Tag: <span>uk</span>

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Many products are used while finishing off any work to give it a refined look. Abrasive Equipment and Accessories are used widely across Europe to shape and polish a work piece. Rubbing of it on the materials results in the coarse removal of excess material, cleaning and calibrating a surface and are important in separating and slicing off sections of materials. They are majorly used for the purposes of buffing, drilling, grinding, sanding, sharpening, cutting and polishing.

They come in different shapes because of their different purposes, having varied properties which involves their hardness, color, chemical compositions, crystal shapes, and friability. In the UK, companies and distributors sell the bulk of Blast cleaning equipments and abrasive products directly to the customers. This enables them to deliver the highest quality product at the lowest costs.

Natural abrasives that are mostly used include garnet, cerium oxide, flint, emery, aluminum oxide and diamond. Manufactured abrasives are created through a manufacturing process as opposed to being mined from the earth. Both synthetic and natural Abrasives can be found in a wide variety of shapes and are typically bonded to a polishing wheel, made of wood, leather, canvas, cotton, plastic, felt, or a variety of other materials. The use of abrasive equipment depends upon the product and they must be chosen carefully, because if an abrasive is too rough, it will create deep grooves, resulting in more damage to the surface.

It is always advisable to seek the help of a professional while choosing abrasive systems and cleaners that are made with different levels of abrasive materials. SearchMe4 provides online local information and is a business directory for the top UK abrasive products manufacturing and distributors. The Grinding Centre is a leading independent supplier of grinding wheels, diamond dressing tools and coated abrasive products. Similarly Alpine Abrasives Ltd is a leading manufacturer of high quality abrasives and has been providing solutions for all major industrial sectors, construction, automotive repair and DIY applications all over the UK.

Carlton Abrasives, Abrasives for Industry, Saint-Gobain Abrasives and Advanced Abrasives are other reputable suppliers of abrasives and machines established in the UK since many years and are global abrasive suppliers with products sold worldwide.

For more information on Abrasive Products – Manufacturing and Distribution, visit our business directory.

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Source by Malik Afzal Asif

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Fencing in Britain – keeping us in or out?

UK fences, Electric perimeter fencing, gates, barriers and walls.

British Playground Fences Punished More Than UK Prison Fences!

Playground fences often take more punishment than prison fencing ! A fence surrounding a play area has many jobs, we need to see clearly inside, it needs to withstand children of all ages … and sizes climbing upon it.

A playground fence needs to keep children in and animals out, it has to withstand fouling too.

Chestnut fencing for example is usually hand made with wood from sustainable woodland management and is a versatile timber that can be used for rustic appearances such as chestnut post and rail fences, trellis, paling and lattice fencing including pergolas, gates arbours.

Kissing gates and Stiles:

However, whilst we need to protect livestock, we need to look at who will be using the stiles and gates. Saving money could end the landowner with the wrong style of stile. Sparing a few bits of timber can greatly slow down a group of ramblers when in reality progress should be speeded because of ‘very active’ horses in the field.

The absence of any handholds make it quite difficult for most people to negotiate . So would the absence of a post to lean against. The step might be too narrow. This type of stile could unlawful and a fine could soon cost more than the money saved.

A timber-kissing gate is particularly useful in districts populated by elderly people where a stile is unsuitable. It serves two purposes, keeping the animals in (stockproofness) and allowing pedestrian entry, there may also be a third purpose in the restrictions of motorcycles.

British Standard for gates and stiles.

BS5709:2001, (ISBN 0 580 33287 X) is available. The publication is endorsed by the Countryside Agency and the National Farmers’ Union and the Country Landowners’ Association all of which were involved in the publication. It states that stiles should not be used for new structures except in exceptional circumstances and that where a structure is needed on a path a Gap should be the first choice, a Gate the second choice and a Kissing Gate a third choice. The new standard makes it clear that the least restrictive option will do – in this order; Gap, Gate, Kissing Gate, Stile and the first one capable of performing the required stockproofness must be used, afterall the priority is to secure animals.

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Source by Digby Farquart

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The problem is that Superdry sizes ‘appear to be different’ from other brands in the market (I’ve put that in inverted commas for a reason). That and the internet is plagued of misleading information on this topic. I’ve decided to sort this out once and for all. Or at least until Superdry change things up again. Superdry is actually very accurately sized. I know you weren’t expecting to hear that so I will explain why.

