Rediscovering Memories and Nostalgia: Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard's Return to Whately Hall Hotel
Written by Kelly Frith
Did you know that the Whately Hall Hotel was once famous for its underground cocktail bar? I recently learned about this when Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard, the hotel's previous owners, returned to share their history and experiences from the 1960s.
During their visit, we had the pleasure of hearing about the hotel's fascinating history through its beautiful stories and seeing some of its memorabilia from its heyday. It was all rather charming, and as someone who works with pounds sterling, it was interesting to see the wine list with prices denoted in shillings, which left some of us wondering about the currency.
The Blanchard’s return was an excellent opportunity to promote the Whately Hall Hotel's recent refurbishment following the acquisition by Tulip Hotels and Real Estate, which Countrywide Hotels will manage. It was a lovely transition from old to new as Mr Blanchard passed on his experiences to the new General Manager, Leigh Gerrard, who shared his plans for the hotel with us.
After listening to Mr Blanchard and General Manager Leigh Gerrard share their historical and future plans, we split into two groups. One group headed off for a tour of the hotel to see the newly refurbished bedrooms, while the other group stayed behind to enjoy a delicious cheese spread.
It was a joyous evening for all who attended, and we had the chance to meet the new management team, who are keen to engage with the local community. If you were unable to join us, I highly recommend that you meet Lee and his team at Whately Hall Hotel. The hotel is fully functional for all your business and personal needs, and if you're looking for a special treat, then Afternoon Tea with Bubbles seems to be a popular choice.
A Night at the Bingo
Written by Kelly Frith
When we entered the Katharine House Hospice Accumulator Challenge, we knew that we had to have the return of Jason Savage, the Bingo Lingo operator, so the decision was made that 'A Night at the Bingo' would be our finale.
We got to planning in October, from how the night would run and on what date to prize donations, and before we knew it, the night was upon us; Friday, 26th January, had flown around. We knew we had plenty of interest from the registrations, and the team were excited to see how the evening would plan out.
At 4:30pm on Friday 26th January, we headed over to Lock29, where we were greeted by the new, friendly general manager Stuart McGregor and his team. We set up shop for the evening as the latest pop-up stand. Armed with our Bingo Dabbers, sponsored by Wellers Accountants, Bingo Books, and Raffle tickets, all neatly lined up on the counter. Not forgetting the borrowed card reader from Bloxham Mill, which was much appreciated. Now, all we had to do was wait for the arrival of our attendees.
We didn't have to wait long as some of our members and the local business community started to arrive; Neil Webber from The Banbury Rugby Club was first on the scene and raring to start the evening. We soon had a queue lined up as far as the bar seating area, with a mixture of the business community and the local community with their families.
Lock29 Vendors stayed open for the duration, making the last Friday of the month a real treat for all who attended, with various cuisines on offer to tuck into.
As we got closer to the kick-off time of 6pm, our star guest Jason, travelling from Aylesbury, was making his way through the Friday traffic. Thankfully, this gave us more time as the queue continued to grow but also allowed the Lock29 staff to locate more chairs to squeeze us all in. We couldn't believe our eyes when we looked around to see a sea of people fill the vicinity. We had over 100 people in attendance, all of whom had joined us to support Katharine House Hospice for the evening.
There was plenty of enthusiasm and cheer through the room as the Bingo kickstarted; it wasn't long before our first-line winner was up and off to see Neil, Chamber CEO, and choose from the sea of prizes donated by the local Banbury businesses. The six games of Bingo flew past as we had winner after winner, and for those in the audience, a pleasant revelation as prizes remaining were carried through to the raffle.
Last-minute raffle tickets were purchased before 8pm, with top prizes, a 22ct Gold plate Alex Monroe Bumble Bee Bracelet and An Afternoon Tea with Bubbles for 4 guests donated by Michael Jones Jewellers and The Whately Hall Hotel, were won.
