It is nice to be thanked

We supported the Stars Appeal last year and are continuing our support for as long as the need us. We received a lovely hand written note from Dave Cates, who runs the appeal with his many hard working and, in the main, unpaid assistants.

Thank you Dave for your kind words

Salisbury City FC and John Rose Photography

 It has come to my attention that there are rumours abound about the remuneration that I receive from Salisbury City Football Club. It has been mentioned to me that “it must be a good little earner for you”, so I thought I would just clarify the situation. I do realise it is no-one’s business but mine and the clubs but it was mentioned to me yesterday that the thoughts people have about this relationship may be affecting my business.

I need to start by saying that this is NOT a complaint about the club and that I am very happy with the relationship we have and which I agreed too.

  

I had been a fan for a few years but not really been involved in any way other than watching matches and being allowed to photograph in and around the club for my A-level Photography course back in 2007. When all the changes took place after we were relegated I approached Paul Fredericks about combining two of my passions, Salisbury City FC and Photography, and shooting the matches and team pictures for them. We agreed what would and wouldn’t be included as part of the agreement and a letter was exchanged.

I DO NOT RECEIVE ANY REMUNERATION FOR THE SERVICES I SUPPLY TO THE CLUB

I get a listing on the website and in the match day programme as well as my logo on the images in the Sarum Suite; these framed images were supplied and erected by me free of charge. The club supplies me with free travel too and from away matches and my FA Conference License gives me free access to home and away matches.

I supply images to the club with match images for their use and they credit me wherever they are used. I also supply Sarum Graphics with images for use in the match day programme free of charge and if away clubs need images I supply them free of charge. I will sometimes be asked for images from newspapers and magazines and these I am able to get a small remuneration for.

I hope that clears up any confusion and thoughts that I am taking money from the club. Please feel free to repeat what has been said here to anyone suggesting I take remuneration from the club for my services.

Best wishes

John

COYW

Trussell Trust Ladies Night

We attended the Trussell Trust Ladies Night to do a few shots with a pink themed backdrop which was their theme colour. They asked us to do a few shots with a frame for a prop to add a different dimension to the shots. A great night with a significant amount of money raised for the charity, which is what these events are all about.

RETT Charity Football Tournament

It has been a while since I posted anything on the blog and my apologies for that. We have had a very busy summer and over the next few days I am hoping to catch up with the blogging by posting a few selected images from some of the things we have been up too.

The first of these "catch up" posts is from the RETT football tournament which is held annually in Andover. We have been supporting this charity for a number of years. Rett syndrome is a severe, life long neurological disorder, more details can be found at http://www.rettuk.org.

Southampton Guildhall Wedding Fayre 22nd September 2011

We have a limited amount of free entry tickets for this event. If you would like one then please email mandy@johnrosephotography.com or call us on 01722 320500. First come first served.

Milford Hall Wedding Fayre,4th September 2011

We have a limited amount of free entry tickets for this event. If you would like one then please email mandy@johnrosephotography.com or call us on 01722 320500. First come first served.

Local Swimmer Phil Muspratt goes for Gold in the Ukraine

Local lad Phil still lives and trains locally and John Rose Photography has agreed to sponsor Phil as he works hard for his next big goal. Phil is looking for potential sponsors to come on board to help him reach his goal.

Education: I went to school locally, having grown up in Salisbury all my life. I first went to Wyndham Park Infants School, originally on St. Marks Road & also when it moved next to the St. Marks Junior School site. I then attended St. Marks Junior School, from here I left for Wyvern College. Having done my GCSE’s I then went to Salisbury College where I done a National Diploma & then a Higher National Diploma in Computing.

Employment: I worked at Waitrose for 6 years working in the Car Park as part of the checkouts team (enthralling as I’m sure you can imagine). I currently work at James Hay Pension Trustees as an administrator in the Reconciliations team.

Early Years: I was always a bit of a water baby, I remember my Mum taking me to the parent & toddler sessions at the old swimming pool on College Street. I went through all the usual badges quite quickly as a child, I think I finished my “gold” badge by the time I was 8. I had the option of joining Salisbury swim team soon after, but apparently according to my Mum I wasn’t keen on the idea! When my younger sister continued to do her badges & I inadvertently made trips to the pool to collect her with Mum, I confessed that I missed swimming and I soon found myself training for Salisbury from the age of 10.

Back Ground - I am a swimmer who represents my city and county at various levels. I swim for Salisbury Stingrays, which has a squad with varying age groups, from around 10 years of age up to 16+ years. I also swim for Salisbury masters where age groups start at 18-24 and go up in 4year age brackets there after. It is through the Masters swimming side of things that I’ll be attending The European Masters Championships in the Ukraine in September.

Honours – I have won several county titles, currently of which I am the 50m 100m and 200m freestyle champion. I came second in the 50m freestyle at the most recent South West Regional Long Course Championships where only James Young (Commonwealth medallist) beat me. In November of 2009 I won the South West Regional Short Course Championships & aim to reclaim the title later this year.

