Press Releases & News

London, February 25 2010: This is the time of year that many students who want to come to the UK to learn English will be looking ahead to the coming warmer weather and thinking of booking courses for the summer. London, as the capital city, is the obvious choice for many. Choosing the right college from the great many available, however, might be a little trickier.

Malvern House College, with its central location and great facilities, is certainly one to look at. Courses at the college range from beginners courses to university level. The general English course is designed for those wanting a broadly based course to improve their English across the board. The intensive course is similar, but with smaller classes. Then there are pre-degree courses, and courses that form the first part of a degree, with the final year studied at university. Many universities require specific exams for entry, and these are also available. Business minded students should look at the specialist business courses.

The course itself is only part of the story for most students, who want to make sure they can get the most out of their time here in every way. Housing is a key consideration, and the college will help students choose the right place for them. Homestays are a great option for those who want to get to know the city’s people first-hand, living with a local family. This should help students improve their colloquial English skills too! Then there are a wealth of house and flat shares, good options for students who want to make as many new friends as fast as they can. The final option is a hall of residence, and those arriving in summer will find a wide choice, as rooms in the halls of major London universities are rented for summer use only to international students.

Once the course and accommodation are chosen, students will be keen to jump straight into London life. This can be hard to do for those new to the city, so the college has a social programme designed to provide opportunities to get to know the city and other students quickly. London’s extensive bus and underground networks are the best way to explore independently, with museums, nightlife, cinemas, sports stadiums and more all within easy reach of the college.

About Malvern college: Malvern House College is an English school in London. It has three locations in the heart of the city which are all near good transport links. Students come here with varying levels of English and can take courses in general English or a more specialist area. This English school London provides good facilities and helps its students find places to live and make friends.

Long-standing rock band Aerosmith have added a show at London’s 02 Arena on 15 June 2010 to their ‘Cocked, Locked and Ready to Rock’ tour.
The string of 2010 summer dates will be the first that notorious American rockers Steve, Joe, Tom, Brad and Joey have played in Europe for three years. Tickets to the 02 gig are expected to sell fast, as the oft-feuding band unite to deliver bucketloads of rock nostalgia with anthems like ‘Love in an Elevator’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’.
The ‘Cocked, Locked and Ready to Rock’ tour will be uncorked in Sweden in June and include appearances in the UK, Romania, Greece, Holland, Belgium, Spain, France, Czech Republic and finally, Italy.
Putting recent quarrels, injuries and stints in rehab behind them, the old time rockers will show a united front as they perform the best of their classic hits.

Lead singer and big-mouthed front-man Steve Tyler said of the tour;
“Back by popular demand with more spit and fire than ever before, we’re coming across the pond and parting the waters as we go.”
Aerosmith tickets will be available on website Viagogo.co.uk
As one of the best-loved bands in rock history, these ‘Bad Boys from Boston’ have an impressive array of awards on the mantelpiece – including four Grammys and 12 MTV Video Awards. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees are the best-selling American rock band of all time, having gyrated and jammed their way through more than four decades and sold more than 150 million albums worldwide.

London, February 1, 2010: The idea of cooking meat on skewers certainly isn’t a recent conception, however BarbeSkew is the latest innovation out on the market to ensure that everyone from BBQ novices to seasoned pros can cook a great tasting and healthy barbecue – without the guesswork for the food preparation, and certainly without the headaches and hassles to clean up afterwards.

All around the world, meat and vegetables are cooked to perfection on skewers. Throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, this has represented the traditional method of food preparation for time immemorial. Yet even though skewers are used regularly in Turkish, Iranian, Indian, Russian, Chinese, Greek and Cypriot cooking, it’s not something that has caught on so far for a traditional British barbecue. Yet the BarbeSkew, an inspired combination of BARBEcue and SKEWers, is set to change all that and make gourmet food preparation and entertaining guests even easier. Standing out from traditional grill barbeques thanks to its rotating skewer system, the BarbeSkew is the world’s first “hands-free” barbecue, ensuring that meat is cooked through to perfection and nothing burns; leaving you with evenly cooked meat, without a pink centre or crusted with a burnt black outside.