The Problem with Standards

There is an international standard for clothing sizes. The International Standards Organization, also known as ISO. They are the governing body for all sorts of standards, including a standard measure for the sizing of clothes. This should, in theory, give us a reference to be able to accurately choose clothes and convert between US, UK, European and other sizes. But it doesn’t. There are problems with the international standards.

Getting too deep into these standards is beyond the scope of this article so I’m going to cut to the chase. There problem comes in two parts; Using letter codes like Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large and clothing manufacturers taking liberties with the established standards. They aren’t obliged to conform to the standard so there isn’t likely to be any change in the future. When compared to other clothing brands, a good rule of thumb is that Superdry clothing is approximately one size smaller. They are sized to fit properly but as most other clothing manufacturers are getting more and more generous with their sizing, it’s better to go for one size bigger in Superdry clothes. For example, if you are usually a medium then you buy a large in Superdry.

Superdry Size Chart

Superdry clothing complies with the international standards; the problem is that other clothing companies don’t. Superdry also use letter codes, so there must be a look up table to convert a size from Small, to chest size or women’s dress size. If you’ve looked on their website you would have noticed that there isn’t such a helpful table anywhere to be found. I’ve developed a Superdry size chart.

Men’s Superdry Clothing Size Chart

Sizes are chest sizes, measured in inches.

Extra Small = 36″

Small = 38″

Medium = 40″

Large = 42″

Extra Large = 44″

Extra Extra Large = 46″

Men’s waist sizes are pretty straight forward. They are all in inches, the standard measure so you shouldn’t have any problems selecting your size.

Women’s Superdry Size Chart

The UK and US dress sizes are matched to the ISO standards and might not necessarily match up to the size you would normally buy in other clothing brands. It is intended that you go by the actual measurements (in inches).

Extra Small = UK Size 8/ US Size 4 = Bust 34″, Waist 25.5″, Hip 36.5″

Small = UK Size 10/ US Size 6 = Bust 34″, Waist 26.5″, Hip 37.5″

Medium = UK Size 12/ US Size 8 = Bust 35″, Waist 27.5″, Hip 38.5″

Large = UK Size 14/ US Size 10 = Bust 36″, Waist 28.5″, Hip 39.5″

Buying Superdry Clothing

Probably the best advice I can give you is try before you buy but what if you don’t have a store near you? Is this case you are left with the only option, to shop online where you can’t try the item on before you buy it. There are exceptions however. Some stores, like Nucleus, offer free return postage on internet orders so in effect you can try the stuff on and send it back if it doesn’t fit. It’s a slight hassle getting to the post office but at least it won’t cost you anything.

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Source by Richy Dee

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Does the task of choosing a university in UK depends totally upon academic aspect? Can someone be intrigued by the beauty of a campus so much that he or she takes an instant decision to enroll there? But how to find out about the locality of your prospective UK university without visiting it? A thorough research will come quite handy in here. Meanwhile you can have a look at the top four beautiful universities in UK over which majority of student body agrees.

Nottingham University

•The university campus is famous for its lavish greenery

•University attractions- picturesque woodland, gardens, downs, beautiful streams along the woods and historical caves

•Awards- winner of civic trust award and similar awards for appealing landscape, winner of the Energy Globe Award in 2005.

Swansea University

•Boasts of one of the most beautiful settings in UK.

•The university campus location right next to Govwer peninsula which is known for its dazzling natural beauty.

• University attractions- Govwer Peninsula

Keele University

• One of the largest integrated campuses in UK comes under Keele University.

•University attractions- luscious woods, lake and parkland.

• urban setting in the form of campus based array of shops, cafes, Student Union, restaurants and other recreational centers.

• Custom built campus located at University Hospital of North Staffordshire for research facilities

University of Birmingham

•Known worldwide for being one of the most beautiful campuses of UK.

•Main university campus in Edgbaston, a relatively sparsely populated part in Birmingham. Accessible through bus, train, canoe and even foot to the main city!

•University attractions-internationally recognized Barbar Institute of Fine Arts, Winterbourne Botanic Garden, and Lapworth Museum of geology

Other famous beautiful campuses in UK- Cambridge University, Oxford University Durham, St.Andrews, Yorkshire and Exeter University.

