Gmail, RedRite, Leeds

Gmail We Salute You

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Have you ever sent an email and thought NO!! because it went to the wrong person or you haven’t run the grammar check and can see some glaringly obvious mistakes??

Well if you use Gmail you can bend down and kiss their feet because the geniuses in their labs have come through with a fully functional UNDO SEND button. So next time you go to send your friend a comedy sketch involving your boss you can hit that button and save not only your job but your rear end too.

So how do you activate this life saving feature? Go to the little cog icon in the upper righthand corner and select “Settings.” About a third of the way down the page you’ll see the “Undo Send” section. You can choose between 5, 10, 20 and 30 second windows of unsendability. Make sure you hit “Save Changes” at the bottom and you’re all set.

Just hope that next time you send an email to someone slightly too strongly worded you undo it in the timeframe you have set yourself or you may have to blame it on your drunken alter ego…

 

Macdonalds, RedRite, Leeds

Something Different for Dinner?

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In 1937 Patrick Macdonald started his first ever food stand on Route 66 near the Monrovia Airport in Monrovia, California. Selling Hot Dogs, 10 cents Hamburgers and all-you-can-drink Orange juice at just 5 cents. His son’s took his idea and in 1940 created MacDonald’s Bar-b-q with 25 food items of barbecue food at West 14th and 1398 North E Streets.

8 years later and it had started to become clear that their biggest seller was Hamburgers, this then led to a revamp of the company with a new streamlined system and menu consisting of just hamburgers, cheese burgers, French fries, shakes, soft drinks and apple pie. They also eliminated the carhop asset of the company to create a more self-serve operation, with an assembly line kitchen. The company was renamed to simply ‘MacDonald’s’ and re-opened in December 1948.

in 1952 with the help of Stanley Clark Meston, a new sharper design for MacDonald’s was created including the famous 25-foot ‘golden arches’ made out of sheet metal trimmed in neon. The brothers took Meston’s rendering and began seeking franchisees and found Neil Fox, a distributor for General Petroleum Corporation. Fox’s stand was the first to showcase Meston’s golden arches design and opened in MAy 1953 on North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. Fox’s Brother-in-laws followed suit and opened a secondary stand at Lakewood Boulevard, Downey, California in August 1953, this stand is the current oldest surviving MacDonald’s Restaurant. As it was franchised by the MacDonald brothers themselves it was not required to update and modernise like those stands franchised under the MacDonald’s Corporation, however it was acquired by the corporation, remodelled as per the original but modern working design and an adjacent Museum with gift shop to commemorate the site.

It was upon meeting Ray Kroc in 1954, that the brothers were introduced to the idea of taking their self-serve operation national. Kroc personally took on the responsibility of setting up the new franchises elsewhere and returned to his home outside of Chicago with rights to set up more MacDonald’s restaurants. He opened the first one in Des Plains, Illinois in April 1955, it was opened under the company McDonald’s Systems, Inc and later became known as MacDonald’s Corporation.

By 1959 there was 102 operational restaurants under Kroc. The company, with assistance from marketing continued to grow add in the US Automobile and suburbanization meant that in 1961 Kroc bought out the MacDonald brothers for $2.7 Million with plans to make MacDonald’s the number one fast-food chain in the country. in 1965, Macdonald’s went public, with common shares offered at $22.50 per share, this quickly rose to $30 by the end of the first day. in 1980 MacDonald’s corporation became one of the 30 companies to make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

By 1976 Macdonald’s had sold 20 billion Hamburgers and sales exceeded $3 Billion, with one-fourth of all American breakfasts eaten out purchased from Macdonald’s. In 1974 Macdonald’s gave back to the community by providing its first Ronald MacDonald house in Philadelphia, providing a home away from home for families of children in hospital.

In 1976, after much deliberation the first International MacDonald’s opened in New Zealand at Porirua, near Wellington. By the early 1990s the company had established itself in 58 foreign countries and operated more than 3,00 restaurants outside of the United Sates, with its strongest markets in Japan, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Australia and France. Although it took MacDonald’s 33 years to reach its 10,000 restaurants mark by 1997 the total had surpassed 23,000 with majority of growth coming from outside United States, including the Middle East. MacDonald’s showed continuous flexibility with respect to local food laws by providing bot Halal and Kosher menus, even removing beef from the menu and replacing it with lamb for the Indian restaurants.