Ed Wray, the creator and founder of the BarbeSkew, says that a BarbeSkew differs from a regular BBQ as ‘on a traditional barbecue, the food is placed on the grill – it burns. It is turned over – it burns. And then it is taken off the grill – uncooked. And what are you left with? Burnt uncooked food.’ A BarbeSkew offers even more quality in cooking as it ‘not only prepares food properly but the chef can have a drink and chat to guests without worrying about constantly turning food over. And you can cook food in all weathers by closing the lid.’ Better for health and better for the barbecue aficionados among us, the BarbeSkew is the way of the future for barbecues.

Initially introduced in 2008, the charcoal and gas BarbeSkew barbecues quickly seized the market and dominated this niche in 2009. The company further established its leading position with additional top-of-the-range releases, including a half size and half price (charcoal) BarbeSkew II model.

About BarbeSkew: Billed as the world’s first hands-free barbecue, the BarbeSkew ingeniously blends a traditional grill barbeque with a spit roast to cook meat and vegetables evenly without charring and still with that delicious barbecue taste. BarbeSkews cook meat more thoroughly, tastily and healthily and feature a charcoal tray that lowers and raises using a handle to gives precise heat control and an easy-clean removable charcoal / fat tray. Each unit comes complete with nine small kebab skewers, three large kebab skewers and a chrome cage to cook steaks or fish to perfection all whilst rotating. BarbeSkew has won numerous new product and design awards and has featured on the BBC television show Dragons’ Den, which highlights the achievements of Britain’s business hopefuls.

Culford School, a well known institution with an excellent reputation within the UK, will start its Summer Courses once again on the month of July of 2010. The courses include a 4 week summer school programme that is provided by Alexander’s International on the grounds of Culford School and brings students from all over the world to experience the state of the art in language learning.

Travelling is a wonderful way to expand the horizons of our minds and keep ourselves open to new learning opportunities. The courses at Culford combine the very best of language learning with a slew of activities to keep the students energized and engaged. All students can enjoy full day study excursions that are held every Wednesday, when are taken to various landmarks and cities of East England such as Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich. These trips are an opportunity to discover new places, have fun and, most of all, learn. Before each journey the students study the details of the area they will visit and after the trip they are required to do several follow-up tasks for their classes.

Anyone looking for an excellent summer school UK can check out the many options that the Alexander’s International courses from Culford School offer. There are several ranges of fees that can accommodate most people’s needs and the packages also include meals and accommodation. Those who want to take care of every detail in one go can ever arrange for transportation both from and to the airport. You can find more information at Skola’s website at http://www.skola.co.uk/

Safety First

The wellbeing of its students is the number one concern at Culford, one of the most prestigious summer schools England has to offer. Culford School makes sure that its students are in a secure and friendly environment so that everyone can focus on improving their skills and enjoying their stay. While the mood is relaxed and friendly, the school maintains close supervision of their students to make sure that they follow the school rules. The goal is to ensure the safety and well being of the students as well as make sure that they can achieve the maximum benefit from their stay. In the case of any medical problem, there is a school nurse available all hours of the day. Transportation is available should it be needed to deal with emergencies.

The International Community School (or ICS for short), one of the most acclaimed international school London has to offer, has put its Walk on Wednesday program to work involving all of their Primary Years students. This new health promoting initiative works as follows: the school buses drop the students off at the top of Regent Park, the students are then joined by a group of ICS teachers and walk together to school.

This activity will be part of the ICS School Travel Plan which is a joint effort between the institution and Transport to London. The plan has the goal of encouraging more students to engage in regular walks and exercise all year long. The Walk on Wednesday initiative is also helping to alleviate the environmental impact of transportation for a crowded city such as London by reducing the CO2 emissions from public and private transportation.

