Last week Elliot (WDL MD) and myself joined other businesses from the Colchester area in meeting our allocated students from Colchester Institute’s Career Academy.

Back in July 2011 I first went along to the Institute to hear about their new IT Career Academy. During the event I was encouraged by the energy and enthusiasm of those who spoke so passionately about the Partners in Business programme. When I returned to the office I discussed the event with Elliot and we both decided to join up. CRB’s were filled in, and forms were signed and sent off. There was no turning back at that point.

Having committed ourselves to mentor a student over the next 18 months we were both unsure of our role, about what we were supposed to do, and ultimately what kind of student we would get.

Our ‘mentees’ were hand-picked for us by the staff at the Career Academy and the pair were great company during our first meeting. They had lots of questions about what we did and our experiences of working life, and in a room full of other mentors and mentees, we were left to our own devices to find out as much as we could about each other and seek out opportunities to build our relationships on.

The introduction lasted about 45 minutes and we arranged to meet again in a couple of weeks for a second meeting. Elliot and I asked them to think about what they wanted to achieve from the programme and to bring some questions for us to go through next time.

The Career Academy is a fantastic opportunity for both the students and the mentors alike and we can see many benefits for both of us during the months ahead.

A few of our responsibilities as mentors include;

• Preparing the students for employment and/or higher education by helping them gain the necessary skills to be ‘work ready’.
• Establish a positive, personal relationship with the student through regular interaction and consistent support.
• Help the student to develop life skills and instil the framework for developing broader life-management skills.
• Increase students ability to interact with people/groups from various backgrounds by introducing them to different environments.

Any tips would be welcome!

I know I can speak for Elliot too, when I say that we are apprehensive about the next 18 months. We are both acutely aware that we have a responsibility to give what we can to our mentees and to help them to achieve their personal goals. But equally (pressure aside), we are excited and looking forward to the challenge.

No doubt we’ll keep you posted during the process and who knows you may be hearing from our mentees at some point in future too.

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My goodness! What better way to get to know your new colleagues than being pitted against them in a go-karting extravaganza as part of the yearly Christmas outing?!

The day was Saturday 10th December, just 5 days after my first day at WDL, and I was honoured to join the rest of the team at Anglia Indoor Kart Racing in Ipswich for a day at the races with a difference.

We were racing around a professionally-designed, multi-level racing circuit in 7.5bhp 215cc go-karts, capable of reaching speeds of up to 40mph, and the competition was TOUGH.

First came the heats, where we raced in groups of 5 or 6 and had to complete 5 laps of the track. Unfortunately, I took a couple of the corners a bit too quickly and remember my face scrunching up as I braced for the rest of the karts to come round the corner and crash into me (spinning out on the corners is such a school-boy error and it cost me a place in the final *fume*). And, around the blind bend my colleagues came – the good news is they didn’t crash into me because they were so determined to keep on racing and win.

Notable heat events include Natalie, our Business Administrator, crashing into one of the safety foam blocks at the side of the track. This didn’t stop my only other female co-worker though – she was so determined to win that she tried to drive up the hill to the next level of the track with the foam block on the front of her kart. GO Natalie!

There was some foul play from a couple of the guys as the competition heated up, including a few bumps into karts resulting in spin offs, and Natalie seemed to be one of the worst affected.

The semi-finals were next, and we had to race for 7 laps of the track. The top racers from the heats, determined by the number of points earned in their heat races, were in one semi-final and the racers with the lowest points were in a separate semi-final.

I thought the heats were competitive, until I saw the semi-final, where Daniel, WDL’s Project Manager and my line manager, got black flagged (meaning he was driving dangerously, had to stop racing and go to the pits immediately). Unfortunately, he’d misunderstood the flags so carried on racing his heart out only to get ‘nil poi’.

At the end of the semi-finals, the top 6 racers were gearing up for the final, which consisted of 11 laps of the circuit.

The finalists were:

1.    Richard
2.    Craig
3.    Matt
4.    Tom
5.    Lloyd
6.    Sam

The pressure was really on for someone, ANYONE, to beat Matt because he had won at go-karting at the Christmas outings in both 2009 and 2010 (and he was slightly smug about it, to say the least).

Staff who hadn’t made the final watched on as Richard raced like a trouper and knocked Matt off the top spot and became the prestigious Go-Karting Champion of 2011! Well done, Richard!

Matt came a valiant second and Tom claimed third place, so well done to them too.

The end of the ‘GP’ was marked by the awards ceremony, with trophies given to the top 3 racers of the day and, to be honest, I was glad not to be on the podium as Richard sprayed Matt and Tom with his prize ‘champagne’ he was given! However, Matt got his own back on Richard and doused him in the ‘champagne’ too!

All in all it was a GREAT day and a huge thanks to Elliot, our MD, for treating us all to this fantastic experience.

craig, daniel, elliot, matt, natalie, richard, tom, wdl Hide

Clockwise from top left; Craig, Elliot, Matt, Tom, Daniel & Lloyd.

