Buddies Bag a Bike

Well actually it was a Trike but it didn't work quite as well as a headline ;o)

After the success of the recent Foundation Rides the Up and Under Group have donated a specialist tricycle to the Cheshire Buddies through the Up and Under Foundation. This means that disabled children at Central Cheshire Buddy Scheme can now all get on their bikes while at the club.

Youngsters with the new trike

Stephanie Lawley, one of the Buddies leaders said

 ‘The bike is a fantastic gift. We have a number of young people who do not have a bike at home so when they come to club on a Saturday, in Shavington, they just love riding around the centre.  This is a great gift and we thank Up and Under for their support’..

Cheshire buddies is a voluntary community group which supports children and young people with disabilities to access a range of fun activities they would not normally have the opportunity to be involved with. 

If you would like more information about Cheshire Buddies contact Stephanie Lawley on 07873423389. Or visit www.cheshirebuddies.co.uk

What we do in our spare time

Continuing the loose series of articles about what Up and Under team members do on their day off, I thought I'd add this stuff.  We were recently invited by a supplier to try out the longest zip wire in Europe, so as this was the first invite we had ever had we decided to give it a try.

First there was the waiting about.........

Then the red plastic outfits ...........................

A bit of posing......................

Obviously being used to the scary stuff on a day to day basis - fully risk assessed of course -  we had to act casual, here is what all the fuss was about ;o)

Foundation Rides, a Great Success

On Sunday a hundred riders set out, bathed in sunshine, to enjoy a cycle ride around the Cheshire lanes to raise money to improve the lives of local youngsters.  The inaugural Foundation Rides were organised by, civil engineering and safety trainers, the Up and Under Group. On offer were two challenging events; a 50km ride taking in Audlem, Wrenbury and Nantwich and a tougher route that continued to Malpas before heading over the Bickerton Hills.

The event was set up to raise money for the Up and Under Foundation which so far this year has supported two weekend trips away for young carers and the Cheshire Buddies as well as helping several other youngsters with the costs of school trips and scout camps.  It is estimated that the money raised at the weekend will support a further 15-20 children.

The Charity, whose mission is to “Change Lives Through Adventure”, was definitely supported by people with their own spirit of adventure.  Amongst the riders was a 9 year old who completed the 50km route before many of the adults returned, a 14 year old Scout who rode the hilly 100km circuit and our oldest rider was 82 years young, surely a great advert for cycling.

These events always attract their share of memorable moments and this was no exception with people blinking their eyes in surprise when Postman Pat rode past on his postie bike complete with black and white cat!  We think that Simon Walker was involved here somewhere.

The 100km ride start

Tea and conversation at the end

Dave is greeted by Sue at the Checkpoint

Postman Pat mounts up

Nervous conversation at the start of the 50km ride

Refreshments part way round the Foundation Ride

How hard can this cycling lark be ;o)

The event will take place next in early June next year so you have time to get some training done.  A big thank you must go to our supporters, Asda, Chatwins, CREH, Marks and Spencer, Mornflake & the staff and friends of Up and Under.

A busy weekend to come

On Sunday we will be running our first fund raising cycle event " The Foundation Rides"  More than 100 people will leave our offices after a Mornflake Porridge breakfast to enjoy the beauty of Cheshire's quiet lanes on a variety of bikes.

 We will have a celebrity guest in the form of Pastman Pat, who bravely has entered the challenging 100km ride, so give him lots of support.

Give pat a cheer along the way

The money raised from this event will be used to give opportunities to less well off youngster to participate in activities and adventures through the Up and Under Foundation.

Youngsters enjoying a recent trip to the Conway Centre

We have had lots of local support in addition to that given by our staff, including from Mornflake, Chatwins, Marks and Spencer, Asda and JLT Insurance Brokers.

Reward for riding - a view on the "Good Stuff"

If you fancy enhancing your wardrobe we will have a draw to win one of three Rapha Condor team t shirts.

The rides start at 9am at our offices with riders returning from about noon.  There will be a party atmosphere at the office throughout the day and all are welcome to drop by.

It is not all about engineering here at Up and Under, we need to make money, but we will do good stuff with it!