The ICS is a renowned independent school London area that makes a point about working towards the promotion of a healthier life style and educating the children on the many benefits of regular physical activity.

A Pressing Need

Due to demographic studies conducted recently we can now see the true decline in physical activity on the younger population. Only half of children between the ages of 11 and 16 years walk regularly and most of them for only about 10 minutes per day. On average, children are walking far less today than they did 5 or 10 years ago. At the same time, childhood obesity has been continuously on the increase in past years, and has become a serious health concern in many western countries. While many people blame the increased number of indoor and sedentary activities (such as TV, computers and video games) for this, it was found that parental fear for the child’s safety while being outside has been a major catalyst to these problems.

Taking regular walks brings many benefits and it is a very good idea to start building the walking habit from an early age to ensure that kids incorporate daily exercise as part of their adult lives. As a rule of thumb, most kids can safely walk between 800-1000 metres per day, per year of age. Walking from fifteen to thirty minutes a day is a great routine for kids of school age.

Suffolk (UK), 25 January 2010: British boarding school Alexanders International School has revealed that life in a British boarding school is a learning experience in more ways than one with the release of enrolment figures from the previous two academic years. With representation from the many countries of the world, students are permitted an international experience as they gain a taste of life in England and learning in English. The school, located on the Bawdsey Manor Estate on the Suffolk coast, has welcomed over 70 nationalities over the past 25 years and the trend looks set to continue into the future.

French students still hold the majority of places, despite the number dropping from 37% in 2007-08 to 23% in 2008-09. The popularity of British boarding schools for French students is attributed to the high standard of English language tuition available and the close proximity of the countries. Interest has risen among Chinese students who recorded a 3% rise to 16% in 2008-09, and Russian students with a 2% rise to 13% in 2008-09. The greatest increase has been for Kazakh students, who have increased their representation from 8% in 2007-08 to 12% in 2008-09.

Regarded by students, parents and staff as the first step to university in the UK, the representation of students at Alexanders International School covers Europe, Asia and the Middle East, ensuring an international education with high academic standards and the chance to experience a different lifestyle. There are numerous students from all over the world who are seeking the best boarding school UK to build academic knowledge and prepare for IGCSEs, A Levels or Cambridge exams. These include students from Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Japan, Korea and Kuwait.

Alister Laidlaw, the Principle at Alexanders, says: “Throughout the 25 years that I have been at Alexanders International School, it has been my great pleasure to have welcomed young people from over 70 countries”, and adds that “for the majority it was their first experience of life in a foreign country.” This allows a staff/student understanding to be fostered, as the difficulties of learning a new language and adapting to cultural differences can be a challenge. Alexanders provides a caring and safe atmosphere to allow each and every student to develop educationally and emotionally.

About Alexanders International School: Established in 1975, Alexanders International School is a member of the SKOLA Group of Schools, which also includes London’s International Community School (for students aged from 2 to 17), English Study Tours (for children aged from 11 to 17), and English in London and English in Exeter (for adult learners). Alexanders is an international boarding school that provides general school subjects and high-quality English language tuition for students aged 11 to 17 years old. The school is accredited by the British Council for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language.

It is many years since the world has seen a performer so startlingly creative, so adept at shock tactics and accomplished in the art of controversy as Lady Gaga.

Since she catapulted to fame with her single Just Dance in 2008, the theatrical singer has sold-out show tickets in minutes and rarely been out of the newspapers. And unlike many of her contemporaries, her excessive press coverage is not related to having a disastrous private life, drug addiction or series of relationships, but for her showmanship and eccentricity.

We have seen the singer giving away a lock of her hair with the deluxe limited edition of her album The Fame Monster. She has enacted a suicide on stage, performed in a giant bathroom on the X Factor and sung to the Queen of England in an Elizabethan ruff and 20 foot long rubber cape.

