and I hope that you will enjoy reading this blog and sharing in our unique and welcoming Family spirit.