Unfortunately MacDonald’s USA growth started to suffer with many franchises feeling they were simply out numbered in their areas due to more and more trying to pop up in small areas. In the late 1990s

MacDonald’s started to invest in other food retailers, starting with Colorado based Chipotle Mexican Grill. MacDonald’s later went on to invest in more businesses outside of the burger business, in 1999 they bought Aroma Café, a UK upscale coffee and sandwich shop which was then sold off in 2001. Later that year MacDonald’s also added Donatos Pizza, and in 2000 they made their largest acquisition in the form of Boston Market chain for $173.5 Million in cash and debt. They rounded out their acquisition see by purchasing 33% stake in Pret a Manger.

Although MacDonald’s has always been a famous name and a popular one at that it seems its US branches are closing faster than they are opening. Executives told the Associated Press that the US Sales have been on the decline for the past 5 years. This means that 700 of its underperforming restaurants will close this year, Former CEO Don Thompson felt this is due to the changing attitudes of the US consumers creating one of the greatest challenges for MacDonald’s.

On the other side of the world though it appears sales are up and hundreds more restaurants are due to open particularly in Europe and Asia, with France being the most successful market investing 200 million Euros to expand more. It is believed that the French restaurants are far more superior and sophisticated than its American counterparts, with touch screen order consoles, elevated McCafe and a Blue Cheese Burger. America has tried these improvements but find that the large company fleet make it difficult to implement new ideas.

So it appears that although America is its founding country MacDonald’s is much more appreciated in Europe and Asia, will this cause any major changes within the company itself or do they hope years of being America’s number one fast-food restaurant will save the day?? Only time will tell.

 

 

 

Nutella, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

Nuts over Breakfast??

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Even a favourite breakfast treat isn’t safe from environmentalists as proven when today’s news channels went crazy with an announcement from French Environment Minister Segelene Royal.

Nutella, which contains Palm Oil, was slammed by the French minister over fears they are contributing to deforestation by replacing trees with oil palms. Ferrero, the Italian chocolate which own Nutella, have made a commitment to source the palm oil in a responsible way by using sustainable palm fruit oil, as certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) supply chain.

Unfortunately, this is not enough to satisfy Ms Royal who claims their chocolate breakfast favourite is not only dangerously fattening but its cultivation is harming the environment.

However, only hours later does French Minister Royal offer ‘a thousand apologies’ regarding her earlier statement. It seems her earlier statement did not go over too well with her Italian counterpart who kindly told her to’ leave Italian products alone’. Luca Galletti, the Italian Prime Minister, was interviewed on television and made his stance on Nutella very clear, stating it was Nutella on bread for dinner. An apology was demanded of Royal by Italian politician, Michele Anzaldi, who felt she had committed a ‘serious and ugly’ slight against ‘Italian excellence’. Her apology also came with an agreement to flag up the progress made by Ferrero.

It seems Nutella is not safe in France, only 3 years ago did a ‘Nutella Amendment’ appear in front of parliament hoping to impose a 300% tax on palm oil, after several French Senators claimed the ingredients were harming the environment and making children fat. Thankfully it was declined and kids can still enjoy the delicious taste of Nutella in a morning.

 

Business Locations, Business, Leeds, RedRite

Business Locations

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Once upon a time businesses were generally found in office suites or shop fronts, usually starting from inside someone’s house or garage but it seems today that there isn’t a location constraint where a business can function from.

All over the UK little businesses are popping up in lay-bys on roads, offering anything from live chickens to healthy, tasty food. Recently in the news a particular stretch of road has been the focus of such an unlikely business location, some shop owners used to have a set location but due to the introduction of franchises and popular brand shops they found themselves picking up shop and moving to a more mobile location.

On the A10 a burger van, tomato plant shop and a coffee shop selling cups of tea for just 50p are only a few who work side by side, in agreement with the local councils to not disturb the owners of local land and cause an obstruction. These business are enjoying a rewarding venture particularly with truckers who stop by for lunch with choices of a variety of foods, priced sometimes even 5 times lower than the local services. Local businesses can also place orders for fresh produce which is then delivered before they leave work and many locals enjoying showing their support of local traders.