Our Movember facial furniture has all gone (see previous Movember post) and most of us are happy to see the back of it. Except Lloyd, who appears to still be fully attached to his for reasons only he knows. We suspect it’s Lloyd’s first time with hair on his face and he’s making the most of it. But, don’t worry ladies the rest of us have all returned to our usual handsome selves.

Our month of moustache-wearing went well and we managed to raise nearly £800 for Prostate Cancer and Testicular Cancer initiatives, which makes us very happy. It did come at a price as we spent the whole month with ridiculous face fuzz, meeting clients, family and friends in often embarrassing circumstances. More than once we’ve been left having to explain the concept of Movember, or run the risk of people thinking we were just a bit odd. It’s getting easier though as Movember works it way in to the public consciousness, and no doubt next year those who decide to take on the challenge will have less to explain.

On the whole it was definitely worth it. We’re proud of the part we have played in raising a significant amount of money which goes toward supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programmes around mens health.

Will we do it again next year? Watch this space.

From left to right; Richard, Lloyd, Matt, Daniel, Elliot, Craig, Natalie? & Tom

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Wednesday this week saw most of us from WDL attending the 5th Colchester Digital Meetup. The Show & Tell event, this time hosted by Browser Media, was a great success with many new members in attendance.

The premise – 5 members had 5 minutes (or thereabouts – Joe and Sam went slightly over by about 30 minutes!) to tell the rest of us something about their business, experience or ideas relating to the digital sectors.

Joe Friedlein (Browser Media) opened proceedings by welcoming us to his offices and telling us a little bit about the company. Closely followed by Mike Morley (9eggs) who explained some of the work that he has been doing with mobile apps and flash conversion. Next, Terry Heffernan (High Postion) gave us an introduction to High Position; what they do, their clients and along with his colleague Tom Jepson, some insights into the future of SEO. Jamie Gledhill (Digital Surface) was next up and told us about his buisness, which offers digital media consultancy and production services. Finally Joe and Sam gave us an overview of their digital mapping idea for Colchester, which sparked plenty of debate and got everyone talking.

A big thank you must go out to Joe Friedlein who offered to host the event and bought the beers.

See below for more information on the speakers;

Joe Friedlein

Mike Morley

Terry Heffernan

Jamie Gledhill

Joe Stone

When WDL set up Colchester Digital in May/June this year, we hoped to get local digital businesses and individuals together to share and explore ideas. We knew it was a great idea and the numbers show there was definitely a niche to be explored. With nearly 100 members now we think the group has a future. Colchester Digital is not owned by any one business or individual, it’s owned and run by it’s members and although that can throw up complications when it comes to organisation it has worked so far. Long may it continue to bring like-minded people together.

If you want to join Colchester Digital visit our site and keep up to date with events.

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Slowly but surely WDL are taking steps towards a greener business.

We think getting ‘green bins’ for the office is a good place to start (we got ours from Nigel’s Eco Store). It might not seem like a big step, but it is a step in the right direction. As far as we’re concerned it’s only the beginning and as a business we have plans to become far ‘greener’ in 2012.

Ultimately we want to radically reduce our impact on the environment and feel suitably passionate about it to add it to our mission statement. We don’t expect to become carbon neutral overnight, but we are working on it!

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I have wanted us, as a company, to get more involved in community and charity work for a while now. We are doing our bit for the community by setting up Colchester Digital, which is now 80 members strong after only 4 months, and now we are getting started with the charity side of things.

Out of the 10 of us here 9 are men (poor Natalie) so it made sense to look for something to do with men’s health. We also wanted to start out quite simply, with something that we could all get involved in. So what could we all do regardless of physical or mental abilities. Well, we can all grow facial hair (just about)!

So, this year we will be taking part in Movember, a month of moustache growing fun.

The science bit

“During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men”.

“On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face and then for the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts”.

As soon as I knew about Movember and what they do I was adamant we would be getting involved.

The sad X-Factor piano music bit

Note: I’m going to talk about this quite frankly and as openly as I can as this is very important to me.

In February 2010 I was diagnosed with testicular cancer (left side). I had been to see my GP almost a year before but was told that everything was fine. It may seem ridiculous but, I suppose being a typical man, it took quite a lot to go to the doctor. I was embarrassed, stubborn, adamant that it was nothing, but at the same time very scared that it could be something. In short, I was a big, stupid wuss and didn’t want to face it. I had not told anyone (mistake 1) and I had not gone to the doctor immediately (mistake 2). Needless to say, my mum was furious and tears and arguments ensued.