There was a great selection of other prizes, including meal vouchers, retail vouchers, wine, hampers, books, games, accessories, sweets, and pens. Donated by The Gaming Hive, Muffin Break, The Entertainer, The Falcon, Waterstones, BC Nail Spa, Smash Cow, Flower Funky, Bobos Cambodian Kitchen, Pasta Delight, Jammin Pizza, MK Revival, Pizza Calzone, Rymans, World of Fudge & Sweets, Business Buzz, Banbury & District Chamber and Activate Learning. We are grateful for the local business community and their support with the donations.
With the support of the Banbury Community, we successfully raised £1,711 on the evening. With the funds accumulated in November and December, we have managed to raise £2,289 for Katharine House Hospice. This is an outstanding achievement for a deserving charity.
Katharine House Hospice needs £12,995 per day to keep the services offered by the hospice running. Your fundraising efforts help towards the services they provide to our community.
So, how can you get involved? You can discuss sponsoring the Accumulator Challenge or entering a team with Sue Blank at Sue.Blank@khh.org.uk.
The registration of the Accumulator Challenge Intake for 2024/2025 will kickstart in May 2024. Why not enter a team as a business, a collective, or an organisation, or even get your local school involved!
Take the plunge and make the £50 you receive grow!
Find out more about sponsoring activities for the hospice here
The BCOC Live
Written by Kelly Frith
Written by Kelly Frith
The BCOC Live: The Future of Banbury and Your Workforce exhibition and conference took place on Tuesday, 14th November, at Activate Learning, Banbury Campus and was a great success.
Our team saw a bright and early 7:30am as they greeted our local business exhibitors through the main hall doors at 8am. All our exhibitors looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they prepared their exhibition stands excitedly for the day ahead.
Pictured: Zakia Khalid from Zakia Khalid law
Twenty-nine local businesses filled the hall and joined the day to exhibit and promote their company. From insurance to mental health consultants, we had a packed auditorium with curated companies from our local business community. The room had a real buzz as exhibitors got to networking with the businesses around them before the day commenced.
Our welcome desk greeted local business professionals from 9:15am, where they received a Banbury Chamber of Commerce goody bag and took to the free networking over the unlimited tea and coffee. We enjoyed a variety of cakes the catering students had made in our honour. There was no uncertainty that the catering students impressed our business professionals with their baking skills.
The first of our talks was delivered by Ian Boll, Cherwell District Council and Geraint Hughes, New Master Planning, as they shared details about the broader context of the Banbury 2050 consultation. Swiftly followed by Paul Roberts from Aspire Oxfordshire, who shared further information on how companies can embrace inclusive recruitment.
Pictured left to right: Geraint Hughes, New Master Planning & Ian Boll, Cherwell District Council
Pictured: Paul Roberts, Aspire Oxfordshire
From midmorning until 1pm, delegates were free to explore the curated business exhibition, tour the College E-Sports Centre and immerse themselves in VR at Activate Learning's exhibition stand.
Our CEO, Neil Wild, took on his new profound duties of running the Katharine House Hospice exhibition stand and receiving donations for our raffle, which kick-started our Accumulator Challenge.
Raffle prizes were kindly donated by Fat Panda First Aid Training and our sponsors, who made the event possible to run. Thanks to Unexplored Films, Bloxham Mill Workspaces, and Howden Insurance for your support and to all those who participated in the raffle, which saw us bank funds of £290.
Our sponsors had the following to share with us.
Emma McGregor, Commercial Director of Bloxham Mill Workspaces, said“Banbury and the surrounding areas has a thriving business community and it is great to be able to support them at events hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. Such a brilliant opportunity as well to see what the College and their students have to offer and can how both parties can work together.”
Steve Ramsden, Founder of Unexplored Films, added: "It was a pleasure for Unexplored Films to sponsor this fantastic event hosted by Banbury Chamber of Commerce. We had loads of interesting chats with other companies about how video production can supercharge their marketing but also about wider topics such as the future of the area and how we can work with Banbury and Bicester College in the years ahead”.