Not only providing a selection of produce and meals for drivers the staff have also been on hand when a driver has stopped with a medical emergency, one such recipient of their care is a gentleman who pulled over disorientated with blue lips. He now visits every year to say thank you and re-assure the traders he is still alive.

Do you work out of an unusual location? or know some one that does? Then please do get in touch we would love to know where else people are taking their businesses.

 

 

Hard or electronic copy, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

Hard Copy or Electronic Copy??

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There was a time when all business documents were paper copies, some even little scraps of paper with IOU’s and promises between business friends. Meetings required travel, so sometimes a simple 1 hour meeting could take hours. Now though with technology moving forward you no longer have to travel to take care of business, telephone conferences and e-mails make it far easier to communicate for meetings, data is easily e-mailed across and downloaded into processing systems, less and less physical money is exchanged. Sometimes you never even see the person you’re doing business with, you transfer money and you receive your item. Many job roles require you to have some sort of IT qualification or provide proof of your understanding regarding IT process showing exactly how far the technology world has come.

For the new generation of workers this is normal and nothing unusual about it but being one of those workers who used to sit with piles of paper with data that need hand inputting on a daily basis I find that I am always double checking the computers work and I do miss the feel of paper in my hand when transferring data. Even today I have printed out a Client Information sheet to copy type the information in to each of our systems rather than rely on the computer, I feel more in touch with my business when I can be that little bit more hands on. True when the amount of data that requires transferring is large it is easier to just use the computer processes to copy the information but I do like slipping back in to the old ways every now and again.

Flicking through screens on a computer and trying to see everything at once like you would with paper spread out on a table irritates me, I find at times I would need 3-4 screens just to see all the data especially when comparing the data on several spreadsheets. RedRite is a small business and we take care of all aspects of the business from starting up customer service, finance and marketing so we have to ‘see’ everything at once I can only image how many screens the bigger companies require their employees to ‘see’ at once.

So what kind of worker are you? A lover of hard copy paperwork and a table full of paper or electronic worker, who prefers to flick through screen after screen of data and place their trust in the computer systems?

Please let us know, we love to hear from our readers.

May Bank Holiday, University, RedRite, Leeds

May Bank Holiday…

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As another Bank holiday finishes we hope you have had a relaxing weekend and managed to put your feet up at some point. We have had a fun but busy weekend, completing a University assignment (One of the last of my first year), building a shed in the back garden and just generally enjoying an opportunity to relax with family and friends.

A conversation that has taken place over the weekend though has us thinking, when writing assignments for school/college/university how many different ways are you advised to write? So far we have thought about:

  • Business Reports – With a cover, contents page, main body and then an executive summary. Majority of reports are written in first person.
  • Social Science Essay – a completely impersonal piece of writing that requires you to discuss different points of view on a topic and then conclude with a concluding statement..
  • Psychology Report – A mixture of the previous two types of report, where clear and precise points are needed and backed up with evidence, whether through personal experimentation or reference from elsewhere which is then solidly concluded through a personal point of view.
  • Journalism article – A ‘to the point’ fact filled piece of writing that brings the reader’s attention direct to the issue and lays out the facts in a clear, some times opinionated manner.

These are all types of assignments so far we have encountered through our own personal journey in education. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated and may result in a future post focusing on the construction of the different types of writing.

Now to go and finish enjoying the reasonable weather we have been blessed this weekend and start planning for the week ahead, a possible road trip to a few of the local museums and some more writing to do is in the books.

Enjoy your week and please do get in touch.

Welcome to Spring, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

Welcome Spring…

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What a lucky first week of the Easter holidays we have had here in Leeds. With glorious sunshine, shorts hot weather and not a drop of rain in sight we at RedRite have been taking advantage and getting the garden ready for summer. Removing all the dead flowers from last year, cutting the lawn to a reasonable level once again and planting plenty more flowers to bring colour to the garden come May-August it’s been a fun and productive week.

We love this bit of sunshine we have been granted and are hoping for much more of it to come, my children have gone crazy digging out all the outside toys and inventing new ways (for them anyway) to play with them, including my crazy son who decided it would be fun to sit on his scooter and ride down our little hill to the back door. The paving has never been more colourful thanks to my daughters and their chalks, we have even managed to sneak in two delicious BBQs.

