31/01/2008 by admin.

If you’re divorced and your former spouse is still alive, you might find it difficult to have a full marriage service in the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church. Much depends on the individual church and exceptions will often be made based on individual cases. The same goes for the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church. For couples with strong religious convictions who aren’t able to get married in church, a blessing is a popular alternative. This can be held after you’ve had a civil ceremony at either a register office or a licensed venue. Widows and widowers are free to marry in a church or synagogue.

Posted in Weddings | No Comments »

23/01/2008 by admin.

At the referendum meeting yesterday 612 turned out to vote which is 24%.

For development:   Yes 209     No 385

Confidence in council: Yes  221     No 307

The planning department will have to take this result into consideration when they decide whether to grant full planning consent or not…

Posted in News | No Comments »

22/01/2008 by admin.

A referendum is to be held today on controversial plans to build more than 200 homes on part of the Erddig estate in Wrexham. A residents’ committee at Rhostyllen and Welsh language pressure group, Cymuned are objecting to the plans. Have your say in the Wrexham Today forums. Read more…

Posted in News | No Comments »

20/01/2008 by admin.

WHEN Rhys Jones became a doctor you’d think his mum would have been thrilled…

Posted in Humour | No Comments »

11/01/2008 by admin.

Do they last? Following on from the piece on men’s beer bellies, another poll shows that more than two-thirds of Britons feel fat, flabby or fed-up and have resolved to change their ways. This poll, by Dare to Care, found that 68 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about either their level of fitness, the size of their waist or their personal happiness – and resolved to do something about it.

A survey of attitudes, revealed that almost a third of respondents said getting fit was their top New Year goal. Just under a quarter said their main aim was to be happier, while 15 per cent wanted to eat healthier food.

It’s the same old story…

January: Fitness centres look forward to the annual boom in membership sparked by post-indulgence guilt.

February: Countless wannabe fitness fanatics revert to their usual lazy routine while continuing to pay up to £80 a month for a gym membership they will rarely, if ever, use again.

The psychology is simple: It’s the New Year – time for a New You. You feel a bit fat and unfit so you join a gym in the belief that paying all that money will make your exercise regime doubly effective. You don’t go very often, so you feel guilty (as well as fat and unfit). Yet you can’t cancel the membership - thus saving hundreds of pounds a year – Oh No! That would be to admit defeat, after which there’s nothing for it but to accept life as an unfit bloater. Or the opportunity to embrace your body as it is – big and beautiful (well you can pretend).

If this all sounds oh so familiar, you are not alone. A sizeable proportion of new members lose the will to sweat within weeks of joining up. Not even the thought of boosting the gym’s coffers for free provides much incentive. I worked for a gym for a while and knew that every January only about 10 per cent (at most) of those I assessed would still be going to the gym in February…

New gyms are cropping all the time throughout the year – look how many we’ve got in Wrexham – luring us in with many with a growing emphasis on mind as well as body in the form of yoga classes, cyber cafés, stress management courses and low-calorie menus.

So do they work? Well for the gyms yes – they can be a very profitable venture – especially in January. But for the members? Probably only worthwhile for those who are fit already and needing to maintain their levels, with a tiny percentage of the fat and flabby brigade sticking it out and getting their dream beach body in time for the summer.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

11/01/2008 by admin.

I often hear women say that they are on a diet but I haven’t often heard those words pass a man’s lips. But, according to research by Tesco, millions of men in the UK are constantly trying to shed weight – not for health reasons – but to spice up their love life. The results of the study showed that across the country a third of all adults – 14.5 million people – are on a permanent battle with the bulge. Perhaps some of those campaigns that focus on trying to get men to lose weight for the sake of their health should focus instead on pointing out that beer bellies are not much of a turn-on in the bedroom…

Posted in Health and Fitness | No Comments »

09/01/2008 by admin.

January is the most worrying month financially for many people. A study by Norwich Union says that many households will be strapped for cash due to early Christmas pay running out. The study named January the 9th as “no pay day” because many people had run out of money after the festive spending spree.

According to the poll some householders will dip into their savings or rely on credit and loans to make ends meet for the rest of the month. 73 per cent of respondents thought they would run out of money on or before January 9. 4 in 10 (43 per cent) of people surveyed said this was the most worrying time of the year financially.

One in five (19 per cent) did not think it was likely they could cover all their household bills during January. And 35 per cent thought that slipping into debt was inevitable.