31st May 2012 - A Year On

It is a year ago today that Andy had the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch, as part of what became the summer of Olympic celebrations.

On the day 31st May 2012 - Crewe

Young .....

... and not so young enjoy the torch experience

Since that day we have taken the torch to dozens of schools, youth groups and sports events, meaning that more than 8000 - yes thousand! -  people have been able to have their own Torch moment.

This is just a small part of the Good Stuff we strive to do in the community.  Thank you all for supporting our vision of a company that is positive in everything we do, both in and out of work.

Inspecting a complex structure - this pays for the Good Stuff

Friday Smile - Up and Under Care

Last weekend staff from Up and Under took a group of young carers to the Conway Centre on Anglesey for a special weekend away.

Funded by the Up and Under Foundation, 12 excited youngsters headed off in a minibus, driven by our MD Andy Fewtrell, for a weekend of adventure.

Teamwork to overcome obstacles

Gaining confidence

Flying now!

The youngsters aged between 8 and 15 had a programme that included rope courses through the trees, canoeing on the Menai Straits, night time trail finding, camp fires, bush craft and climbing.

How to safely light a fire

On Sunday evening they climbed back into the bus ready to travel home and regale friends and family with tales of their adventures.

Toasting Marshmallows

You may not be aware, but 0.5% of all the turnover (not profit) from our operating companies is donated to the Up and Under Foundation.  In addition all of the admin costs of the charity, including insurance costs, IT, vehicles, etc, are met by Up and Under; plus they support fund raising activities and provide volunteers.

So every job you give us helps young people.

Charity Bike Ride Entries Close Soon!

Entries for the Foundation Rides closes on 29th May, so don't delay.  We will close the entry earlier if we meet our full quota of 250.

This is a great way to give yourself a fitness challenge while helping others.

All money raised by the event will go to support less well of youngsters through the Up and Under Foundation.

For details and entry visit www.foundationrides.co.uk

Thanks for your support.

High Sheriff's Awards - Video

This video was prepared for the Awards dinner and was shown prior to us receiving our prize, we love it, see what you think ;o

Foundation Support for Buddies

A group of disabled youngsters enjoyed a weekend of adventure in the Lake District as a result of a significant grant from the Up and Under Foundation. The youngsters are all part of the Cheshire Buddies, which is a voluntary community group which supports children and young people with disabilities to access a range of activities which they would not normally have the opportunity to be involved with.



Stephanie Lawley, one of the group leaders said:

“They have all had a fantastic time and the trip has meant a great deal to them and their parents. The young people have enjoyed all the activities, being away from home, swimming, the archery and this afternoon we did climbing and rope swinging”

Sunday saw the group on their bikes

The Up and Under Foundation was established in 2007 and is largely funded by the activities of staff and friends of the construction and asset management company, the Up and Under Group. Later this year the Foundation will supporting another weekend trip, this time for a group of young carers from Crewe. Additionally they will be helping less well off individuals to take part in adventurous activities working with schools and scout groups.

All of this excitement is great for developing youngsters experience and confidence. I does come at a cost though and later in the year both the Buddies and the Foundation will have significant fund raising efforts. The Buddies will be fund raising at B&Q over Easter, and the Up and Under Foundation have organised a corporate cycle challenge on Sunday 9th June - see www.foundationrides.co.uk.

Cheshire Buddies are planning to take a second group to the Isle of Man later in the year and have the significant challenge of a Lands End to John O'Groats cycle ride to complete. For more information of the Buddies activities see www.cheshirebuddies.co.uk.

Sadly they were forced to listen to Andy's singing ;o)

For more information about the Up and Under Group www.upandunderfoundation.org 

Up and Under Foundation - Annual Review

We work very hard to do 'Good Stuff' for our clients then use some of the money we earn to do more 'Good Stuff' here is a link to our 2012 review.

Annual Review

Thanks for helping make all this possible.

Some Useful Thoughts as we Start the Year

The following is apparently part of a commencement speech Bill Gates recently gave at a High School. The subject, 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. I think there might be something in here for everyone.


Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes; learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Charity Cycle Collection

The Up and Under Group are committed to being a positive force in our community and our latest venture is a hood up with Recycle Cycles in Crewe, a community venture which does what is says on th tin, recycles unwanted bikes and makes them available through its outlet at 1 Coronation Crescent. 

Earlier in the year we did a bike collection of staff and friends and in December we will be carrying out collections in the Wychwood area of the town.

Dave, the driving force behind Recycle Cycles, is focussed on helping youngsters achieve more through this venture.  He supports youngsters excluded from school by giving them experience working in the shop and learning bike mechanics, he also runs a popular club for local youngsters, getting them on their bikes safely.

Dave takes liberties with Andy's Torch

If you have a bike you want to donate, whatever its age or condition, either bring it to one of our collections or drop it in at our office. Alternatively we are sure Dave would welcome you dropping by the shop, either to donate or buy - he carries a range of day to day essentials such as tyres and tubes.

Highways Agency Area 10 - Reflections on 5 years of good stuff

This weekend will see the end of AOne+'s stewardship of Highways Agency Area 10. During this time we have had the pleasure of working with a great team based in Warrington.

We have looked back over the past five years of helping to manage this vitally important component in the country’s infrastructure and have come up with a few highlights. Our contribution to keeping the Trunk Roads of the North West in good order have included: 

• More than 2,500 General Bridge Inspections
• Over 1,500 Principal Inspections
• Inputting over 4,500 inspection reports into SMIS
• Checking and updating inventories of ~50 Pre-opening and end of defect liability inspections
• Assessing 215 structures for susceptibility to scour
• Carrying out more than 350 inspections following heavy rainfall/flood events
• Undertaking numerous special and monitoring inspections
• Monitoring the piers, half-joints and internal sections of Bidston Viaduct on a quarterly basis prior to completion of the strengthening works between 2007 -2010
• Assessing thousands of structures to determine their resilience against terrorism
• Monitoring bearings on Thelwall Viaduct and other structures
• Installing (pier location ) reference labelling to help the emergency services
• Helping to maintain the highway lighting
• Installing security measures to reduce the threat of vandalism and terrorism
• Removing graffiti, clearing trash screens, plus clearing and greasing flap valves
• Cleaning and greasing bearings on rail structures
• Determining traffic management, access and rail access requirements plus liaising with specialist suppliers
• In the past year alone, cleaning and removing ~10 tonnes of pigeon droppings from structures, plus installing kilometres of pigeon spikes
• Maintaining and checking AOne+ work at height safety equipment (harnesses and lanyards)
• Solving access problems involving rope access and confined spaces working, work over and alongside deep water, the use of boats and pontoons and reacting to the joys of the british weather. 

 This has been a mammoth effort by our team, frequently working through the night, in all weathers, solving problems as they arose and innovating to meet the clients, the HA’s and the public’s needs for efficiency and safety.

None of this could have been achieved without the spirit of cooperation between ourselves and the AOne+ team. We would like to thank them all for embracing our ‘get it done’ approach.

It remains only to say thank you to all of our team members who have contributed so much over the past five years to the success of this project and to wish all those moving on to the next contract from AOne+ all the best for the future.

Our skill, enthusiasm and experience is available to all Highways Area Trunk Road managers. Contact us 01270 589615 ask for Miles.

Community Good Stuff

Andy stepped into the breach today after a last minute call from Cheshire East Parent Carer Support Service. "Could you please bring over your Olympic Torch on Saturday?"  The Cheshire East Parent Carer Support Service & Cheshire's Disabled Children's Database were holding a Family Fun Day in Sandbach and were in need of a Torch at short notice.

The Torch has arrived if you would like to see it - with Cat Radio

 Andy spent about one and a half hours at the event allowing the youngsters and their parents to get their hands on the Torch and get the all important photographs.  As always it worked its magic and was surrounded by smiles. 

It's mine ;o)

Organisers and helpers at the event

In addition to the fund raising and grant giving of the Foundation, this type of commuity involvement forms a significant part of the value that The Up and Under Group brings to society.  By emplying our services you not only get quality services, technical competence and best value; you make this Good Stuff possible. Thanks!