Matthew Davies, Commercial Account Executive, Howden Insurance: “A great venue and a fantastic turnout for the ever-evolving Banbury business community to connect and build new and stronger business relationships with one another. Well organised with a relaxed atmosphere, made it a fun and insightful day”.
We headed into the afternoon with our final speakers of the day, Andy Slater, Activate Learning, who delivered an insightful talk on the broad range of training they offer in Banbury. We ended the afternoon talks with Lisa-Marie Mallier, No Fluff Communications, who shared an insight into the marketing world and how AI can be a helpful companion as businesses aim to expand.
Pictured left to right: Rebecca Illey and Andy Slater from Activate Learning
Picture: Lisa-Marie Mallier, No Fluff Communications
All talks certainly left our attendees with food for thought, and overall, we had an insightful day, which brought the Banbury business community together to learn and share information. Banbury has a great collaborative working business community in the local area.
Follow the links to find out more about our Sponsors and Speakers.
Unexplored Films: www.unexploredfilms.co.uk
Bloxham Mill Workspaces: https://bloxhammill.com/
Howden Insurance: https://www.howdeninsurance.co.uk/
Cherwell District Council: https://www.cherwell.gov.uk/
Aspire Oxfordshire: https://www.aspireoxfordshire.org/
Activate Learning: https://www.activatelearning.ac.uk/
No Fluff Communications: https://www.nofluffcommunications.co.uk/
Bicester Heritage and Bicester Motion
Written by Kelly Frith
Written by Kelly Frith
On Friday, 29th September, Banbury Chamber of Commerce and Bicester Vision came together to deliver a meet your professional neighbour's networking opportunity.
On arrival at Bicester Heritage and Bicester Motion, delegates were greeted by a delightful security guard at the gate who energetically directed everyone to the Orchard car park, one of many car parks on site. Once parked, members congregated at Building 123 for what would be the start of a delightful afternoon.
On entering building 123, it was clear that the transformation of the old RAF site can only be described as spectacular. One is not to be fooled by the deception of the outer buildings to the luxury that awaits inside. Members of both Banbury Chamber and Bicester Vision were eager to introduce themselves over a slice of cake and coffee before the afternoon presentation with Benjamin Tatton and Mike Doran began.
As members of the Bicester Motion team, both Ben and Mike took the opportunity to deliver an insight into the history of Bicester Heritage and Bicester Motion, which businesses reside at the Bicester Heritage site and what the future growth plans are for further developments. They also expressed how keen they are to share with the community the delights of their residents who open their doors to visitors on event days. So, if you are a keen motorist and would like the opportunity to meet the likes of NEOM McLaren Formula E, Kingsbury Racing Shop, A Bentley specialist, The Little Car Company, Cherwell Business Awards winners and more, then be sure to contact the team on 01869 225 930 or hq@bicestermotion.com to learn more about their up and coming events.
After the presentation, we split into two groups as we took a tour of the site and were given the opportunity to meet some of the residents.
Picture a lab in a Marvel film, and this is what would best describe the interior design layout of Zero Petroleum’s building. It certainly piqued the interest of members who were eager to enter the premises and learn more about the company's work.
The tour nicely ended at the onsite brewery, which saw both Banbury Chamber and Bicester Vision members participating in a taste of the brewery’s delights. Conversations continued to flow between members before departure.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank members from both organisations for joining us and the team at Bicester Heritage and Bicester Motion for their hospitality. As a chamber, we see the potential in future collaborations with Bicester Vision and welcome our members to join us at our next joint venture. Stay tuned for future events.
The Cherwell Business Awards
Written by Kelly Frith
On Friday, 8th September, a handful of our board members and associates were delighted to attend The Cherwell Business Awards. They joined 250 guests for this year's winners' unveiling in the eleventh annual ceremony celebrating and recognising exceptional leaders, companies and charitable organisations in Cherwell.
