The Island Waddle! Guest Writer: Ainsley

Everyone is waddling this morning!

Either there's an audition for Happy Feet 4 that I wasn't aware of, or everyone's feeling the strain from the ten mile walk/run on Saturday!

A big congratulations to Heather, Kerry, John, Jayne, Donna, Debbie, Jacqui and Vanessa, who joined up with our friends at Antrim Borough Council to raise funds for the MacMillan Nurses in their centenary year. They did a fantastic job and the money's still rolling in, so we don't yet have a total raised, but there's still time to donate to this fantastic cause, simply drop us a line. Here are some of them, raring to go!

We're sticking close to the Borough Council this week, as a number of us are attending the 'Airline Innovation' event on high performance they are organising on Wednesday. I will be joined by Allison, Vanessa and Heather - with Kerry and Donna attending a related session by David Meade (International Speaker and Entertainer) on 'innovation and leadership.' Kerry will also be busy on Thursday organising and attending Legal-Island's First Thursday Mediation Club.

Elsewhere on the island, Barry our CEO has a week almost completely clear of meetings - so lots of time for him to prepare for the Strategy Team meeting on Thursday.

Our MD, Jayne is in the office all week, writing up Performance Review documentation and continuing with policy work in between the usual internal meetings. Jayne will also be continuing her volunteering at St. Brigids, Ballymena on Friday morning.

Marketing Officer Peter Fitzpatrick will also be volunteering this week, delivering football coaching to Ballycraigy Primary School children. I will be there too to even the sides.

Our Training Centre is also busy this week, hosting Northern Trust today and Schrader tomorrow.

Apart from that we're gearing ourselves up for a busy first season of events, with places selling fast. To make sure you're up to speed, check out what's happening on the Events page of our website.

As Happy Feet's dad said to him, "The word triumph starts with a 'try' and ends with a great big UMPH"

Onwards we waddle. Have a great week.

Our Apprentice, Charlie! Guest writer: Allison Sutherland

There’s no doubt about it, we’re cranking up to full speed here on the Island.  We could do with having our Work Experience person ‘Charlie’ back in the fold to help out as he did such a brilliant job last week.  The thing is, he’s just too busy swatting and honing his skills at Campbell College before taking on Lord Sugar in the next series of “Young Apprentice” – fingers crossed he makes it through to the next round. 

If we’re all particularly cheery and smiley it is because we have been awarded the Gold Star Customer Service Accreditation Award which demonstrates our best practice and ethos for growth.  Well done to everyone involved for all their hard work.  Shouldn’t really boast but if we get many more awards and certificates we’ll be in need of quotes for shoring up the office walls.

There’s much limbering up going on in here, circuits completed of the car park and stretching everywhere you look.  The reason being that on Saturday we’re taking Antrim by storm by joining our friends from the Borough Council for a ten mile walk/run to help raise funds for the MacMillan Nurses in their centenary year.  All sponsorship gratefully accepted.

We’re up to our eyes in Performance reviews this week with both our M.D Jayne and Marketing Supremo Ainsley sporting “Do Not Disturb” notices.  Shhhh!!!

However, by far the best news is that “the girls” have recovered from their winter blues and are laying at a speed of knots.  Now that they have their new spring plumage they don’t stop admiring themselves in the big mirror next to their coop. Mighty fine they’re looking too.

Did you hear about the Environmental enthusiast who removed the engine from his car and replaced it with an Ostrich to power the vehicle?  Everything seems to be working well until it gets to the Motorway.  At high speed, the car breaks down so he calls out one of the emergency vehicle repair services.  The Mechanic arrives, lifts the bonnet and shaking his head says “Ere’s your problem Guv’nor, yer big ‘en’s gone!”


What we're all up to;

Our CEO Barry is meeting business consultant John McKee today for lunch and then attending a seminar delivered by Mark Reid at the Antrim Civic Centre tomorrow evening. On Wednesday he's attending a dinner at Queens before heading to Dublin for meetings all day with amongst others the NCI and Daire Coffey. On Friday he's in the office before leading from the front in the MacMillan 10 mile charity run on Saturday.

Jayne is busy with Internal meetings on Monday and Tuesday.  Then on Wednesday she will be out of the office at an Invest NI Performance Management Workshop in Bedford Street.  She’ll be rounding off the week on Friday by volunteering at St Brigids, Ballymena.  After which it’s all systems go and a swift move onto Belfast for the ReformNET Ladies Day lunch.

Scott is meeting Diane Hill of A4e today to discuss her presentation to the HR Network on 7^th February.

Scott hopes to work from home from Wed-Friday this week and will be a guest at the McGrigors’ Burns Supper on Thursday 26^th January at QUB: Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!