Choose your beautiful university in UK after a thorough research!

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Source by Rinkel Kapooor

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Price Wars in the U.K. Grocery Market:

Price wars are a phenomenon that occurs across companies in various industries throughout the global economic system. In an oligopolistic market structure, players closely monitor the prices of each player and respond to any price cuts. This paper seeks to explore the strategic business methods being employed in the British grocery oligopoly and determine its effects on the economy using a game theoretical model. I will conclude that such price wars will drive independent retailers out of business, leading to a consolidated industry dominated by no more than four U.K. grocery chains.

By definition, price wars indicate a state of intense competitive rivalry accompanied by a multilateral series of price reductions. In the short run, price wars can be ‘good’ for consumers due to a lower price structure in existing product offerings, and ‘bad’ for competing companies due to a decrease in profit margins as well as potential threats to its survival. In the long run, dominant firms in the industry could benefit as smaller, marginalized firms are unable to compete and shut down. However, it could be bad for consumers as the remaining firms may agree to increase prices, possibly colluding even beyond the price set prior to the price wars.

Major Players – Tesco and Asda:

In the U.K. grocery industry, both Tesco and Asda have utilized similar discounting strategies to gain market share. Prices at both stores are largely the same, as of the spring of 2005. Tesco’s market share as of 2002 was 27.1% and Asda’s was 16.9%, according to a study by BusinessWeek magazine. Sainsbury, an upscale grocery chain which in 1995 was the U.K.’s largest grocery chain, has fallen behind to third place with 16.1%. Safeway has a small foothold in the market with a 12.4% market share. The dominant players in this market are Tesco and Asda, and both are committed to price reductions – especially with nonfood items. Both Tesco and Asda have a goal of opening 10-12 new stores per year throughout the U.K.

Tesco was founded in 1924 in North London by Sir Jack Cohen with proceeds he earned from Army services in WWI. By 2005, the company is an international grocery and retail chain with 2,365 stores around the world and a staff of approximately 367,000 employees. Tesco has had consistent growth in profit and sales over the past five years through 2005, and ten million visits per week take place by customers to its stores. Tesco has four key businesses; their core U.K. business, nonfood business, retailing services, and its international business. Tesco’s core market is in the U.K.

Asda was acquired by Wal-Mart in June 1999. There are 265 supercenters and 19 depots across the U.K. and approximately 122,000 employees across the company’s operations. The Grocer magazine named Asda “Britain’s best value supermarket” five years in a row through 2005. Since 1999, there have been over $915M in price cuts (adjusted from British pound sterling to U.S. dollars). Growth in nonfood items have exceeded expectation, as 5,000 new general merchandise lines have been added since 2002, including specialty items in pharmacies, opticians, jewelry, and photo departments.

Game Theory – “Hawk-Dove” Strategic Game:

It appears that both players in the U.K. grocery market are engaged in a strategic game that is similar to the Hawk-Dove Game, devised and named by Maynard Smith and Price (1976). This game has been a very important tool for understanding the role of aggression among players in economic systems. The Hawk-Dove game has been studied in many scenarios across various academic disciplines and has been instrumental in the are area of evolutionary game theory.

The idea here is that the Hawk is a very aggressive player, always fighting for some resource; the Dove is a pacifist, never fighting over that same resource. The goal of this game is to choose between the two strategies in order to determine how to share a common resource.

Other assumptions in the Hawk-Dove game are as follows: (1) fights between Hawks are brutal; (2) the loser is the first one to sustain injury; and (3) the winner takes sole possession of the resource. Each Hawk has a 50% chance of winning over another Hawk. The Dove withdraws in any conflict with a Hawk and, thus always loses. When two Doves interact, both share the resource.

This game has two pure-strategy Nash equilibrium, which determines the dominant strategy: One chooses to be a Hawk and the other chooses to be a Dove. There is also a mixed-strategy equilibrium, in which each animal chooses Hawk with a probability of one-third and Dove with probability of two-thirds. This is indicative of a distribution of strategies in a population in which Hawk is played one-third of the time and Dove is played two-thirds of the time. In other words, playing only Hawk or Dove exclusively, or in any other proportion, would be evolutionarily unstable.