Their evening started with a drinks reception in the newly refurbished grounds of The Chesterton Hotel on one of the warmest evenings of the summer. It was a joyous occasion which saw 35 finalists from the Cherwell District celebrated across 13 awards.
Not only were we treated to a delicious three-course meal, but our waitress threw herself into song midway through the delivery of the puddings. It appears she and another were performers rather than the waiting staff, although they played the role of servers rather well.
Before the puddings on their table could be digested, attendees were up on their feet and directed into a rendition of 'Sweet Caroline.' Everyone seemed eager to join in, with only a handful dashing to the door!!
Then followed the presentation of the award winners and runners-up. Wendy Tindsley was awarded the Becky Moyce Tribute. All winners are highlighted below. Congratulations to all winners and the finalists for each category. Well done to the sponsors and the award organisers. We are delighted the overall award – an award made by Norbar Torque Tools for the overall winner taken from each of the finalists, went to Lock 29. Congratulations to Chris Catford and the Lock29 team.
Here are the winners of the evening:
AWARD CATEGORY | WINNER |
The Town Centre Award | Lock29 |
The Small Business Award | Bicester Wills & Probate |
The Apprentice Employee Award | Specsavers |
The Business Person of the Year Award | Katie Roberts – Just Dance Company |
The Engineering Excellence Award | The Little Car Company |
The Young Person Business Person Award | Nairne Barker |
The Sustainable Business Award | Cherwell Collective |
The Innovation Award | Fitness Genes |
The New Business Award | Darcica Logistics Limited |
The Larger Business Award | Tugo |
The Charity & Community Award | NaisHouse |
The Becky Moyce Tribute Award | Wendy Tindsley, Oxford Innovation |
The Overall Winner Award | Lock29 |
Overall, it was a spectacular evening enjoyed by all who attended. We want to congratulate all businesses that participated in applying for this year's Cherwell Business Awards.
If you would like to be involved in 2024's Cherwell Business Awards, please get in touch with Placi Espejo or Marie Parkinson by email: admin@cherwellbusinessawards.co.uk
Bank of England Economic Update
Written by Kelly Frith
Written by Kelly Frith
On Friday, 30th June, Lock29 provided delicious refreshments for the local business community as the Banbury Chamber hosted Graeme Chaplin, West Midlands regional representative from the Bank of England.
The Chamber had invited guest panellists of local business leaders to ensure an engaging and informative panel discussion on the trends impacting local businesses in the area.
Topics of discussion were wide-ranging, covering the impact of interest rates, capital investment decisions, the outlook for input costs, and how that affects expected price inflation. The panel also delved into whether any businesses have seen a slowdown in the growth of wages and broader remuneration.
Graeme's presentation highlighted insights into the impact of the pandemic and the war and how it led to a dramatic rise in import costs. Discussions were had about the tight labour market and how we have seen "second-round effects" of high import prices leading to a real income squeeze on the growth of wages.
However, some positives were noted, such as the fall in energy prices and tradable goods over recent months, along with shipping costs falling significantly versus the dramatic rise after the pandemic.
The expectation from the Bank is that inflation will fall further this year. However, the risks of persistent inflation will remain. Interest rates have risen as a result.
Overall, the panellists effectively answered challenging questions from the audience members, and the event was a great success.
Thank you to the panellists and audience members for joining us and to Lock29 for an enjoyable lunch. You can see Graeme's presentation in full here.
AGM and Quiz June 2023
Written by Kelly Frith
Written by Kelly Frith
On Wednesday, 14th June, the Banbury Cricket Club opened their venue doors and greeted the Banbury Chamber and our members, including our local quizzers for 2023's annual AGM and Charity Quiz evening, in aid of Katharine House Hospice. The afternoon started with a recap of the Chambers' activities over the last year shared by Neil Wild and Simon Smith, which included board member changes and arrivals, expenditures, event updates, and confirmation was given that members can expect to see a 5% increase in membership fees as of January 2024.