Real name Stefani Germanotta, Gaga has rolled about in a ‘Chanel wheelchair’, posed naked with Kanye West in pictures by David Lachapelle and bought 80 pizzas for waiting fans queuing at her album signing in Los Angeles. She seemed to revel in speculation that she is a hermaphrodite and broke chart records in America by becoming the first artist in the 17-year history of the Billboard Pop Songs countdown to score four number ones from the same debut album. Paparazzi, Just Dance, Poker Face and LoveGame all hit the top spot in record sales.

As if that was not enough to cram into a few short years, the American singer has collaborated with superstar Beyonce Knowles in her remix of Video Phone, appeared onstage with the Bolshoi Ballet dancers and worn outlandish creations including ‘firework boobs’, gyroscope headgear and a jeweled neck brace and studded crutches.

If you want to go and see for yourself what the phenomena of Gaga is all about, get your Lady Gaga tickets from www.viagogo.co.uk

Christmas is a prime time of year to show your partner exactly how much you care. But that doesn’t mean that it’s the time to lavish extravagant gifts on your partner, in fact, the value of a well-thought present is often far greater than an excessive or clichéd offering, as the perfect gift can reveal a lot more about your relationship.

Dr. Gian Gonzaga, a senior research scientist at the Pasadena-based eHarmony research labs, advises that the gift you give your partner can mean so much more than an on-the-surface level exchange of tokens of your affection. He notes that “when you pick the right gift it can show your partner how in tune you are with them and your relationship and signal that you understand what they like and want.” This is crucial for the formation of any lasting relationship as “understanding is one of the major pillars of creating intimacy in a relationship and an indicator of how good a partner you are across the long haul, therefore the gift you give should reflect how well you understand your partner and your relationship.” Yet according to Dr. Gonzaga and the UK branch of the eHarmony online dating service, eHarmony.co.uk, there is a way to make sure that your gift this Christmas will say all the right things to your long-term soul mate or prospective partner.

Putting the science back into couple compatibility and the spark back into just about any relationship, eHarmony.co.uk has prepared the following suggestions for finding the ideal gift for your partner. Whether you’re in a long-term relationship or things are just getting started for colleagues or friends dating, the process of gift giving is a crucial moment to express what you truly feel about a person. Luckily enough, it’s fairly straightforward to pick out a perfect present, if you consider these four simple steps:

1. Plan: While “last-minute” might be the buzzwords for booking cheap hotel accommodation for a romantic weekend away, they don’t make for stress-free and productive Christmas shopping. Leave your Christmas shopping until Christmas Eve, and you’ll only be stuck in the frantic crowds and possibly left with the last thing on the shelf. Nothing says thoughtless like a last-minute gift, and that’s not the signal you want to give off with your Christmas gift.
2. Pay attention: Listen to what your partner is saying, especially when they express an interest in something in the months or weeks before Christmas, and you’ll be surprised how often they let slip a mention of something they really want – and even before they’ve realised they want it! Just make the effort to commit it to memory, and your partner will be pleased that you’ve shown such an interest. Even the most selfless person gives off hints of what they’d like for themselves, which brings us to the next point…
3. Be selfless: We’re not talking any high and mighty concept here, but just a plain and simple suggestion for gift giving. Don’t get something that you’d secretly like to use later down the track! It’s not about buying a gift for yourself, but for someone else, and keep in mind their interests, likes, or needs when purchasing the gift.
4. Go the extra mile: Be creative in what you’re offering, and your thoughtfulness will be recognised. Unique gifts stand out in people’s minds and memories, and a handmade or innovative gift will be the type of gift that’s remembered forever. It can also be surprising how easy it is to track down a particularly rare or creative present these days, thanks to the internet. Ordering limited release or international versions of books or music is simple if you’re organised in time, and you’re able to cater your choice to pick something special rather than something ordinary or everyday. Your efforts will be appreciated and your relationship stronger as a result.