In reality, Tesco and Asda have both been playing the Hawk strategy. Why would this occur when it is not an equilibria of the game and, in fact, is the most suboptimal outcome? It is possible that neither company is aware that they are playing this game. A more likely explanation is that the companies are both willing to sacrifice short-term profits in order to be the dominant players in the U.K. grocery industry in the long run. Public records demonstrate that executives at Tesco see Asda as a big threat, even though the quarterly sales at Tesco are 1.5 times that of Asda. Tesco is very focused in this price-war environment, and the company has even displayed on their grocery shelves the listing prices for their goods vis-a-vis Asda and Boots, a drug chain in the U.K.

This defense has seemingly paid off for Tesco, as it is still the market leader in terms of U.K. market share and net income. Furthermore, the company has been pursuing a unique marketing strategy based on a rich database of ten million customer surveys, customer panels, and mailed questionnaires with the goal of engaging the consumers in being empowered to redesign Tesco to best meet their needs and expectations.

Asda has been growing at 10% per annum, in the meantime, and is a viable competitor for Tesco. Another player, Sainsbury, has been in continual market-share decline since 1995 due to its unsuccessful execution of a high-priced alternative. Safeway, yet another major player and household name in the U.K. grocery marketplace, filed for bankruptcy in 2005 and subsequently merged with William Morrison. These four players in aggregate represent 72.5% of the industry, as of 2005.

Concluding Thoughts:

Price wars in the British grocery oligopoly market have affected more than just Tesco and Asda. Both companies have been playing a Hawk-Dove strategic game, whereby both players are acting as Hawks. Their resulting actions have damaged the business prospects for independent retailers, such as local grocers and food shops, many of which have shut down as a result. Furthermore, local businesses across the value chain of the U.K. grocery industry, such as suppliers and distributors, have been negatively impacted as well.

Tesco and Asda have been following this strategy since Asda entered the market space in June 1999. Such actions will likely result in the continued consolidation within the U.K. grocery industry, with no more than four dominant players in this space – with the largest market share going to Tesco and Asda.

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Source by David J Stone

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There are usually two kinds of loans: secured loans, and unsecured loans. Unsecured loans are the ones which do not require any kind of security that is to be assured to the loan lender. However, a secured loan is the one where the potential borrower would have to secure a guarantee or security against which the lender will lend money. Usually, secured loans are the better choices among the two because they come with many large and small benefits like lower interest rates – but you need to put one of your valuable assets as collateral. But you can easily avail a homeowner loan without using your property as mortgage. So, how do these homeowner loans work? In this article, we will discuss:

• What is an unsecured homeowner loan?
• How does it work?
• Features of an unsecured homeowner loan
• Why should you apply for it?
• How to choose the right loan?

What is an unsecured homeowner loan?

A homeowner loan can be taken by those who have a home in their name. With an unsecured homeowner loan, people can get a loan for a certain amount of the total value of the property without having to guarantee their property to the lender. One needs to be above 18 years of age and also should have a regular income source for being eligible for the unsecured homeowner’s loan. How does an unsecured homeowner loan work?

Homeowner loans are very common these days as come with certain benefits, which are beneficial for the debtors. The borrower who has taken the loan has to repay it along with the interest charge in monthly instalments. The interested party should check the availability of the loan along with the market conditions before taking out an unsecured homeowner loan. They should also make sure that they can pay off the loan every month. Loans can be requested on different types of property like flats, bungalows, cottages, houses, etc. Some of the things that the lender usually takes into consideration are the age of the applicant, the loan term they can pay for, the value of the property, the income of the applicant and their credit record.

Also, the rate of interest for these loans are either fixed or a floating rate of interest depending on the lender. Variable-rates of interest can be a bit expensive as compared to the fixed rate of interest in which the repayment instalments remain the same throughout the tenure of the loan.

Some of the important features of homeowner loans

The value of the loan will be a certain percentage value of the entire property which is negotiable in terms.

• The tenure of the loan will be stretched from 1 year to 7 years, depending on the value of the loan.
• The interest rate is either fixed or floating.
• There will be a thorough affordability check considering income and credit score, and then a determination of eligibility of the homeowner loan.

Usually, there will be certain lenders who might take a certain amount as fees for finalizing the loan. Research can be done before selecting the lender who is not charging any extra fees.

