Four workmates who help produce millions of Pot Noodle snacks every year are celebrating a Lotto win of £101,269 after matching five numbers and the bonus ball in last Saturday’s Lotto draw. 

The pals are part of the workforce at Unilever’s Pot Noodle production plant in Crumlin, near Ebbw Vale in South Wales.

Rob Bailey, leader of the syndicate, said: “We’re still shaking with shock! It’s a thrill to win something like this as a group.

“Our friends and workmates have been really pleased for us; in these hard times around £25,000 each comes as a big boost.

“It’ll make life a little more comfortable for us all. A couple of us are looking at changing cars, one will probably upgrade his caravan and one will get new windows for the house.”

The quartet, all fathers, have been together as a syndicate for just over a year. They always play four lines in the Wednesday and Saturday night Lotto draws.

Aged from 40-59, they are all production operatives with Pot Noodle. They live near the plant in the communities of Blackwood and Cwm.

Rob said: “I watched Saturday’s Lotto draw on TV and couldn’t believe it when five numbers and the bonus ball came up.

“I phoned my brother Dean but didn’t have the others’ numbers so I told them the next day.

“I couldn’t sleep on Saturday night – I only managed half an hour before starting a 12-hour shift at the Pot Noodle factory. I don’t know how I got through that – it must have been the adrenalin rushing.”

This is by far their biggest win and they intend to continue playing.

The winning ticket was bought at a convenience store in Canning Street, Cwm.  Rob’s syndicate colleagues are his brother Dean, Steve Stinton and Alan Dodd.

So it’s official – we know which London 2012 football teams will be playing at Cardiff in their tournament’s group stages.

Yesterday’s competition draw gave the Millennium Stadium a prime PR opportunity which I’m confident the stadium will use well.

For the record, the first Olympics sport this summer will take place at the stadium on July 25. In a colourful double-header, Great Britain women play New Zealand then Cameroon women meet Brazil.

Return

The following day sees the Millennium host the men’s Brazil v Egypt game and on July 28 GB women return to face Cameroon after Brazil have played New Zealand.

Cardiff has two more group stage dates before hosting two quarter-final games and the men’s bronze-medal decider.

Already the London 2012 PR machine appears to be running smoothly as the organisers target maximum ticket sales.

Vital

It’s also vital that local businesses and tourism bosses focus on the wonderful publicity opportunities that these South Wales games will offer.

Which wise local local businesses, for instance, will be the first the tell the media that their staff canteen will be offering themed food reflecting the day’s visiting teams?

Soccer schedule here – click.

Photo: Soccer star Ronaldo before the London 2012 football tournament draw. Pic: http://www.london2012.com

The Acorn Group has promised to raise £20,000 for 20 regional charities during its 20th year in its aptly named ‘20:20:20’ promise.

Founded in Newport in 1992, the Acorn Group has firmly established itself as an industry leader with 35 branches across the UK and more than 850 clients. In 2007 Acorn acquired west country recruitment company Concept Staffing and North West agency Advance Personnel. It further expanded the business in 2009 taking over London-based engineering and technical recruitment specialist Exxell, and again in 2010 with the purchase of South Wales-based Draig Peronnel. This year will see the group’s biggest growth plans yet as it launches into the Australian, African and Asian markets with its new Acorn Global brand.

Matt Southall, Managing Director Acorn Group

All 272 members of staff across the UK branches will work together in their regions to raise £1,000 for each charity they have chosen to support. The staff will be responsible for organising fundraising activity throughout the year to hit their targets.

Acorn’s founder and Managing Director Matt Southall said: “As a business we have always considered that the communities we live and work within deserve our support, and our staff have proved to be more than willing to get involved in providing just that.

“But what we have also found is that the business itself has benefited from helping others. Our staff use some of their charity activities in team-building and as personal development opportunities.

“In fact having their efforts redirected periodically to concentrate on fundraising and community support often encourages a fresh outlook on daily operations and customer service activities.

“This year is a special year for the Acorn Group, as we celebrate our 20th birthday – and what better way to mark the occasion than to share it with the people in the communities where we work. The 20:20:20 campaign helps to demonstrate precisely the type of relationship we have with local people and organisations up and down the country, and our staff are delighted to be further engaged in this way.”

You can keep up to date with Acorn’s 20:20:20 fundraising efforts by following them on Facebook (Acorn Recruitment) and Twitter (@acorn_jobs).

‘Made in Wales’ will focus on forging a better level of understanding between the higher education  sector and employers in terms of what each can positively contribute to a learning partnership.

The partnership has been forged through the university’s Centre for Work Based Learning (CWBL).  Cardiff Metropolitan University is the only university in the region to boast such a centre and through it provides a comprehensive professional accreditation service.

Other services include design and accreditation of work-based learning, business consultancy, business training and courses as well as Applied Professional Practice degree programmes.

