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Spring Clean Day
April 25th 2010
Burgh Beautiful are looking for volunteers to take part in a Spring Clean.
All protective gear supplied and refreshments after.
Volunteers can e-mail Ron Smith |
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LBA BECOMES LINLITHGOW BROADCASTING ASSOCIATION |
Brian Taylor's Big Debate - or should that be Big Brian Taylor's Debate? Whatever the nomenclature, the BBC Scotland political correspondent brought his weekly radio show to West Lothian, hosted at West Lothian College in Livingston, last Friday (15 January).
Joining the robust and rotund reckoner of political rhetoric was a panel of five leading speakers from Scottish contemporary life.
SNP MSP Angela Constance and Labour MP Michael Connarty fulfilled the political connections; the chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce Ron Hewitt represented a business perspective; while Andy Walker, the vice principal of Heriot Watt University and Joy Hendry who published the literary magazine Chapmans took their seats for the gown and town voices. To read more, please click here.
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Local Food: What do you want? - Public consultation
There is strong demand for locally produced food - how can demand be matched to supply?
Sat Feb 20th, 2 - 3.30pm at the Low Port Centre.
For more details, click here. |
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Is your business sustainable?
Interested in innovation?
Check out this website. |
LBA Meeting
Wed 27th Jan & 10th Feb at 8am at Star & Garter Hotel
West Lothian Chamber
Business Networking Lunch
Tue 26th Jan 12:00 - 14:00
Best Western Hilcroft Hotel, Whitburn
What Can Your Chamber Do For You!
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Volunteers are still being sought to track (and reduce!) their food waste via our Kitchen Canny project, in partnership with Changeworks.
Great to get families thinking about what they buy, cook and eat.
Contact Alan |
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Congratulations to Linlithgow Union Canal Society on becoming the first Canal Society in the UK to receive a silver award in the Green Tourism campaign. This confirms that the venue offers first class facilities and has demonstrated a clear understanding of the need for environmental sustainability.
Clubs and societies may also want to take note that there are superb meeting and training facilities available at LUCS. See their website to find out what's available. |
How about promoting your business by hosting an LBA Meeting at your premises?
Contact Elodie at the Language Room:
e:Elodie; tel: 670009
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Welcome to the first issue of the LBA newsletter of 2010!
It has been a tough start to the year with much debate as to when our pavements last took such a battering from the elements. Hopefully, the worst is over now and we can look forward to getting out and about a bit more easily - see some wintry wonderings from Cross Views below.
In addition, in this issue look out for:
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An invitation to non-members to take the plunge and join the LBA
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The Annual Farmhouse Breakfast
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Donaldsons School - an appeal for co-operation - make Linlithgow a "Deaf Awareness Town"
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Simon Walton's report on Brian Taylor's broadcast from West Lothian College
- Forging links with local schools
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Need a more effective website? - see the New Member article - Easy Online Web
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And more opportunities to promote your business and meet new people.
.........and remember you can use the newsletter to promote your business, advise of new products and services or special offers or events: contact@linlithgowbusiness.org.uk | |
If you are reading our LBA Newsletter and enjoying it but you are not yet a member of the LBA, why not join us?
The LBA is for local business people working together to help each other.
It is a way for us to share knowledge, skills, information and contacts and it helps us to do business with each other.
Whether you realise it of not you have skills, knowledge and contacts that you can share with other local businesses. They will do likewise, helping Linlithgow to prosper as a whole. You will meet new customers.
By becoming involved:
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you become the better informed you will be of the various external influences that affect your business prospects.
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you can make your voice heard and by working together the combined voice of small businesses is louder
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you will meet some of the influential people in the town.
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And the more you are involved the more influential you will become in your own right.
Being a member of the LBA is a means for you to influence the local and national policy makers, many of whom have never worked in the private sector let alone been self-employed and have little understanding of the basics of running a business.
What's involved:
Membership costs only £25 which buys you a variety of free networking and social events, input to the website and the monthly newsletter.
Meetings are fortnightly at 8.00am in the Star and Garter.
So why not come along and join or just go to our website - and download an application form now. |
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ANNUAL FARMHOUSE BREAKFAST |
Put the Date in Your Diary Now!
This year's Farmhouse Breakfast will take place on February 24th when we will once again enjoy the lavish hospitality of the Hay Family at Belsyde House. As in previous years this will be an excellent opportunity to get to know some fellow members and guests in the convivial atmosphere of the Dining Room of 18th Century Belsyde House.
