… to leave me alone so I can get over 2020 in a darkened room.
In tradition with year-end, many will be dusting off their old anecdote book to write a fond recap of the previous year. Listening to Cliff on the radio whilst wearing their Christmas jumper and sipping their mulled wine. This year I opted for the ‘P*#s off and leave me alone’ jumper, Slipknot on Alexa and something a little stronger to drink.
So, deep breath and this was us – Norseal 2020! (apologies for the mild Christmas references. I’m trying to get in the spirit.)
Firstly, A huge thank you to the Norseal supporters, in the main, customers. I know a lot of you have found this period tough, but you have battled through it and I hope we have looked after you as much as the loyalty you have shown us.
January and February started well. We had a plan and to be honest it was a bloody good one. It naturally involved world domination with an abundance of brilliant customer service and plentiful teamwork. Also, we had a little surprise up our sleeve.
March and April the wheels started coming off. The toy factory was slowing down, and the team were sent home to work. There was very little we could do about it. Britain was closed for business. At least Captain Tom kept our spirits up walking round his garden.
I’ve almost erased May and June from memory. Groundhog day springs to mind but we pushed on with our plans. Simon joined us and we also launched our Fire Stopping range. On top of that my hazy memory reminds me of:
Some bloke driving to Durham, going out but staying in, long walks, Zoom & Teams meetings with pixelated people, lycra and Gin & Tonic and we also clapped a lot!…..If I didn’t know better I’d think we’d all been slipped a hallucinogenic, was it all a dream?
In July the sun rose and with it hope. Britain was coming out of hibernation, the pubs started opening and the phones started ringing. Would the previous months of actions pay off? Only time would tell. But in the blink of an eye, it was August, and I was eating out to help out. In one month, I’d undone 5 months of healthy eating and exercise. This was my domain, and I was the king of it. Work was also really good. The team I had been talking about in these blogs had really put in the graft and it was showing.
So, September to December have been a roller coaster of change. We got the rule of 6, pubs had a curfew, kids went back to school, everything closed again and here we are. I won’t pretend it hasn’t been tough and I’m sure you all have your stories to tell. Christmas will most definitely be different this year. I think apart from looking after the kids we will defer our celebrations until Easter (Family and work). I hope the country celebrates like never before. The Easter Bunny will think all of his Christmases have come at once!
Look out for our activities over 2021, we have loads going on and plenty you will be interested in I’m sure. But until then, I send you all our Norseal love.
Have a wonderful Christmas break and please remember if you can’t be good be careful!
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Tom is very active, going to the gym five times a week. He is a footballer, BMX and mountain biker and a keen traveller, having covered 4 out of the 7 continents. If he was to join a boy band it would be the Jackson 5!
Tom Griffiths
Sales Admin
Ben would rather live in a theme a park than a zoo. He loves to play basketball and has a real passion for music.
Ben Spoors
Sales Admin
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Neil is an FA qualified coach and volunteer of grass roots football. As a self-declared mountain climbing and camping legend, he would rather have a third arm than third eye!
Neil Smeatom
Operations Manager
Kelly is an animal lover and would rather skip than run for the rest of her life. You won’t find her skipping around shops though as she hates shopping!
Kelly Houston
System Development
Matt is a self-proclaimed BBQ King, who has perfected sticky ribs! He doesn’t believe in ghosts but can eat 45 Yorkshire puddings in 3 minutes!
Matthew Burns
Warehouse Manager
Amy has played in the Women’s FA cup for Weymouth FC and if there was a movie about her life she would be played by Rebel Wilson, as she is that one friend who is always dared to try something first! Watch out though because correct use of font and image size is everything to her!
Amy Green
Graphic and Marketing Officer
Wayne is mad about his dogs, they rule his life! He has a hobby of laser engraving which keeps in him busy in his spare time, but he if was to flee the country you would find him in Mexico!
Wayne Robson
Business Development Fire Stopping
Rebecca likes nothing better than sitting in the sun with a Piña Colada; where she would rather feel like a potato than look like one. She also loves days out with her family and going on spontaneous last minute adventures.
Rebecca Wilson
Sales Admin
Simon, loves motorcycles with his favourite being his Kawazaki Z900RS. He has completed many charity events such as chilli pepper eating and a 24-hour roller-coaster ride, but his most useless talent is the ability to stick 24 cocktail sticks in his head!
Simon Sutton
Head of Sales
Andrea loves dogs and her favourite animal sound is her Labrador snoring! She is also a self-declared wine’o’holic!
Andrea Wilson
Purchasing Manager
Alan is a fan of brown sauce and an even bigger fan of Newcastle United! In his spare time his favourite hobby is cycling.
Alan Spark
Warehouse
Ivan spends his spare time lost in a book, he enjoys sci-fi and crime novels. His favourite part of the human face are the eyes because they tell a lot about a person and how they feel. Unlucky for some, but Ivan finds being born on Friday 13th a lucky charm.
Ivan Lanha
Warehouse
If Michael had to choose an animal sidekick it would be a wolf! He has a passion for education within our industry and he also has a love for live music.
Michael Spoors
Managing Director
If Heidi had to, she wouldn’t mind losing her nose, as she hates strange smells! Despite any smells she loves spending time at the beach, and she makes a mean lasagne.
Heidi Harrison
Service Manager
Sophie has a love for interiors and styling. A proper foodie, she loves going out to a good place to eat and given the choice she would rather have mouse ears than a giraffe’s neck!
Sophie Westlake
Business Development Norsound
Lilly plans to travel and live all over the world; sampling the world’s menu as she is a massive food critic. If she could be a fruit, Lilly would be a kiwi.
Lilly Spoors
Business Admin
Ryan enjoys listening to rap music as well as going archaeology magnet fishing! If he ever bumped into Donald Trump he would say “It came from CHINA!”
Ryan Gillon
Warehouse
Lily believes it would take 197 chickens to kill an elephant! She enjoys reading classic novels and use to row!
Lily Harrison
Internal Sales
Tony loves to travel the world with only a few places left to complete his bucket list. If he could replace a lead singer in a band it would be Martin Fry from ABC. Tony loves the Toon Army and is famous for drinking black sambuca!
Tony Henderson
Warehouse
Gary would rather wake up with animal arms than an animal’s bum; this may help him on adventures, as he has been in both an ice cave and a lava cave! He also owns over 3000 vinyls.
Gary Power
Warehouse
Anneka has three fish called Steve, Boris and Fart-face! She once knocked herself out playing hockey by running into the goal post, but she makes a better lasagne than Heidi!
Anneka Anderson
Finance Admin
Tony loves going to heavy rock gigs and festivals. His favourite cowboy is Clint Eastwood, but more than anything he loves to spend time with his 3 grandchildren.
Tony Stewart
Warehouse
Lea loves going to the gym! He also loves socialising with friends with some good food and drink; if he opened his own bar he would call it ‘The Four Horses’ because by spending too much time there the wife will nag, nag, nag, nag!
Lea Cameron
Warehouse
Rays favourite superhero is Super Gran! He loves travelling to America but his true love is rugby.
Ray Spoors
Credit Controller
Visiting new places around the North East is one of Bailey’s favourite things to do, as well as learning morse code. If he could choose he would rather ride to work on a crocodile than a giraffe.