As time past things were not feeling any better, in fact they were feeling worse. Having felt a second lump I went to the doctor again in February 2010. Within 4 days I had a consultation at the hospital and a day later I was in theatre. I didn’t have time to think about it, I saw the surgeon and was told in no uncertain terms that it was “coming out tomorrow, and here’s what we’ll be putting back in” as I was presented with a prosthetic. It was a whirlwind couple of days, but to be honest I wouldn’t have had it any other way, and everyone at the Colchester General Hospital was brilliant. An ultrasound showed that there were actually four lumps and later a biopsy of the removed testicle (I’ve heard all the jokes!!) would confirm the lumps were cancerous.

March 2010 was mostly spent in bed after having a dose of chemotherapy (if you ever have the pleasure, I advise stocking up on prune juice and plenty of fibre, if you know what I mean). I have since had a couple of CT scans and numerous x-rays and blood tests, but so far so good and there is no sign that the cancer has spread.

I hope you can see how important this cause is to me personally and to us as a company. We would be so grateful if you could support us in any way possible, either with a donation to our Movember Team or just spreading the word. At the very least I want you, your loved ones and your friends to be more aware of these issues. Cancer of various types affects men and women of all ages so, without sounding too crude, go and check yourself (not right now, it’s not really appropriate at work, wait till you get home!).

Thank you.

Matt

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Thinking it was about time to enter the big league we decided to sponsor a football team. We thought about getting shirt sponsorship prices from teams such as Arsenal and Chelsea but realised quite early on it would make more sense to look closer to home. Unfortunately Colchester United are already catered for by ROL (Readers Offers Limited) and Ipswich Town have sponsorship from event organisers Marcus Evans, so we put our heads together, and then Elliot said, “My little brother plays football.”
With this groundbreaking news we knew we were getting closer, now we had someone on the inside, someone with an in depth knowledge of the game, someone who would have contacts.
“Who does he play for?” we asked.
“Wivenhoe Town Under 11’s” came Elliot’s reply.
“Perfect!”

Phone calls were made, agents were schmoozed, emails were bounced back and forth between us and the club. We had to set this up quickly and get the deal sorted before the season started. What we really wanted though was to get the team in their WDL branded kit before the Wivenhoe Town XI vs Arsenal Celebrity match (Joe Swash was going to be there!). Palms were greased, wheels were set in motion and deals were done. With a few hours to spare, we made it.

The few of us who went to the match were so excited about seeing Joe Swash and some bloke off of some reality show that none of us had seen, that we forgot about the kit. When we got there the entire under 11’s team (give or take a player or two) were there wearing the brand spanking new WDL branded strip watching the match. It truly was a sight to behold. Tears were choked back, the atmosphere was thick with pride and the match went by without a hitch. It went on for what seemed like hours as everyone who had a few £££’s to spare got to play against the ‘Arsenal Celebrities’. I think Dean Gaffney may have scored a goal, but I might be mistaken. When it finished we all patted each other on the back and thought ‘We’ve hit the big time.’

Each time those little fellas go out on to the pitch, wherever they play, a piece of us goes with them and you can’t buy that. (Well actually you can, and it’s surprisingly less expensive than you might think!)

The team have worn the shirts a few times now and by all accounts they are quite comfortable. We’re just glad that we could be part of something much bigger and more important than us. And, most importantly somebody called us the next day after seeing the shirts (it works) and asked if we could build a website for him for £50.

Wivenhoe Under 11′s team member Oscar Smith plays in WDL kit during a tournament at the David Beckham Academy near the O2 in London.

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The first quarter of a year of my apprenticeship has flown by at WDL, during  which time I’ve embarked on a journey of discovery into the vast world of website design – both the practical side and the more… unpractical things I could never have learned from a book; IE6 will always break your website, Firebug is a godsend and photo booth on the Mac is always hilarious.

I have been surprised at how easily I’ve adjusted to the routine of a full days work – five days a week, compared to my previous college life. I mostly put this down to the relaxed environment in which we all work. Music plays throughout the office and the week always ends with a beer and a few games of pool. I’m looking forward to the rest of my apprenticeship where hopefully I will continue my daily routine of building and maintaining websites, buying sweets for everyone in office and attempting to beat the designer at a game of guess the typeface!

We’re here – Who We Are

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Rob, one of our designers, will be leaving us very shortly to work for a design agency in London. We are sorry to see him leave and wish him the best of luck in his new job but we don’t envy the commute he will be doing each day.

‘After spending a year with WDL I am sadly moving onto new pastures. During this time I have worked on a range of client projects such as Saffron’s branding development, 123app website design and The Barn Brasserie menu designs. It has been a great experience working within a growing team of enthusiastic and dedicated individuals from whom I have learnt a lot and also working with driven clients to produce materials for their businesses.’ – Rob

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We have recently got the decorators in to brighten up our building. The outside is now a cheerful shade of blue and it means you certainly won’t be able to miss us. Our inside environment has been changing too with some new additions to the team in the form of plants. They’re much quieter and make a lot less mess than the rest of the team.

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