The weather forecast for the next week or so is a little mixed up depending on where you look but we do hope for some more lovely weather so we can plant out the seedlings we currently have growing, we also hope to have a get together with friends and family followed with another BBQ. This lovely weather seems to be having a positive impact on our working motivation as well surprisingly as we have got far on our current projects and are ahead of our current timetable.

What have you and your family/friends got up to in this lovely weather, we would love to hear all about it, we may even create a Top Ten Things to do in The Sun if we get enough responses.

Now to a more serious yet no less personal topic.

The sun also brings out a lot of Bikers, although fun it can also be very dangerous hobby. Bikers make up only 1% of road traffic users however the number of incidents every year involving a Biker is approximately 30 significant incidents a day, 80% of which have occurred due to other parties, including local councils for improper care of the road surfaces. Out of that percentage, 48% of all accidents are caused directly by other road users, more than likely car drivers not double checking when manoeuvring, although this may be higher than reported as another percentage is that of Bikers losing control, which can be associated with having to avoid unobservant car drivers.

The death toll associated with motorbike incidents are thankfully on the drop thanks to campaigns such as Think! and the improvement in protective wear available to Bikers, unfortunately though the amount of serious injuries reported is on the increase, equalling around 19 serious injuries a day. In 2004 those aged 21-25 and 31-35 are the most vulnerable and more than likely to be involved in an incident, an astonishing 38% of these incidents are caused by right of way violations, 11% of the time due to loss of control whilst navigating a bend and 15% of the time due to a filtering accident.

If you are out and about in this lovely weather then please double check for motorbikes in your mirrors, as a relative of someone who has been injured in a motorbike incident receiving a call stating something has happened no matter how insignificant is an unsettling experience, so please do take care.

 

Happy Easter, RedRite, Leeds, Virtual Assistant

Happy Easter

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It’s that weekend again when we consume far too much chocolate, hot cross buns and Crème Eggs all in the name of religion. Easter Sunday is just one day in what the church calls the Easter season, which actually begins on Shrove Tuesday. It consists of 40 days of Lent which represents the days Jesus spent in the wilderness before starting his ministry and avoiding temptations of Satan in the process. The final week of Lent is known as Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Easter Sunday itself is followed by a 50 day period called Eastertide and celebrates Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.

Easter its self however, unlike other religious holidays, is not assigned to a set date every year, it is instead celebrated on the first Sunday following the Full moon after the Vernal Equinox on March 21st, allowing Easter to land on any day between March 22nd and April 25th. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate their religious events so generally celebrate Easter a week or two after Western churches who fallow the Gregorian calendar.

Its name in itself has unknown origins, speculations relate to its derivation from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, from the Latin term Hebdomada alba or white week in relation to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people baptized during this time. A translation error later appeared with the term appearing as Esostarum in Old High German which eventually became Easter in English. In French it is Paques and Spanish it is Pascua which derive from the Greek and Latin Pascha or Pasch for Passover, the event in which brought Jesus to Jerusalem immediately before his crucifixion and resurrection. Pascha eventually came to mean Easter.

In Countries where Christianity is the celebrated religion and 12 US states Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are all public or bank holidays when many businesses including restaurants and supermarkets are closed, although this is usually only on the Sunday. In Denmark, Iceland and Norway Maundy Thursday is also a public holiday, where most workers are given the day off work or only work a half day.

Easter Traditions.

These days Easter is celebrated with the giving of Easter Eggs which is believed to be created by the early Christian community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of Jesus’ blood bled at his crucifixion. In Slavic countries eggs are also used as a popular symbol of new life. The eggs where also used to represent the empty tomb, originally chicken eggs were used but now are replaced with chocolate or plastic eggs filled with candy.

Many activities and traditions on Easter Sunday includes Egg Hunts, egg decorating and the creation of Easter baskets. These activities are celebrated by both those that believe in the religious aspects and non-religious believers. Easter Sunday Mass is observed in the morning followed by a Sunday Roast usually of Lamb or Ham including breads such as Simnel cake, nut bread Potica or Hot cross buns, although the buns are usually associated with Good Friday.