In addition, this year, we are delighted to welcome Ruth Forsythe of Linlithgow Speakers who will give us a brief introduction to her organisation and tell us how to improve our presentation skills and communicate more effectively as well as improving speaking and leadership skills.
Throughout there will be opportunities to mix and meet, share ideas on how we can make Linlithgow a better place for doing business and perhaps do a little business too.
Invitations will be issued shortly but meantime please make a note in your diary and look out for further information. |
Forging Links Between The LBA and Local Schools |
During January 2010, Tom Robison and I (Edis Bowden) gave a presentation on behalf of the LBA to the Head Teachers of all the schools in Linlithgow.
We let them know that one of the aims of the LBA is to forge a stronger community in and around Linlithgow and that as part of that we wish to build relationships between the business community and the schools by offering whatever assistance our members can.
The offer was enthusiastically received and a number of ideas were discussed as examples of what such a partnership could achieve:
· Talks by members on what their working life is like
· Career Guidance
· Advice to Enterprise Clubs
· Visits to businesses
· Work experience placements
· Helping the students to put their studies into context
Tom and I are continuing to act as liaison with the schools and act as a focus. However, we would really like the members of the LBA to offer their help and support (no matter how small) to this initiative by sending us an e-mail (e-mail Edis; e-mail Tom). |
Happy New Year to all!
The weather has been the big topic over the last few weeks. The main effect on the High Street, apart from the lack of post-Christmas footfall due to enforced hibernation, has been the damage the weather has wreaked on the Caithness stone paving slabs through the centre of the town. Frozen ground under the slabs has lifted many of them to unsafe angles, prompting the Council to replace some of them with emergency tarmac - a temporary measure we hope. Funds have been allocated for an extension of the Caithness slabs along more of the High street in 2010, so watch your footing in the frosty weather.
The snow and ice has raised other questions, such as who is entitled to earn a salary when they can't get to work and who isn't? Few businesses seem to have a clear policy on it. Small businesses can't afford to pay staff to sit at home. Staff can't afford to sit at home without pay. Some businesses can arrange for staff to work from home, but there are issues of health and safety, confidentiality and software licensing to consider, never mind the question of productivity. Unpaid leave isn't popular, and working extra hours to make up lost time doesn't suit everyone. It's a thorny issue to which there are no clear answers, but business owners are advised to think carefully about it, make their policy clear and to apply it fairly to all staff, in the certain knowledge that you probably won't need to look at the policy again for another 30 years. Unless our profligate production of CO2 stops the Gulf Stream running, of course, in which case you might need that policy sooner than you think!
By Cross Views. |
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I've signed up to Donaldson's! |
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 Scotland's national Grant Aided Special school for pupils aged 2.5 years to 19 years relocated to Linlithgow 2 years ago, and has very much been accepted into the vibrant local community, thus enhancing the lives of our children.
Donaldson's would very much like to give something back to the community, and we have come up with the idea of helping Linlithgow to become a 'Deaf Aware' town, to which deaf customers and service users could come, confident that they will receive the same warm welcome from staff in shops, businesses and tourist attractions as all others visitors receive.
To help work towards this, Donaldson's would like to launch a pilot project called 'I've signed up to Donaldson's', through which we would provide tailored basic training in deaf awareness and British Sign Language to key frontline staff. This will also help employers meet their legal requirements through the DDA to ensure that their business is compliant and accessible.
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EASY ONLINE WEB 
Easy Online Web are based at Canal Terrace Linlithgow.
We have over 10 years experience in designing and hosting high quality
websites.
Our principal aim is to provide businesses and individuals with a website suited to their needs quickly, effectively and at a great price.
Then we make sure people can find your site on Google. Most of our clients are on Page 1 for their Keywords.
Your site can start off simple and grow as your needs grow.
We offer mailing lists, on-line shopping, bulletin and chat boards, virtual tours, flash animation, on-line reservations, on-line shopping....
You name it, we can do it for you.
Whether you already have a website and want it to deliver more, or whether you are considering a website for the first time, contact us for a no-obligation, no jargon discussion.
We offer discount for LBA members.
Contact Jim Edgar by e-mail or tel 07977 746169. |
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Do you want to use the newsletter to promote your business?
An article?
A member's offer?
An event?
A FREE service to LBA members!
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