Results tagged “andrew williams”
By Andrew Williams
I hope you all remembered to phone your mums on Mothering Sunday. It's always nice to remember the special place that mums have in the world, and now one local business is making it even easier for hard working parents to shop ethically.
By Andrew Williams
The last couple of years have not been easy for businesses in the UK. With the financial system in meltdown, household names going to the wall or being sold and banks holding out the begging bowl, it has been a crazy time to be running a business.
By Andrew Williams
If there's one thing guaranteed to send staff running for the hills, it's the thought of accreditation to standards. While it may seem like a marvellous idea when the subject is first floated, most businesses find implementing systems a Kafkesque bureaucratic nightmare of forms, spreadsheets and reviews.
By Andrew Williams
Although the weather may still be distinctly wintry, we are now entering March and I'm hoping in the next few weeks spring will well and truly have sprung. For some of us this means brighter mornings, longer evenings, a skip in our step and the sun on our backs.
By Andrew Williams
We have welcomed a new member of staff to Seventeen Towers this week. Amelia has had a bit of a baptism of fire, joining us on Monday morning and working on her first event on Wednesday night where she did a great job dealing with 400 delegates at an awards ceremony.
By Andrew Williams
It has not been a good couple of months for the green movement.
First there was the disappointment of Copenhagen, with world leaders bickering over details and failing to agree on any big picture.
By Andrew Williams
I wonder how many Wharf readers are breathing a sigh of relief this week. Many of you will have decided that January was going to be the start of a new chapter in your personal wellbeing, with regular trips to the gym, a macrobiotic vegan diet and lashings of iced ginger tea.
By Andrew Williams
We've got a busy day today at the judging session for one of our biggest annual events, the MediaGuardian Innovation Awards.
The scheme rewards innovative ideas from across the media, including websites, social media platforms, print and broadcast.
By Andrew Williams
The past few weeks have seen the mercury falling to record levels as the Wharf shivered its way into the New Year. Coming back to work after Christmas is bad enough at the best of times, but when you're knee deep in slush and powerless to move in a force 10 gale it's really no fun.
By Andrew Williams
It will not have escaped your attention that the VAT rate has risen back to its old level of 17.5 per cent. This is a mild irritation for us at Seventeen, as we have to remember to change our invoice templates and I shudder to think how stores with hundreds of lines of stock manage to keep track.
By Andrew Williams
A very happy New Year, and new decade.
Apparently the shorthand for this decade is going to be the "twenty tens," which while stunningly obvious is at least less annoying than the dreaded "noughties".
By Andrew Williams
And so, the Noughties draw to a close. We'll probably look back on this decade as a strange combination of frivolous fun (iPods, Facebook and Harry Potter) and terrible horror (9/11, 7/7, and a whole lot of wars).
By Andrew Williams
No Christmas preparations are complete without stocking up the larder, filling up the fridge and hoarding food. Without getting into the ethical minefield of excessive consumption, it's fair to say that there are probably a few festive treats we could all do without.
By Andrew Williams
With temperatures edging ever closer to zero, life on the Wharf becomes less of a catwalk and more of an exercise in layering. Since green living means a big "no" to fur, it's hard not to feel slightly jealous of our friends the polar bears and their year-round insulation.
By Andrew Williams
With just four more issues of The Wharf between now and Christmas it's time for our annual look at how to have a more ethical holiday season. Over the next few weeks we'll be looking at the fashions, food and fun filled toys that could make your Christmas more sustainable.
By Andrew Williams
The internet age has brought us many unwanted annoyances. Spam emails, pop up adverts, pictures of cats with captions, the list goes on.
Of course, the positives outweigh the negatives.
By Andrew Williams
It's Bonfire Night this evening, a chance to relive fond childhood memories which for me include sparklers, oohs and aaahs, and trying to eat hot dogs while wearing mittens. The crackdown on selling fireworks to children seems to have had a good effect so far, making a pleasant change.
By Andrew Williams
Halloween is fast approaching and the Wharf will soon be awash with youngsters dressed in frightening clothes and demanding confectionery. No change there then. When the knock on the door comes, you might like to consider offering an ethical choice of sweet treats for the kids.
By Andrew Williams
It's always a treat to be able to attend events which we're not organising. It can be a fantastic opportunity to pick up interesting ideas and see how other organisers manage their projects.
By Andrew Williams
The problem with having an Indian summer as we seemed to this year, with balmy September nights and sunny weekends, is that winter hits you all the harder. Hats and scarves and cosy nights in front of the fire have replaced sunshine and summer.