Some of the fees which are included in the homeowner loan are:

• Legal Fees
• Broker Fees
• Disbursement Fees
• Valuation Fees

After a lender and loan have been selected, several steps are to be completed before the loan is finalized. Usually, these steps can take 4-5 weeks, after which the loan amount will be transferred to the debtor’s account.

1. The lender will check the credit record and make sure that the loan can be paid.
2. The lender will then check the current pay stubs to determine an income’s regularity.
3. They will then check the registry of the house to confirm the ownership.
4. Lastly, they will calculate the property’s value and equity before finalizing the loan amount.

After the loan is granted, the monthly EMI’s of the loan will need to be paid. If you are paying off the loan early, a certain early redemption or repayment charge would be administered. Homeowners can also take a payment holiday with the lender’s approval, but in such cases, the cost of the loan will increase.

Why should people apply for homeowner loans?

Some of the reasons why people take homeowner loans are mentioned below:

1. Funding: The money that you receive can be used to fund a large expense or a smaller one, depending on your needs. Also, you can use it for your wedding expenses or to fund your dream holiday.
2. Business: They can start a business with their loan and invest in it with the amount. This will make the repayment of the loan easier because the returns can be used from the business to repay the loan and can also successfully secure the future of your business by investing in it.
3. Home improvement: Renovations and improvements can be made in the home because usually, these renovations are expensive. To increase the value of the home, timely renovations and improvements can be very helpful to enhance the overall property value.

How to select a homeowner loan?

Searching for the right kind of loan can be difficult as there are many options to choose from. Some of the steps that should be taken while choosing a loan are:

1. First, decide the amount to be borrowed for this loan.
2. The next step is to calculate the value of the property according to the current real estate trend and by calculating the mortgage value that is still outstanding.
3. After this, decide the number of instalments that can be paid every month and according to that, decide the term of the loan.
4. Next, keep records like house registry, credit report, etc. available because these are needed by the lender to make their decision.
5. Lastly, talk to a broker for getting a market viable homeowner loan on the property

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Source by Shalini M

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‘The Apprentice’ TV reality show is described by boss, Sir Alan Sugar, as “a job interview from hell”. By the fifth episode, five out of sixteen candidates had been fired.

Sir Alan described his ideal apprentice as “someone who is drop dead shrewd.” The word ‘shrewd’ suggests practical, hard headed wisdom and common sense. In some ways, it is the opposite of ‘artistic’.

In episode five, Sir Alan wanted to see if the apprentices could sell in the soft sell world of the art market. He met them at Christie’s. Here, art works sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

For Sir Alan, selling art is just a business like any other but he admits that it demands a special kind of selling:

“You can’t talk someone into liking a piece of art but what you have to do is smell when someone is on the hook”.

Tre Azam was not impressed by modern art:

“Did you see some of the art at Christie’s? It made me sick. There was a white plain canvas with a cello on one side and a lamp on the other side and it was being sold for three hundred grand when you could buy all three separately for about sixty quid!”

The two teams of apprentices, Eclipse and Stealth, would have to mount an exhibition for one evening at their own gallery to sell the work of two photographers that they would chose themselves.

The photographers could decide which team they would work with if the same photographer was chosen by both teams.

Kristina was project manager for the Stealth team. She admitted to being clueless about photography but knew how to manage sales teams.

Natalie was project manager for Eclipse. She is a mum with a business degree but no experience in the arts. She was keen to delegate but delegated so much that her role as leader was weakened.

Her team approached fashion photographer, Elizabeth Hoff, who had produced a series of photographs featuring lips and teeth. In one photo, teeth bit onto a dice. In another a razor blade was placed between upper and lower teeth. Paul, from Stealth, described the photos as ‘eye candy’.

Katie was charged by Natalie with charming Elizabeth in case both teams wanted her photographs to sell. Katie was full of enthusiasm and respect:

“We are passionate about making this work. As a team we want to be there to completely support the artist that is happy to work with us. If you could just bring us into your world and let us understand how this happened; where have you come from; how you came about to this (pointing at the photos)…”

Elizabeth Hoff explained why lips were the focus of her photographs:

“For me the lips are the sort of centre of communication but they are also sensual and also sexual and they’re fascinating.”

Car salesman, Adam, wanted the numbers rather than the story:

“How many have you sold so far?”

“I haven’t sold any of these. This is the first time they have been offered for sale.”

“How much would you want for each?”