Posted in Life | No Comments »

08/01/2008 by admin.

For your marriage to be legal the following must be observed:

• You and your fiancé must be at least 16 years old (in England and Wales). If either of you are under 18, you must have the consent of your parents or guardian.
• You must not be closely related.
• The premises where your wedding takes place must be legally solemnised. These include register offices, licensed buildings, parish churches and places of worship that are registered for marriage.
• The ceremony must take place in the presence of a registrar orother authorised person.
• The ceremony must take place between 8am and 6pm.*There must be two witnesses present.
• Both of you must be free and eligible to marry.

Posted in Weddings | No Comments »

02/01/2008 by admin.

A guest book at your wedding will record the thoughts and wishes of friends and family and Tesco sell a simple one for just £6.97. Alternatively a new trend from the US is hiring a portable photo booth. On the day you’ll have a fully-operational booth in which your guests can pose for pictures - cost from £1000. The company is Pergola Photo, contact number 01539 533 320. They’ll organise the booth and afterwards give you a selection of digital photos and an album filled with snaps of you and your guests at play. Guaranteed fun!

Posted in Weddings | No Comments »

01/01/2008 by admin.

With the start of the New Year you might be thinking about a fresh start and a new job, especially if you had to work over the Christmas holidays.

Always remember - procrastinators dream about what they would like to do but never actually do anything about it. As W.L. Bateman said ‘If you keep on doing what you have always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.’ If you are serious about achieving your ambitions you need to set yourself targets and start on them straight away.

Make a list of what you want to achieve in your working life i.e:
• Improve your performance
• Promotion within the next six months
• More family friendly hours
• Part time work
• More money

Make a list of immediate challenges / blocks which could stand in your way and look at ways you can overcome them. What development skills, training, qualifications, experience or further information do you require? For example you might not be very confident when dealing with colleagues, allowing yourself to be easily undermined, so you could look at ways of improving your communication skills. Send off for the job description and application form if you see an advert for a vacancy that matches the description for your ideal job. Fill it in and see where the gaps are and start looking for ways of filling them in.

If you have all the necessary qualifications already – what are you waiting for? – Get it in the post! The more information that you have on the job you have in mind, the more able you are to make informed decisions about it.
Once you have worked out what goals you need to achieve you need to set a time frame for achieving them. Don’t leave it open ended or the goals will remain out of reach. Decide when you want to achieve your goal by and then break it down into smaller sections of things that you need to do to achieve it. Then try and do something positive, ideally every day, that takes you closer to your target. Reflect back at the end of each day and write down something new that you have achieved that day. Keep a diary so that you can see yourself getting closer and closer to your goal.

What can you do now to help you achieve your goal?

• Look at ways of gaining more experience in other areas
• Start doing occasional bank shifts in your chosen area on days off / in holidays
• Apply for a secondment to study full time or to work in another area
• Attend relevant courses / study days

You may have an idealistic view of the job you fancy doing. To get a clearer idea ask someone who is already doing the same or a similar job if you can shadow him/her for a day. As well as being able to give useful advice they may also have inside information on any jobs that are going to be available. Also you will have demonstrated you interest and enthusiasm to the people you may be working with in the future.

Ask for support. Seek other people’s views about your strengths and weaknesses but choose people who will encourage you to reach your goals. Avoid negative people who will hold you back simply because they haven’t got the guts to do it themselves.

If you ask your boss for a transfer or secondment to another area - the worst thing he/she can say is no. Accept change and help others through it – experience of change will look good on your CV.

Many people fear failure, but many also fear success - they are frightened that they are not good enough and are afraid that one day they will be found out and exposed as a fraud. Even the most successful people feel fear sometimes – they just don’t let it hold them back. Is fear dominating your life, stopping you doing things you really want to do, preventing you getting that promotion or applying for a new position?

Most people say that they need to increase their confidence before they can hope to find another job but it actually works the other way around. Confidence comes from competence – if you are able to do something well, you’re confident about it. To do something well you’ve got to practice and that’s how you’ll build confidence.

Change of any kind is a risk and feels uncomfortable – even when the change is for the good. We leave behind the old familiar ways and step onto new ground. But life rewards action, not intentions. Nothing in your life will change until you start doing different things. You will meet new people and new possibilities will become available to you. So get support and get the training you need but above all go for it.

Posted in Career Tips | 2 Comments »