This will aid the Chamber in continuing to deliver educational and networking events that meet the requirements of our members. A Save the Date was also announced for the return of the BCOC Live Event, which will be taking place on Tuesday, 14th November, at Activate Learning, as we are set to bring local businesses and students together in this mini-exhibition and speaker event. Make sure to mark your calendars, as you won't want to miss this!
Quizmaster Jason Savage joined us from Aylesbury in his sparkling quiz attire as he kickstarted the evening entertainment at 6:15pm with the first picture round of the evening; you could feel the intensity in the room as 15 teams battled it out to be crowned the Banbury Chamber Quiz champions 2023. The teams were kept happy through the afternoon and into the early evening by the cricket club bar staff, who supplied our attendees with plenty of smiles and drinks
At 7:15 pm, we broke for some well-deserved brain food from Howe & Co 66 FranklyFish & Chips for the delectable Fish and Chips that tantalised our taste buds. During the break, the competition continued with bottle-top bingo, which saw the Bloxham Idiots team scream with delight with their Full House and a handful of prizes was shared across the room as three more wins were taken.
After our quizzer's bellies were full, the focus was regained, and everyone’s eyes were on the prize as the rounds continued. The evening saw the Clueless 3 - David Hawes from The Property Partnership, John Staley from IT Teacher Ltd, and Greg Pawsey from Alliance Local take the crown for this year's Banbury Chamber Quiz Champions with an impressive score of 45 points and Let's Get Quizzical, headed up by John Skinner from Whitley Stimpson for being a close second with 42.5 points.
Thanks to all your tremendous efforts, we raised over £400 for Katharine House Hospice!
This is an excellent start to our charitable efforts for Katharine House Hospice this year as we also shared with our members our delight in being the proud sponsor of this year's Accumulator Challenge, which kickstarts 16th October – 16th February 2024. Your challenge, should you wish to accept it, is to take the £50 start-up fund you will receive and come up with fun and creative fundraising ideas to raise as much money as possible for Katharine House across the 4-month period. The Banbury Chamber will be taking on the challenge as we, too, will be entering a team for this great cause!
To find out how to get involved or register a team, contact Sue Blank at Sue.Blank@khh.org.uk
Cyber Resilience
Written by Kelly Frith
Written by Kelly Frith
On Tuesday, 23rd May, we brought the Banbury Business community together at Bloxham Mill workspaces for an afternoon workshop on Cyber Resilience.
We were joined by Detective Superintendent Vanessa Eyles from West Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre and Steve Gordon from Blue Planet IT and Safe Watch Online as they delivered an insight on how local businesses can improve their safety when working in cyberspace.
Did you know that 32% of businesses and 24% of charities have suffered cyber-attacks in the last 12 months? With an average cost of about £15,300 and it is not to be taken lightly that these attacks are only carried out on larger businesses because they are not! This was just one of the facts that Vanessa shared with the room. It is frightening to believe how much this happens, yet businesses do not see their vulnerabilities.
The Cyber Resilience Centres are there to assist local businesses with spotting and improving their vulnerabilities when it comes to Cyber Security. There are three local centres across the East Midlands, West Midlands, and Southeast region, covering Oxfordshire, where you can obtain further guidance.
South East Cyber Resilience Centre
Free Information Pack | The Cyber Resilience Centre for the South East (secrc.police.uk)
East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre
Membership | The Cyber Resilience Centre for the East Midlands (emcrc.co.uk)
West Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre
Membership | Cyber Resilience Centre for the West Midlands (wmcrc.co.uk)
Further information from Vanessa’s talk can be found here
After a spectacular lunch provided by Banbury Catering, Steve Gordon talked us through the Cyber Essentials readiness tools and how you can prepare your business, including improving your credentials with Cyber Essentials certification which will enhance your ability when tendering for government and organisation contracts.