“Nine fifty for the smaller ones.”

“Nine pounds fifty?”

“Nine hundred and fifty!”

Every one laughed including Adam who said “Just checking!”

Katie was annoyed: “Adam was way off. We were learning about her; about her passion; about her integrity as an artist and really wanting to respect and value that. He was asking how much do you sell these for and how many can you sell. This is not a car lot!”

Adam asked the team: “Can we get people that can afford them in that space of time or not?”

Katie replied: “If you tell them a story and you make it passionate and its sexy and creative…You’ve got a great lady there who has got such a passionate story herself.”

“You’ve got to have the money in the bank to buy them though,” said Adam. “So, we’ve got to get the right people.”

Margaret, Sir Alan’ aide, saw Adam’s point:

“Adam is coming across as a rather dour commercial man but he is asking questions about price and has she sold any and so on. Someone has to ask that.”

Adam felt his team were talking too much about the art and the concepts and not enough about the following questions:

“Who is going to buy it? Why are they going to buy it? Where are we going to get them from? To me they would have been factors involved in any business proposition.”

At 10 a.m. Kristina Grimes had split her team, Stealth, in two. Her sales training helped her to home in on a possible source of buyers.

“When you see each of your appointments, can you ask them for a list of contacts.”

Kristina, Naomi and Jadine visited Tim Flack, an award winning horse photographer. Kristina, in an aside, explained her approach:

“Initial thoughts are that this is very creative and you have to put your mind into a certain mind set to interpret things and I’m not kind of wishy washy like that.”

True to her philosophy, Kristina’s approach to Tim was businesslike:

“Can I ask about your prices and what they go for?”

She found out that he had a client list of 100 and asked for a commitment to her team. Tim felt this was unfair but was charmed by their interest in his work.

Later he did choose her team and gave his reason to Sir Alan’s aide. He was impressed with the team leader. Kristina looked like the cat who had got the cream.

The other half of her team Paul, Tre, and Ghazal Asif visited Nigel Grimmer in Brixton who showed them his road kill family album portfolio. The photo of Nigel’s masked mother lying by the roadside did not impress Tre! Nor was Nigel impressed by his visitors: “I really felt a bit squashed by the whole thing.”

At midday, Natalie seemed more concerned about what food should be served at their exhibition than which photographer they should select.

Her entire team visited Linda Liebermann whose photos featured fish, shell fish and human flesh. Katie was her usual charming self:

“What drove you to this? What was the inspiration really? Who are you?”

“The work is really the story of the ocean and the life within.”

Simon, as tactfully as possible, asked if she would mind if fish restaurants bought her work.

“No. I wouldn’t want it in a street café, perhaps. I just feel that it would be lost.”

Lohit was shocked by one picture where lobster claws were pinching nipples. Natalie showed her sense of humour:

“You know how people have a coffee fix in the morning; well, I have a lobster pinch my nipples! It wakes me up!”

At 3p.m. the teams had to decide which photographers would make most money at the galleries tomorrow and which photographer would go with their first choice.

Both teams wanted Elizabeth Hoff’s lips and Tim’s Flack horses. Tim liked the leadership of Stealth but Elizabeth preferred Eclipse.

The teams now had to choose a second artist.

Kristina chose Linda Lieberman’s fish and flesh photographs but Paul and Tre were not impressed. Tre was not sure that he agreed with Darwin that we came from fish: “She might have. I certainly haven’t!”

Natalie called a meeting at the house to tell her team to avoid hard sell. Adam warned that people might just come, have a look and go without buying and that the other team would be selling like crazy.

Katie felt that Adam would be too heavy footed. “We need to have ballet shoes on and we need to dance with them.”

Natalie agreed: “I’m with Katie on this that art is something you cannot go in for hard sell.” Adam protested that they were all taking things the wrong way.

Katie fumed: “Adam, as ever, is a complete catastrophe. He needs to be on a car sales lot and not anywhere near the art arena….Frankly, if Adam could just go back to the car sales lot and get run over, my day would be absolutely perfect!”

On the day of the sale, Kristina instructed Paul to call the names on their photographers’ client lists. The teams had until 6 p.m. to hang their pictures and get clients in through the doors.

But Elizabeth Hoff had not supplied a list of customers to Eclipse. With no leads, Natalie sent Simon and Katie off to the city to offer tickets to any one who looked as if they had money to spend.