An’ aw tha’, etc etc. In all honesty, it’s pretty horrible scran and would be consigned to the dustbin of culinary history, like peas brose and Angel Delight, were it not for the Bard liking the stuff. The rest of us just pretend to enjoy it, like some offal emperor’s new clothes in food form. But it’s a fine excuse for a great night out.

Vanessa and Peter Fitzpatrick are off for a midday bite at the City Hall, where they will receive our Customer Service Gold Award Certificate from the Centre for Competitiveness – proving that there is such a thing as a free lunch!

Heather has a pretty quiet week in relation to being out and about.  She’ll still be up to her eyes (as usual) but based in the office.  Apart from Thursday when she is attending the Business in the Community Opening Door’s Series at Allstate.


I am attending Antrim Civic Centre on Tuesday evening to hear Mark Reid deliver a seminar in relation to Agency Workers.  Then a bit of practice before attempting Saturday's walk.


If Jacqui's tendon holds up she will be roaming Antrim with the rest of us on Saturday morning.

Our Training Centre is still proving to be the best value for money facilities in these here parts as we have guests from Schrader on Tuesday and the Institute of Licensing on Thursday and Friday.  It’s the food that does it, if you’re ever in need of a good feed come to us!

Nobody likes a show off! Guest writer: Kerry

I know its January and everyone has lots of good intentioned New Years resolutions but really its a sad day when your minding your own business having a pancake with butter and jam for your mid morning snack and the 'health guru' walks into the kitchen, glares over with a disapproving look and says 'and you getting married in 6 months'.  And yes everyone its James I'm talking about.  Here he is above adding extra seeds and pulses to his already Über healthy salad as proof of his new healthy ways.  What a lovely 'my body's a temple' smile he's wearing don't you think?  That pancake was tasty I'll have you know!

This weeks movements on the Island:

Our CEO, Barry has a busy week this week. Today he has internal meetings before meeting Peter McBride of NIAMH for dinner this evening.   On Wednesday he has an SMT meeting before heading to London on Friday for one of these posh legal dinners where apparently the entertainment is Michael McIntyre. The following day he has an all day seminar delivered by the Entrepreneurs Business Academy.

Jayne our MD has a validation meeting for the CforC Customer Service Award on Wednesday and will be Volunteering on Friday at St Brigids, Bllymena.

Our Conference Manager ROI Heather has her performance review on Wednesday and then will be in Dublin on Friday checking out the HR symposium venue and other potential venues for future events.

Have a healthy week!

What's Up w/b 9 Jan 2012

Meetings start to build up after the first week back.

Head of Training and Development, Scott Alexander, is in Dublin on Wednesday meeting David Walsh, Netwatch, Catherine Lambe, Musgrave, and Martin Farrelly regarding the HR Symposium on 29th February.

He is also meeting Linda O'Shea Farren, Linda Hynes, Duncan Inverarity and Breda O'Malley.

Meetings of note this week for Marketing Manager, Ainsley Hirst, include Sales Strategy day on Wednesday with Paula Milligan, followed by a meeting with Michael from Centre for Competitiveness on Thursday.

MD Jayne Finley has a Wednesday with meeting Richard O’Rawe , Thursday has Centre for Competitiveness meeting am, splash marketing meeting in pm, Friday meeting with BITC, followed by Time to Read at St Brigid's Ballymena.

Our CEO, Barry, has meetings this week with a number of external consultants as we try to put shape to the company strategy for the year. On Tuesday he's meeting Ken Thompson author of a book on Team Biometrics. On Wednesday he's meeting company consultant Richard O'Rawe followed by a one-to-one with social media and web guru Gareth Dunlop. On Thursday he's doing a bit of consulting himself when he travels to Derry/Londonderry to see good friend of Legal-Island Mark Reid to help him develop his marketing strategy for his new "Law Firm in Derry".

Senior Administrator, Vanessa Porter, has a meeting with Michael O’Neill from C4C on Thursday to discuss the last stage of the Customer Service Award Accreditation.

Posted by Scott

Guest Writer Barry Phillips

Happy New Year everyone!

Oh my! Where did that year go to? It was like everything was on fast forward last year it went by so quickly but then time does seem to fly like that at Legal-Island.

We all came back today ready for everything that the year will throw at us. We've lots of exciting things planned already including a brand new HR event for Dublin which is selling well "Ireland's HR Symposium"  for 29 February.

This week very few of us are out and about. Instead, we’re all desk bound prepping for meetings, objective setting and performance reviews. It’s about getting the business in shape for the year and the more we do now the easier it should be later on.

So fingers crossed, hold tight, here we go…

Barry Phillips, CEO