June 4, 2017

Steve Jessney (Group Design Manager) reminded me that he was a former employee! He is somebody that I have had a lot do with since about 2009. Anyone who looks at the web site will know that I have a passion for music and in addition I love podcasts. So back in the day in a trawl of the internet I came across, by chance, a podacst for Blues music and I recognised the name of the presenter.

Steve designed, with a team, furniture for Geo A Moore & Co and Moores International before leaving for MFI in the late 1980’s. This was a weird time when George Moore lurked at the top of Queen Mary House and was only occasionally sighted as he swept in and out. Weird because the top corridor staff created an impression that George was a celestial being and if you went upstairs then the corridor had radios playing to mask any noise of important conversations (?) being held within the inner sanctums.

I was the Group Purchasing Manager at the time and the components Steve specified we bought. I never knew of his love of the Blues and if he left me with anything then it was his job when he left, as I became the Group Purchasing & Design Manager. Steve now works as the Head of Technical & Design at Omega PLC.

Steve produces a weekly radio show for Vixen 101, which comes out of Market Weighton. This then becomes a podcast and as we speak I have over 8 days of the show stored on my iMac hard drive! The Show plays mainly new release Blues records but he dips into older stuff and regales us with seeing Derek & The Dominoes live in Scarborough every quarter. I love it and it follows me on my cycling trips as well as innumerable hours at home. I owe my sketchy knowledge of the Blues to him. If you like this genre then there is absolutely no better place to be.

With Jim Brady (Sales Administration, PS Sales & Installation) we dined with Wendy Looker (Sales Administration) and Sharron Street (Customer Care) near Saxton to shoot the breeze. I did suggest that photos of Jim in consecutive issues of the blog was not a good idea but the ladies insisted! Sharron works for the City & Guilds organisation in Wakefield. She runs the part of the business that monitors that standards are maintained by the companies that run the courses. A story about a record by reggae legend Prince Buster (‘Wreck A Pum Pum’) in Jamaica and the subsequent need for a cleansing trip to church by the visiting City & Guilds representative after the use of supposed foul language did highlight the cultural gulf that they straddle even in countries where we have a common language. Wendy is flourishing and full of excellent advice on all things healthy.

I had cause to catch up with Martin Appleyard (Export & Installation) recently and life sounds good. He’s now the Group Operations Director of DBD, based in Hemel Hempstead. This company supplies and installs upmarket German kitchens and appliances. He’s responsible for the installation of all this: but into every life a little rain must pour… he’s also responsible for overseeing their Health & Safety programmes and policy! Down time includes lots of cycling.

Winner of photo competition – both Peter Lawson (Supplies & Purchasing) and Philip Turnpenny (HR Director) got that it was David Moore (IT or was it DP Manager). Peter had the inside track, as he was on that holiday and it was his bike that David was leant against!

So who’s this? An unhelpful clue is that both Martin Appleyard and myself attended her wedding reception!