Back at the gallery, Natalie had given Adam a list of art societies to call from the yellow pages while she and Lohit did the more ‘artistic’ work of hanging the photographs. To be fair, we learned later that she did make some calls herself.

Natalie felt that Adam was their weakest link at the moment but he seemed to be the one doing the work that might bring in some money.

Vanessa Warren, with photos of Colombia and Mexico, was Natalie’s second choice and her less expensive work was given to Adam to sell.

Kristina relegated Tre to the basement to sell Linda Lieberman’s fish and flesh pictures. This was like handing the two princes over to Richard of York to be ‘looked after’ in the tower of London.

Tre had a moral issue with the fact that naked bodies were used as backgrounds to the fish and lobsters etc. He turned some of the more sensual pictures to face the wall!

Elizabeth Hoff arrived and did not like the labels on her work or the holes in the wall or the fact that the wine was already poured out. Katie and some of the team rushed about doing whatever she and, later, her husband said.

Mr and Mrs Hoff advised the team to give the buyers space and to soft sell. Natalie and Katie were already in tune with this approach.

The exhibitions were opened at 6 p.m.

Downstairs at the Stealth gallery, Tre had censored some of Linda’s photos and was putting his own spin on the their meaning. Some laughed but others lapped it up. In the end, he sold several photos.

Katie sold nothing. Later she admitted that she may have been too soft:

“I just don’t know how to make it harder and I am concerned that if you make it too hard you will turn people off; so it is still a learning process.”

Paul and Kristina pulled in buyers by selling more aggressively. Her team walked around, with calculators in their hands, encouraging people to buy.

Adam, the much maligned car salesman, got the first sale for his team, Eclipse.

Margaret commented: “Some of them are talking too long to certain individuals who don’t plan to buy. In some ways selling art is like selling a car. If someone isn’t going to buy you have to move on.”

Simon eventually sold an Elizabeth Hoff photo by getting pushy.

Eclipse sold four photographs and made a profit of £1599.

Stealth, led by Kristina, sold fourteen photographs and made £4702 profit. Hard Sell had won!

Stealth were rewarded with an evening of being pampered at a health retreat.

Back in the boardroom, it was not so pleasant for Eclipse.

Sir Alan had Katie in his sights not to mention Elizabeth Hoff, the photographer:

“Katie, I’m being told that you went into ‘I’m an artist mode’. You wanted to get in with the art mob. You forgot about the killer point of selling stuff. This Elizabeth of yours. I hear you were in awe of her.”

“I was not in awe of her.”

“You were dominated by her,” said Margaret.

“I don’t believe we were dominated by her.”

Sir Alan asked: “Did she give you a list of people to phone?”

Natalie answered: “No she didn’t want us to have it.”

“Why not?”

“Personal reasons”

Margaret: “She was completely in control.”

Sir Alan: “I don’t know why you are all raving about Elizabeth’s work. Her prices with all due respect to the lady and her husband – 950 quid ranging to 1950 pounds – didn’t that ring *** bells with you?

“Presented with six artists a good business person says: ‘I haven’t got a *** clue about photography. We know as much about photography as we do flying to the *** moon. So what we are going to do is to hedge our bets. I ain’t going to pick one artist who has one show – she’s got one *** show – LIPS!’

“I would have liked to have walked into a gallery and seen a whole array of products and a whole array of prices and then you’ve placed a good bet. You didn’t place a good bet here.

“You’re betting that you found some nutter that came in and said “I LOVE THE LIPS! I’m going to have them! I’m going to have a whole wall of lips! I’m buying the lot!. Half your potential went straightaway the minute you selected that woman never mind letting her take over and run the *** show.”

Natalie selected Adam and Lohit to face the firing line with her. She accused Adam of being too negative and Lohit of failing to create presentable labels.

In the end Sir Alan made his decision:

“Natalie, I get the feeling that you are out of your depth. With regret, you’re fired. “

Natalie took the firing well: “I’ve come out of the Apprentice with my head held high. If you do go on there, you cannot take it personally. You have to take it as feedback and not as criticism.”

She will use her MBA business degree to help her open a bistro wine bar in her local high street. She will not put any art on the walls – just mirrors!

What business and success lessons can we learn from this episode?