Effectively communicating the most up-to-date product knowledge with staff is traditionally achieved through a threefold model: incorporating the strategy of a marketing launch, the more classic model of classroom training, or simply by word of mouth.

However, in the modern business world, these usual means of expression have taken an innovative turn, and many companies throughout the world are striving to find a fresh way to keep passing on information about the product line to the workforce, who ultimately will be responsible for taking this technical and sales knowledge beyond the confines of the company and generally improving the entire customer experience of the business.

South East Labels, an imaging and printing company based in West Sussex, is no exception, and the company’s recent Product Update Day proved to be a positive step towards maximising the customer experience of doing business with this market leader in labels and labelling accessories manufacture and supply. Held on November 4th, the 2009 Product Update Day was an effective means of communicating with staff the latest information in the field of office supplies and labelling equipment. The information day took place with three distinct product analyses dedicated to the following categories:

* Toshiba products
* Opticom scanning
* Opticom mobile labelling equipment

Reports indicate that the sessions were beneficial and enlightening for all involved, and the sales team and customer service representatives indicated that they were much more familiar with the latest range of Toshiba printers, including the SX4T model and Tec Label Printers. Particular attention was given to the correct usage of authentic Toshiba / TEC ribbons, which can only be used in Toshiba / TEC label printers. This proved to be a crucial area for improved customer understanding, especially for those ordering online, as each ribbon is different and each printer has its own specific ribbon requirements.

As well as product update and employee training days, the team at South East Labels has been focusing on incorporating a variety of methods and techniques to encourage the delivery of the best advice and solutions for the needs of customers. Approaches include the development of a regularly updated product information repository, the use of shared media platforms such as Wikis, eRoom, and eForums, and keeping up the communication essentials with a weekly email containing company and printing-related updates in an easy-to-read press release format. In light of these measures, South East Labels is confident that each and every purchase of a label printer or label product will be accompanied by better customer service, with a greater level of product knowledge and technical specifications among most sales and customer service staff, and hopes that this degree of elevated product knowledge will continue through in the future years of the company.

With the ominous warnings of a three-day Royal Mail postal strike resulting in a backlog of at least 150 million letters and packets being issued by the union representing Britain’s striking postal workers, the pressure has been felt not only by Royal Mail management, but by businesses and individuals throughout the United Kingdom. Fortunately, with the third round of postal strikes being postponed until the New Year to allow for fresh talks and continued delivery during the festive season, this predicted figure hasn’t eventuated but the tension in the ongoing industrial dispute is still a sore point in Britain. Irrespective of the recent stalemate, many companies are anxious about how this instability has made contacting their customers somewhat of an uncertain business.

Office goods manufacturer and supplier South East Labels is no exception, however the company has decided to instigate its already scheduled change from hard copy to electronic media communication a little earlier. This development will entail the transmission of invoices and statements by e-mail correspondence and attachments, instead of the previous method of sending hard copy by post. The team at South East Labels has been making a name for itself over the past 20 years for the rapid delivery and reliable supply of labels, barcodes, and other office goods. The company deals in printed products as well as the means to produce such business solutions, such as digital printers, scanners, and verifiers, and aims to be a “one stop spot” for everything from an office label printer to security and asset tracking labels.

The recent Royal Mail strikes are part of an industrial dispute that has been ongoing since the summer, and is the first action involving postal workers since 2007. The reason behind the action is cited as Royal Mail’s refusal to enter into a dialogue with the Communication Workers Union as to the job security for postal workers in light of proposed modernisation plans. Royal Mail has been trying to compensate for a 10% drop in letter volume, although the strikes have threatened the postal system with a huge volume of backlog just before the Christmas rush. The proposed changes to the South East Labels invoicing system will have a further benefit for customers though, with the reduced overheads meaning that the company can afford to keep its prices continually low for all first-time and repeat customers.

Please note that South East Labels will be closed for the festive season from the afternoon of Tuesday 23rd December 2009, and will reopen on Monday 5th January 2010