One unusual Easter tradition is that of whipping carried out on the morning of Easter Monday in the Czech Republic. In the morning men whip women with a special handmade whip known as a Pomlazka, eight, twelve or twenty four willow rods usually from half a meter to two meters long and decorated with colourful ribbons at the end. Although the spanking is not intended to cause suffering it can occasionally hurt. This is carried out in accordance with a legend that states women should be spanked with a whip in order to keep their health, beauty and fertility during the whole next year. It is also believed to be a way for men to show their interest in a woman and many women offer up coloured eggs and invites the men in to eat and drink as a sign of her thanks. Although it is fair in love and war as women can get their revenge later in the day by throwing a cold bucket of water over the man.

Florence, Italy, lights a Holy Fire from stone shards from the Holy Sepulchre, this is then used to ignite a rocket in the form of a dove representing peace and the Holy Spirit, this rocket then ignites a cart filled with fireworks in the small square before the Cathedral.

Norway celebrates Easter by vacationing in mountain cabins, skiing and painting eggs but also by reading or watching murder mysteries. Major television channels run crime and detective stories, magazines print stories where the reader can try to figure out the villain, and new detective novels are scheduled for publishing before Easter. There is also a short mystery story printed on the side of milk cartons for the weeks surrounding Easer, businesses and stores close for five days straight with the exception of grocery stores apart from Holy Saturday.

Finland and Sweden traditions include children dressed as witches and going door to door collecting candy in thanks for decorated pussy willows, this is a mix of an old orthodox tradition and the Swedish Easter witch tradition.

Cyprus, like a few other countries lights fires although in Cyprus a small doll representing Judas Iscariot is burnt.

 

Whichever traditions you choose to follow we would love to wish all our Readers a very Happy Easter and a Joyous spring time.

Happy Mothers Day, Leeds, RedRite, Virtual Assistant

Mothering Sunday… To all Mums Past, Present and Future.

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The 4th Sunday in Lent is a day in which we all focus on our Mother’s and thank them for their love and support in life.

Originally though Mother’s Day was a day in which people returned to their Mother Church, usually a large local church or the nearest cathedral. In the sixteenth century domestic servants were given the day off in order to attend the service with their families and young ones ‘in service’ were given the day off to visit their families also. The day was originally known as gone a-mothering. It slowly evolved in to the tradition of giving gifts to mothers.

However the custom slowly started to lapse within Ireland and continental Europe, until 1921 when Constance Penswick-Smith inspired by Anna Jarvis, who had started the Mothering Sunday movement in the United States, wrote a book requesting the revival of the festival. The Mothering Sunday traditions where celebrated by the visiting servicemen from the United States and those traditions were combined with the traditions of the Church of England and Ireland. As the wider Catholic and secular society began to celebrate Mothering Sunday more the Merchants caught on and saw a business opportunity, by the 1950s it was promoted and celebrated across all the UK.

There was once a cake made specifically for Mothering Sunday in England known as ‘Mothering Buns’, these were sweet buns topped with pink or white icing and multi-coloured sprinkles.

Today Mother’s Day is seen mostly as a commercial holiday celebrating all Mothers and all they have done for us, with cards, presents, flowers and chocolates generally given. Many restaurants hold special set meal events for families to partake of as well as many businesses offering specials and deals on certain products aimed at Mothers.

 

With this in mind I would like to say something about my Mum and all she has done for me.

Life at times isn’t easy and if it wasn’t for her hand holding mine, her strength holding me up, and her kicking my butt when needed I wouldn’t be the woman, or even the Mother I am today. Through thick and thin I know I can always turn to my Mum and receive the truth along with a healthy dose of love. She has taught me when to use a strict hand and how sometimes a gentle touch can make a huge difference. She has taught me how to be strong not only in myself but for my kids too, how to guide them without taking over and how to support them in the best way possible. Not just the emotional stuff but the practical stuff as well, she has shown me how to make each penny spent count, how you don’t need millions to be rich. She has directed me when I needed logic in my life to make a decision even when my heart is breaking. I love my Mum to pieces and can’t image who I would be if it wasn’t for her, she isn’t just a Mum, she is a Grandma to my kids, Best friend to all and a steady rock in a turbulent world. I only wish in 20 years from now my kids can turn around and say the same thing about me, be proud of who my Mum has taught me to be and take all the lessons I have learnt to become great people within themselves.

Happy Mother’s Day Mum