Speaking about this latest initiative, CWBL manager, Dr Peter Treadwell said:

“Investment in workforce development and adult skills is increasingly accepted as essential to the growth of a sustainable Welsh economy and if challenging workforce targets are to be met, then more mutually responsive relations have to develop between business and higher education.

“Partnerships such as the one we have forged with Stratum will help provide relevant learning for employers and employees, delivered in a mutually agreed, flexible way and within an appropriate timescale.

“The real strength of university-led training is the emphasis on the development of intellectual and personal skills and the flexibility of work-based learning means that the learner will apply their new ideas and skills directly to the workplace.  The option for ongoing development is a massive bonus in this relationship – this is not about quick fix training but long-term development which can only prove of benefit to all.”

If you are interested in finding out more about how Made in Wales could work for your business, CWBL in partnership with Stratum will be hosting a roundtable discussion at the Cardiff School of Management at Cardiff Metropolitan University on Wednesday 18th April.  Sponsored by the CBI, the event is free and will take place from 12-2pm.  For further information, please contact Jen Evans on 029 2020 1559

So if you’re one of them you may feel outrage over proposals the UK government has to enable the security services to snoop around our social media accounts to see what we’re up to. But if you think that’s bad, how about this?

It was written by Reg Braithwaite and has been described as the world’s best resignation letter. He began “Dear Mr President, Thank you very much for honouring me with the position of Director of Software Development” before explaining why his conscience was forcing him to resign.

His problem appears to have been a change in the Whitehouse’s social media policy which meant employees had to allow designated managers to access their social media accounts to vet them and ‘shoulder surf’ job interviewees while they were on Facebook or even log in on their behalf to snoop around.

It’s caused ructions and red faces in the US, not in the least because the letter was a spoof – though it was reported as fact by numerous other “news” websites who fell for it.

But why shouldn’t they have fallen for it? Alright, apart from a few clues such as the heading “I hereby (fictionally) resign” (a pretty big clue really), Mr Braithwaite was making a serious point. He believes this is the shape of things to come – and soon.

His views are shaped by a few recent developments which have seen employers asking employees and prospective employees for access to their social media accounts, prompting Facebook, among others, to publish statements on the matter denouncing the practice.

But is this practice so surprising? Anyone considering you for a job may already check out your profile online to see what you were up to last night or assess the company you keep.

Employers have always performed such character checks but now that some people willingly broadcast their most intimate details online, it’s a lot easier for them to delve a lot deeper.

And it is worth noting Mr Braithwaite’s resignation spoof in the US was produced before the controversy blew up over the UK government’s social media / security services proposal.

So perhaps, in these times of high unemployment, the acid test is; would you allow a potential employer access to you social media accounts if it meant they could give you a clean bill of health and offer you a job? Sadly, the answer for some will be “yes”.

Of course, as Braithwaite’s spoof demonstrates, a flurry of litigation based on human rights, employment and discrimination law may await employers who choose to go down this route.

But laws do change. It’s another good reason for everyone to be careful what they post to their social networks – even in the darkest, most intimate recesses. It may come back to haunt them.

It’s always pleasant to greet a new publication to the local media scene.

And City-Of Swansea Magazine is now a pleasing secret that’s out of the bag.

Copies have been distributed around the city and were snapped up by visitors to Swansea Business Club today.

Different

It’s different and it certainly stands out in a marketplace that’s becoming increasingly well populated.

Why’s it different? Well, it thrives on a cutting edge design ethos, it has a well-judged eclectic mix of features and it isn’t frightened to take risks.

It’s a highly refreshing addition to the city’s media landscape.

Engaging

In its own words, it targets 27,500 readers with unique, engaging and inspirational content, and with beautiful design.

It’s proposition to advertisers?  A print run of 10,000, single page at £339 and double page at £679.

Its launch edition editorial features? They include looks at Swansea-based Hyde + Hyde Architects, artrist-led charity Locws, Swansea Council’s recycling operation and commercial photographer David Griffin.

Columnists

The mag’s columnists include travel writer Victoria Trott, Swans columnist Chris Carra and lawyer Paul Shuttleworth.

It’s only 32 pages just now, with an accent on stylish black and white and – daringly – it’s printed on heavy matt-finish paper.

A great start, City-Of! And a cheeky cover headline … “Hello, I’m new”

More

• www.city-of.co.uk
• Twitter @CityofSwansea
• Facebook /CityofSwansea

Good luck to hyperlocal news service Port Talbot Magnet which is publishing its first printed product.

One of a new breed of online native information resource, Magnet has so far made a real fist of supplying local news via the web.

But now its volunteers have worked hard to produce a souvenir magazine marking the first anniversary of Michael Sheen’s incredible Passion play in the steeltown last Easter.

Official

The Passion: Memory has been produced as the official guide to anniversary celebrations taking place this Easter. Go to their website by clicking here.

Thousands of Port Talbot residents will get it free of charge. It’s an initiative which shows that local journalism is alive and kicking – and that it can be harnessed by others for great PR purposes.

