Celebrating 22 years of helping our clients grow their businesses

The last presents are being wrapped and the turkey’s in the oven.  All that’s left for us to do is wish you and your family and friends a wonderful festive season and brilliant 2010.  We’ll be back on Monday 4th January.

There’s been no shortage of snow photos over the last few days but the snow and ice in Luton has been so bad that Karen and Steve’s house in Luton has been on BBC news twice.  Mr and Mrs Browne are currently blocked in their own house, without heating or running water!  Fingers crossed that the snow clears soon.

Alex and Judith get into the Christmas spirit

William Murray’s Wonder Women and Men enjoyed a festive feast last night at the Thistle Hotel Marble Arch. Party hats were donned and crackers pulled while the team had one last get together before Christmas.

If you thought a pie-eating contest was undertaken in harmless fun, think again. The world pie-eating championships held in Wigan yesterday proved to be a controversy-strewn battleground as the sole female competitor stormed out, and officials banned gravy following rumours of doping with cough mixture.

Julie Walsh, who had hoped to become the first woman to seize the trophy, walked out when she realised the pies used in the contest were not from Wigan, but from nearby but “foreign” Adlington.

Clearly competition is fierce in the pie-eating world, and origin of the pies makes all the difference. We’re astounded to learn this is such a controversial sport!

Every day we hear about the various health benefits or dangers of what we eat and drink, but today’s papers featured news that we liked the sound of!  Scientists have claimed that drinking champagne could be beneficial to our health. Up to two glasses a day could improve the way our blood vessels function and reduce risk of heart disease and strokes.

So with the William Murray Christmas party happening tomorrow evening, let’s get that champagne on ice… only in the interests of our health of course!

When deciding on whether to connect with someone on a professional social network, 72%* of hospitality professionals rate a person’s CV/profile as more important than the number of contacts they have. The old adage of ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know’ does not hold water in an online network environment. Professional networkers look for expertise and knowledge to enhance their own networks.

So, what should you do to maximise your online networking profile? It’s at the heart of the networking experience and ensures that users view you as the best fit for a particular connection:

· Profile photo – put a face to a name but remember that it is a direct reflection on you. Opt for a friendly but professional approach.
· Profile summary – it is the 30 second introduction you would give to someone you’re meeting for the first time. Make it count. This is the one chance
you have to hook someone and reassure the user of your potential.
· Details – complete the requested fields in as much detail as possible. This is the opportunity to express your experience and demonstrate your skill. Be open and honest. Don’t overstate but don’t undersell yourself either.

Other ideas for improving your chances of being noticed include posting awards and achievements as they happen; linking with a variety of other people and asking them to provide a quote about you for your page, and including problem-solving ideas for issues that affect the broader industry constituency.

New members signing up to The Hospitality Hub (www.hospitalityhub.com) will be able to download the survey results and follow a step-by-step guide to optimise their online networking potential.

*Figures are taken from the Hospitality Industry Online Professional Networking Survey – conducted by 600 industry professionals through the BHA and the Institute of Hospitality for the Hospitality Hub working in conjunction with the Viadeo, global professional networking experts.

Today’s Metro has reported a shocking warning from UN experts who have predicted that global warming could seriously affect rice, wheat and maize crops as temperatures rise and water suppliers dry up in poorer countries.  What is so troubling is that this could see another 100million people facing starvation.

But what can we do to change this? The World Food Programme has declared that cutting greenhouse emissions could halve the predicted total rise.

Clearly climate change is a huge problem to tackle and one that is currently very much in the spotlight but as individuals we can all contribute, particularly as many greenhouse gases are released from things we do everyday.

Turkeys up and down the country will  be breathing a sigh of relief as it looks like their popularity at Christmas is on the wane. A survey of 3,000 consumers found that just 41 per cent planned to serve a traditional turkey, with beef, lamb and goose all increasing in the popularity stakes. The Food Standards Agency has reported that that while around 10 million turkeys were eaten in 2005, the figure will be more like 7 million this year.

While I’m sure lamb or beef would be delicious on Christmas Day, somehow I just can’t imagine it would feel as festive without a turkey on the table. On the other hand, I could definitely get on board with ditching another Christmas staple: the Brussels sprouts!

Champagne corks were popping in the William Murray office last week when Clare showed us all just how brilliant she is by passing her Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma in Marketing. We are delighted at Clare’s news, as she has worked exceptionally hard since she started the course in August 2008.

Clare has covered modules in Marketing Planning, Marketing Research and Information, Marketing Communications and Marketing Management in Practice. With Clare’s already excellent reputation, we cannot help but think this is only going to enhance what she already brings to the William Murray table! Well done Clare!

Good news for Tesco shoppers today as the supermarket has launched a price war with Waitrose and M&S. In a bid to become the supermarket of choice for buyers of luxury food, the retailer has cut costs by up to 50 per cent on products in its Finest range. New items have also been introduced to woo shoppers away from upmarket rivals.

With Christmas now a mere 18 days away, now could be a very convenient time to announce savings on luxury products, as we all stock up to try and impress our guests over the festive season.