Hard sell is the way to go if you only have one evening to sell in.

Don’t be so ‘seduced by the world of art that you forget the art of selling.’

Don’t be dominated by any one else. Choose your own selling style.

Tell your customers clearly if the sale is for one evening only.

If one customer is not buying, move on to another.

Provide customers with a range of different products at different prices.

A list of potential customers is worth its weight in gold

Don’t try to sell a product you disapprove of.

Nothing counts in business like results. You have either sold or you haven’t. Almost is not good enough.

Treat criticism as feedback and get on with your life.

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Source by John Watson

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We often call Climate Change “Global Warming”, yet although the overall trend in global temperatures is upward, the scientific community has been telling us from the start that there will also be greater extremes in climate, and these variations will be experienced both upward in some areas, and downward in other parts of the world.

Climate change prediction is still far from an exact science and substantial uncertainties exist when trying to predict how large areas will react to changing climatic conditions. However, we do know already that when it comes to global climate the warm temperatures currently experienced in the UK are already an anomaly.

The UK climate is noticeably warmer than other countries located at the same latitude such as Newfoundland to the west, and also its Balkan neighbours in Europe, to the east. It is easy to forget that Glasgow and Edinburgh are situated at latitudes similar to the much colder city of Moscow, and surrounding regions.

The Scottish lowlands have in the past 10 years, seldom witnessed anything more than a covering of snow for periods numbering no more than a few days each winter. This is in comparison with the continued prolonged snow covered winters of Moscow, and the hard frozen countryside of the eastern European states, at similar latitudes.

The reason for this warmth is the Gulf Stream, a sea current which draws heat from the topics and releases the warmth in the north-east Atlantic. However, if global warming causes the acceleration of the hydrological cycle and melting of ice, surface water salinity will be diluted and water currents will slow. This is not just a general theory either, as climate change models do also show a net effect of slowed down warming in the north Atlantic because of this effect (Grub, 2004).

Most of us in the UK have been resolutely assuming, as a result, that although many other currently cold climates will at least become more temperate, and some may even become new summer tourist resorts of the future, the UK will miss out!

However, work by the scientist Seager et al (2002) disputes that climate change will have a cooling effect on the UK climate. This is surprising and such ideas go against the established scientific view which has been held for very many years.

Using weather data from the past 50 years, their research shows that as little as 10% of the UK’s warmth comes from the Gulf Stream. Instead, the paper claims that the majority of the UK’s climate arrives in the form of warm winds from continental North America, and that this combined with the ocean’s ability to hold heat for longer than the land, is the key to the mild climate.

Therefore, dilution of the Gulf Stream by ice melt water, could have a less disastrous effect on the UK’s climate than was first thought, and climate change may cause the UK to warm instead of cool.

While there is uncertainty regarding how climate change will affect areas locally, changes already experienced in the global climate and as shown to be occurring by UKCIP (2002) include:-

– Increased night-time temperatures, occurring at twice the rate of warming of daytime temperatures;

– Higher rainfall over many Northern Hemisphere mid-to-high latitude areas of land;

– The Northern Hemisphere is also experiencing an extension in the length of the freeze-free season.

These combined with a practically globe-wide reduction in ice mass, accompanied by substantial Arctic sea ice thinning which is most pronounced in late summer, all point to significant changes. So we will probably not have to wait very long before we will know whether, “Global Warming” in the United Kingdom might result in a colder climate, or indeed just the opposite.

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Source by Steve Last

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Esources reviews let you into the working pattern of the largest trade directory in the UK. It helps trade suppliers and retailers overcome the various hurdles in setting up their e-commerce stores and managing various facets of business. Esources is unquestionably the most successful online wholesale trade directory that caters to all the needs of the trading community.

If you are a trade supplier, Esources is your best avenue to ensure that your business reaches new pinnacles of success. They provide a slew of valuable rEsources all designed to ease the various hurdles in your entrepreneurial path. Esources reviews posted by successful business owners show that hundreds of wholesalers and dropshippers have benefited hugely by associating their online trade ventures with Esources.

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Esources reviews show that the fastest-growing trade directory is a great source of help to traders as it provides them access to exclusive UK and international wholesale sources and incredibly profitable deals. Premium buyers enjoy a higher level of credibility on the site and receive better quotes and more orders.

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Source by Brad Robert Smith