Editor Rachel Howells said: “The programme is an official National Theatre Wales publication, it’s an essential companion to The Passion: Memory exhibition, the world premiere screenings of the film, The Gospel Of Us and the new publication of the novelised version written by Owen Sheers, also called The Gospel Of Us.

Photography

“It contains a personal letter from Sheen, a celebration of photography and art by local people inspired by The Passion and a unique record of last year’s production produced by professional photographers.”

The programme will be available for free at Port Talbot’s Aberafan Shopping Centre from April 3-8 while stocks last.

Orders: Click

Newly established Cardiff Cruises will go where no other sightseeing tour operator has gone before, past the Barrage and in to the Bristol Channel.

The 90 minute excursion will leave Europe’s largest waterfront development before heading out to sea, weather permitting, past Penarth Pier and towards Flatholm Island. It will then make its return back to Mermaid’s Quay taking in the Cardiff skyline.

With the ability to carry up to 200 passengers each trip, the ship has the largest capacity of all the tourist carriers operating from the Bay and will also be the longest, heaviest and tallest when it is launched on 7 April.

Cardiff Cruises managing director Martyn Driscoll said: “The launch of Cardiff Cruises is really exciting for us. Not only will it open up a whole new sailing experience for visitors who are usually confined to the harbour, but the ship itself, because of its size and magnitude, will become a recognised icon in the Bay.”

Mr Driscoll is the youngest passenger boat operator in the whole of the UK and experienced in running sightseeing tours having established Cardiff’s party boat company HMS69 in 2008.

The business has gone on to hold more than 300 parties including a 75th retirement party and a passing out ceremony for ordained vicars, and has catered for over 14,000 people.

Mr Driscoll said: “We always have such positive feedback from our evening cruise guests and are constantly being asked if we run a day time service. Now we have the new ship we are able to fulfil this need as well as offering something completely different to what’s already out there.”

Cardiff Cruises has yet to name Cardiff Bay’s newest and biggest vessel and is asking locals to suggest monikers or vote from a list on the company’s website www.cardiffcruises.com/vote. Early favourites include Shirley Bassey, Charlotte Church and Alex Jones. Everyone who votes will be entered in to a prize draw to win a party onboard the ship worth more than £5,000.

The new sightseeing tour will be officially named at its launch on Saturday 7 April. The trip will run from April to October at 11am, 1pm and 3pm each day. For further information see www.cardiffcruises.com

Check out this revealing video of Rio Ferdinand extolling the virtues of media training and social media. Click

It shows how a man at the top of his profession sees both as an essential part of everyday life.

Business take note.

Awards

Ferdinand, like fellow Premier League stars such as Joey Barton, has taken to web format Twitter like Lionel Messi has to picking up World Footballer of the Year awards.

Yes, they use it for what you’d normally term as self-promotion – but more interestingly they also use it as a way of communicating as directly as possible with fans.

Ferdinand tells this BBC clip that the media is such an important element of football now that it’s important for young players to have an understanding of platforms such as Twitter.

Character

He says it’s a way of letting supporters see the real you rather than a character drawn by a journalist who may be chained to a desk.

He says that streams of post-match interviews can be easily bypassed by players wishing to tell their story of the game; they simply use their smartphone and its social media facilities.

However, the traditional media can’t be ignored and Ferdinand says he wishes he’d had suitable training to deal with that from his early days as a pro.

Help

He says: “When I was 18 and 19 years old I looked at the media as the Devil but it’s good to have strong relationships with people there because you might need to lean on someone in the  media to get help in certain situations.”

He said that young players needed to be “like sponges” when being offered good advice on new and traditional media – it would help them in the long term make the best of both worlds.

Photo: www.manutd.com

For someone with a 360 degree view of the web, Andrew Bruce Smith (pictured) shows no sign of becoming blinkered by new developments.

Indeed, the social media PR specialist seems to have the capacity to embrace new web tools just as Bob the Builder would make use of a trip to B&Q.

That meant good news for the delegates on the latest CIPR course in Cardiff.

Pivotal

Smith’s key message was that the fast-evolving pivotal issue for PR practitioners is how we become robust in the evaluation of social media use for our own businesses and for our clients.

A PR firm which doesn’t understand how to navigate social media, analyse and measure it is missing a crucial trick or two, he said.

Andrew’s hot tips included his preference for Google Analytics as a number-cruncher for social media metrics.

Better

Moreover, it’s getting better; it’s expected that soon Google Analytics will be applying economic values to social media activity.

And the key messages we should be getting over to clients or PR doubters?

Well, they include the fact that social media links are increasingly influential on Google rankings; they help get your website noticed.

Forever

Online PR lasts forever as search engines will pick up key words year after a post has first appeared, and both B2B and B2C businesses are increasingly understanding that digital marketing can generate leads and sales.

Andrew gave delgates a long list of online resources which can be used to plan and evaluate social media activity. I can’t wait to start using them.

His knowledge was impressive. If you get a chance to hear him speak, pop along.

More info

• CIPR Wales
• Andrew Bruce Smith’s blog