Test your business with the Cyber Essentials Readiness Tool:
https://getreadyforcyberessentials.iasme.co.uk/questions/
Take the self-assessment to see how secure your business is:
https://iasme.co.uk/cyber-essentials/free-download-of-cyber-essentials-self-assessment-questions/
Blue Planet IT and Safe Watch Online offer a guided support service for the Cyber Essentials accreditation, which is priced for your business.To learn more about how you can obtain guided support, contact Steven Gordon at
steven.gordon@blueplanet-it.co.uk
Overall, our attendees found this a very insightful afternoon with plenty to take away and consider for their businesses moving forward.
Written by Kelly Frith
The Cherwell Business Awards have officially launched for the eleventh year running, with entries now open to all local businesses and organisations within the Cherwell District region.
This year's awards will continue to celebrate the thriving Cherwell business community with some exciting new sponsors and categories, including:
Apprentice Employer of the Year Award, sponsored by The Engineering Trust
Town Centre Award, sponsored by Wild Property Consultancy
Engineering Excellence Award, sponsored by High Spec Composites
The Banbury Chamber is proud to support the local business community, and we are thrilled to see the new The Town Centre Award in this year's line-up, as it recognises the positive contribution of businesses, enterprises, and initiatives to the vitality of town or urban centres within Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington and Heyford Park. We encourage you to recognise the contribution of our local businesses and nominate them for this prestigious award.
Other award categories for this year include:
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to recognise your business’ achievements and those of your team. Nominate or apply now before the closing date of May 17th for nominations and May 31st for applications
Head on over to the Cherwell Business Awards website to nominate or submit your application https://cherwellbusinessawards.co.uk/
17th Annual Golfing Event
Written by Kelly Frith
Written by Kelly Frith
The day started with a few wisecracks thrown across the room as they were washed down with tea and coffee and followed by a bacon sandwich. We saw a few players head to the driving range for a few last-minute practice shots before taking their places on the green for a 10:30am tee-off. First off, the green was John Rimmer and his BRI1 team from Business Recovery Insolvency which saw Tony Clampin from Bibby Financial Services ease the intensity with the first mulligan of the day. Swiftly followed by the BRI2 team carefully crafted by Tom Guthrie who strategically brought players with 6.9 and 8.2 handicaps, just what you need when playing a game of Texas Scramble in golf!
It then came to the turn of the Accountants as Wellers teed off ahead of Whitley Stimpson, shortly followed by the team known as Misfits, a team of two David Bickley from Cleenol and Richard Buckley from Burgundy Computing; they were last seen scurrying towards the undergrowth and the driving range to locate the ball for their next shot. The final team to hit the green and tee off was InXpress entered by Barry Willson.
We saw plenty of enthusiasm from all players and a continued round of wisecracks as they made their way around the 18-hole golf course. The pro set the challenge of the nearest and longest drive which saw Kyle Wyness take a win for the nearest pin at hole 13 and Jamie Abbots from Whitley Stimpson took the win for the longest drive.
Left to Right:
Barnabas Moyses, Simon Smith, Daniel McKay, Jamie Abbotts
Left to Right:
Barnabas Moyses, Simon Smith, Daniel McKay, Jamie Abbotts
Teams | Score |
Whitley Stimpson | 55.75 |
BRI1 | 59.4 |
BRI2 | 60.5 |
InXpress | 60.4 |
Wellers | 61.0 |
Misfits | 70.0 |
Although Tom Strategically planned his players, the handicaps failed to pay off as they took third place, followed by BRI2 in second but a huge Congratulations on the day went to
Whitley Stimpson Ltd represented by Jamie Abbotts, Ian Parker, and their guests Barnabas Moyses from Oxfordshire Finance Ltd and Daniel McKay from Aon, begrudgingly but with a smile Simon Smith aka Bear handed over the good stuff from the fabulous Majestic Wine
Overall, a good day was had by all even out two misfits Richard Buckley and David Bickley had plenty of enthusiasm in their game!
We will be back next year with our 18th Annual Golf Day where we shall be looking for Golf Caddies as we increase the ability to raise funds for our great local community charities and open this great networking opportunity to all our non-golfers. Keep your eyes out for your opportunity to get involved!