REVIEW No.1 Brand for Curries & Gravies - National Federation of ...

Issue 7 November 2013NewsCommon sense firstFirst aid training - it’s your call nowOn the 1st October, the Health and Safety (FirstAid) Regulations Act (1981) was amended, theresult of which means the Health and SafetyExecutive (HSE) no longer approves first-aidtraining and qualifications.This is good news for those wishing to see redtape slashed, making way for common sense toprevail.The HSE aims to reduce the load on businesses,so that standards are maintained whilst cutting down on bureaucracy. Thesechanges relate to all sizes of businesses which include, of course, fish and chipshops.What does this mean to you? The changes mean that it will be easier for fishand chip shops to choose a first aid training provider and to tailor the training totheir specific needs. Shops will have more leeway in how they manage their firstaid in the workplace.However, though fish and chip shops can now choose how their first aid trainingis delivered, and by whom, employers still have a legal responsibility to makesure their workers’ welfare is paramount and that they receive instantattention if injured or taken ill at work.As Andy McGrory, HSE's policy lead for First Aid, says, “HSE no longer approvesfirst-aid training and qualifications. Removing the HSE approval process will givebusinesses greater flexibility to choose their own training providers and first aidtraining that is right for their work place, based on their needs assessment andtheir individual business needs."Employers still have a legal duty to make arrangements to ensure theiremployees receive immediateattention if they are injured ortaken ill at work.”Information, including theregulations document andguidance document to helpemployers identify and select acompetent training provider, isavailable on the HSE website atwww.hse.gov.uk/firstaidWe’ll keep a welcome in Welsh Chip Shops(normally sung as We’ll keep a welcome in the hillside….)Welsh Area Council Dinner & Dance Sunday 22 September 2013By Executive Councillor for Wales John PenalunaIn March this year the Wales Area Council (WAC) decided to host a dinner dance tocontinue the National Federation of Fish Friers’ Centenary celebrations.Good ideas are just that – ideas. What we now needed to do was put this idea intofruition, which was no mean feat. Once we decided on the first task – searching for avenue – the plan began to pick up speed. Perhaps the most important criteria whenchoosing the venue was the price of alcohol. We were looking for a decent venuewhere if all else failed we could sit around and drown oursorrows knowing that at least there were other venuescharging more!The Park Inn in Cardiff North fitted the bill nicely as it’slocated just off the motorway, has plenty of parkingspaces and offers great accommodation. We then had toconfirm the date, which proved difficult because we hadto contend with weddings, christenings, birthdays, stagweekends, wedding anniversaries and even holidays.Once the date was settled we had to round up the guests.Our goal was to attract shop owners, staff and suppliers(not necessarily NFFF members) because we wanted tospread the word to the industry and further raise theprofile of the NFFF.A small taskforce led by EC for Wales John Penaluna,Zohaib Hussain, Lee Penaluna, Emma Jenkins and SteveMuscat began rallying the Welsh troops. As this was the first event there was aconsiderable amount of organisation: phone calls, e-mails, flyers (even blackmail!) allgenerated interest. Eventually suppliers were responsive, shops and staff were keenand we got our numbers together. It was never in doubt!We needed an “A-lister” as one of the guests so who else could we invite other thanBriar Wilkinson of Drywite? After all we had a previous winner of the Drywite YoungFish Frier of the Year competition in Zohaib and we really wanted to promote youngpeople in the industry. Of course, Briar accepted immediately, as she’s a wonderfulambassador to the industry and a great supporter of the NFFF. Thank you Briar.On to the entertainment. There were many options but in the end we opted for theaward-winning comedian Lenny Dee. We didn’t regret choosing Lenny as he gave usa night to remember. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed his brand of humour – thecomments speak for themselves:“Sadly I didn't take any photo - too busy laughing at the comedian. Very funny guy.”Stephen Jenkins, Cwmcarn Fish Bar.“Just wanted to let you know that last night was great….And I laughed so much at thecomedian, I cried.” - Niccy Bobath.Everything went smoothly. Rhian greeted the ensemble before dinner to some fantasticWelsh (and some English) tunes on the harp while we enjoyed canapés and pre-dinnerdrinks. It really was a great way to start the night.Following a greeting by WAC President Adrian Herdman,grace was conducted in both Welsh and English, in Welshby eight-year-old Ellie Penaluna followed by granddadJohn.The WAC were delighted that the principle officers of theNFFF – President Gregg Howard, Vice President MarkDrummond and Treasurer Andrew Crook – all came alongto support the Centenary celebrations.The three-course meal was delicious (no fish involvedand, apologies to many – no Welsh lamb!) and the wineflowed as constantly as the chatter around the tables.After dinner there was a good old-fashioned raffle assistedby the two youngest guests in the room – Ellie Penalunaand Alex Muscat. With their assistance £375 was raisedfor the Fishermen’s Mission. Prizes were provided byKerry Foods, Drywite, P&T Cleaners, Castell Howell, Penderyn and the Welsh AreaCouncil. Many thanks to these organisations for their support.After Lenny’s performance – where guests were left aching – the entertainmentcontinued with a disco until well past midnight with many still staggering to the danceflooreven after the music stopped. As is the norm at these dinners, a lot of guestsstayed up until the early morning just chattering and enjoying the company.Our special thanks go to the principle sponsors and supporters of the night:Kerry Foods (Goldensheaf, Henry Jones & Dinaclass), Frymax, T Quality, Smales,Snowden & Co (Cardiff), Mitchells Potatoes Ltd, Peter Foods, and M&S CateringSupplies Ltd.The support for the industry was very generous and greatly appreciated by all involved.It was a really great night where shop owners, staff, suppliers and guests mixed freely.So much so that we’ve had many requests to hold the event again next year. Watch thisspace because we loved it so much we want to do it all again.3