This year I claimed two silvers & a gold at the British Masters Long Course Championships. I won the 200m freestyle and was narrowly pipped to two silvers in the 50 & 100m freestyle (by 0.01 second in the 50m freestyle!).

I won four golds & a silver at the Scottish National Short Course Championships back in April. I was enraged to miss out on gold in the 50m freestyle. I had only been back in the pool for three week prior to the event due to illness, but it was no excuse for not winning that event.

100m IM – Gold
100m freestyle – Gold
200m freestyle – Gold
50m backstroke – Gold
50m freestyle – Silver

Future Aims – I have the European Masters Long Course Championships in September. This will be my 1st true international competition, so this will be a totally new experience for me. I will be competing in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle. Despite this I naturally want to return home with a medal. The championships are being held in the Ukraine.

Lara's Hat Hire goes to Ascot

Sue Voce of Lara's Hat Hire poses with a modest selection from the 200+ hats she has available for hire. Sue was asked to display a selection of her hats in Bijoux Beads, Queen Street, Salisbury today as Thursday is Ladies Day at Ascot Racecourse.

If you are going to Ascot this week, or you have a special occasion that requires a hat, and you would prefer to hire it rather than buy one, why not give Sue a call on 07900 360455.

Ascot is one of those occasions where a hat is a must and Lara's Hat Hire will be represented at this auspicious occasion. If you have forgotten about that most important of accessories for a special occasion call Sue and pick a hat that will be the talk of the town.

The Milford Hall Hotel, Salisbury

I mentioned in a previous post that I was going interview some of the businesses I am working with to give you an insight into the the world of John Rose Photography. The first of these interviews is with Ali Greenwood of the Milford hall Hotel. Thank you to Ali for giving her time to answer this brief questionnaire.

If you are looking for a venue to hold your wedding reception, or indeed ceremony, then please give Ali a ring. There are some special offers available if you book the Milford Hall Hotel and John Rose Photography together so give Ali a ring or make an appointment to see her and she will tell you all about her wonderful hotel.


John interviews: Ali Greenwood. Ali is the Weddings & Events Manager at the Milford Hall Hotel, 206 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 3TE
(01722) 424116
conference@milfordhallhotel.com
http://www.milfordhallhotel.com/

What does your job involve?

My job involves taking enquiries and (hopefully) turning them into bookings. This could be for a civil wedding ceremony, wedding reception, funeral wake, conference, meeting, birthday party, christening, or any other social occasion. I will always send out a personalised information pack in response to a phone call or email enquiry and I am always pleased to show a potential client around the hotel before giving them our best prices and other information that they may require. Our motto really is, “If we can, we will!”.

Another aspect of my job is to produce “Function Sheets” for the other departments to work from. These are our “bibles” and ensure that every department is aware of what is happening for each event, i.e. timings, menus, room layout, final numbers etc.

How long have you worked here?

I have worked at the Milford Hall Hotel for approximately 14 years including the last 11½ years under the guidance and expertise of the Hughes’ family. I have watched the hotel grow over the years with an evolving and now very popular seafood & steak house restaurant; an extended and refurbished function room that can now accommodate up to 200 people theatre style and 11 superb new executive bedrooms taking our bedroom stock up to 45 rooms.

How important are good staff?

Good staff are absolutely vital. A beautiful building with lovely furnishings is great but nothing beats a warm welcome and consistently good service. Regular customers like to be remembered and our staff are really good at doing this. Having said this, new customers and potential new customers are every bit as important too! Good staff can avoid awkward or embarrassing customer moments; they can avert potential disasters and help to make a guest feel relaxed and valued. A smile from a member of staff can immediately put a guest in a much better mood and we receive many letters of praise for our staff which is really great!

What is your most memorable moment?

This is quite a hard question for me to answer because I feel I have had so many memorable moments. It was a great honour to be at the Award Ceremony when we first won the Hotel of the Year Award for outstanding customer service but a personal favourite for me was organising a complete wedding for a couple in less than nine weeks and being told that their guests were still talking about the fabulous day many, many weeks later!

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of using your service?

I am sure anyone thinking of using my services at Milford Hall would not be disappointed. If you have an important occasion coming up and you want to be confident that it will be looked after in a most professional manner, then do not hesitate to come and see me. Every function is tailor made and every customer is highly valued. You may begin as a customer but you will almost certainly end up as a friend!

Tell everyone why they should book with you?

Everyone should come to the Milford Hall Hotel for their wedding, wedding reception, conference, meeting, party or other special occasion because we genuinely do care about our customers. We are a small but competent team and everyone works hard to ensure that our customers go away satisfied and happy. Although no-one is perfect, we try our hardest to be the best we can possibly be and the many letters of thanks and testimonials that we constantly receive show that we are on the right track!