TO

P 100 EMPLOYERThis is the very first edition of Vibe, and we hope you enjoy reading it. In Vibe, you can expectto find all the latest news and views.

Welcome to Vibe- the brand new staff magazine for Plus Dane Group

inside this first issue: see the Vibe... Christmas parties, staff away days and moreF beat the chill... how colleagues helped make winter warmer for residents F new kids on theblock... a big welcome to new starters F Vibe news F my passions F celebrity look-alikes F me and my pet F Vibe recommends F babies, weddings, exams success and lots more staff news u

Issue 1 F March 2009

City centre living - at a priceyou can affordStylish city living just got a whole lotcheaper - with the launch of the stunningnew Liverpool ONE rental apartments byPlus Dane Group.

The initial phase of these affordableapartments-to-rent is now complete, and our first new residents have moved in to the Edward Rushton Building onHanover Street.

These apartments come with one or two bedrooms, some with en-suites andbalconies, incorporating modern designwith original architectural features. All have fitted kitchens with appliances, andthey are available either unfurnished orcomplete with sleek, contemporary styledsofas, dining tables and bedroom sets.Some also offer views over the newLiverpool ONE skyline.

Rents on the Liverpool ONE apartmentsstart at just £430 pcm.

A further three phases of apartmentswill be available shortly - in Eagle House on Paradise Street, inManesty’s Lane and College Lane. In total, there will be 95 units for rent, some featuring three bedrooms, and beautiful communal roof terraces.

At the heart of the city, the LiverpoolONE development is the mostimportant regeneration project in the city centre for more than 40years. With an unrivalled retail and leisure offer, it offers shops,restaurants, bars, a 14-screencinema and even a five-acre park.

Staff are eligible to apply for theapartments - contact Ben Kavanagh, City Centre Lettings Officer, on 0151 330 3532for more details.

The announcement was made at the event at BatterseaEvolve in London. As well as members of the seniormanagement team and Board, three people from theorganisation attended after having their names drawn.They were Miriam O’Carroll, Service Excellence Co-ordinator based at Park Road; Jason Stubbs, Joinerat the Congleton depot, and Karl Duffy, INES Supervisorat Mill Street depot. Dawn Thomas from Rodney Streetand Kim Hudson from St James’ Court in Congletonalso attended to represent the staff engagement group.

This award follows on from our recent accreditation as an ‘outstanding’ two-star organisation by the well-regarded Best Companies scheme.

Ken Perry said: “We were told that over 1000organisations applied for this accreditation and afteronly 5 months of existence we flew straight in at 35 on the list. This is something to be very proud of and I am grateful to everyone who took part in the survey.”

Both the 2-star rating and its placement in theprestigious Sunday Times Top 100 are based onrigorous employee surveys, questioning staff on issues such as leadership, well-being, management and personal growth.

Plus DaneTOP 100

By now, staff will have heard the great newsabout our 35th place in the Sunday Times100 Best Companies survey.

EMPLOYEESATISFACTIONSURVEY 2008Thank you to everyone who completed our first Plus Dane employeesurvey towards the end of last year. We achieved a 58% response rate withrepresentation across all teams which is good compared to typicalresponse rates of around 50% for this type of survey.

The questionnaire was designed to test our core values of Passion, Innovation,Excellence and Respect and the Ni competency framework. The results will now beused to inform our new Group Human Resources strategy so that it respondsdirectly to the feedback you have provided.

As you will see from the highlights below, the results are extremely positive which isfantastic so soon after merger. I want to make sure that Plus Dane is recognised asan Employer of Choice and the results show that we have made a very good start.

Our results have been benchmarked against 65 other Housing Associations as wellas other organisations across all sectors. As you will see from the results, PlusDane is ‘top of the league’ in most areas which were benchmarked.

However, there is always scope to improve and some suggestions for how we cando this are included in the results analysis. The main issue which stands out is theneed to ensure we work as ‘one big team’. With all the work which has beenundertaken to establish to the new Group, it is only natural that there has been afocus on our own functional areas within the business. However, now that thefoundations are laid we need to look at how we can all work more ‘horizontally’ sothat we can really capitalise on the added value and broad range of skills that thenew organisation offers.

A more detailed analysis of the results by team hasalso been done and your Director will meet with youin the near future to discuss these. This will allow us to obtain any further specific feedback from teamswhich can then also be included in the action plan.

Plus Dane continues to make great progress andso much has been achieved in the short time since merger in July 2008. Thank you all for yourcontinued contribution.

Ken Perry

The full results of the survey are provided in the enclosed leaflet and also can be found on the intranet. Highlights include:

92% of employees are proud to work for Plus Dane Group93% had a good understanding of our mission and values90% were clear about our role and objectives94% said that the people they work with are supportive and friendly

VibenewsConference success for Margaret Welfare Benefits Officer MargaretGarner was involved in organising thefirst Housing Benefit Best PracticeGroup Welfare Benefits and FinancialInclusion Conference.

The event took place in Sandbach, andwas attended by around 80 delegatesand speakers. Experts in the sectorwere on hand to share best practice,and talk about innovative schemestaking place across the country.

Sharon Wheeler, Senior StrategicHousing Champion, was in attendance,and Kitty Ussher, Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Department of Work and Pensions, also sent a message of support.

Margaret, who is based at Shepherd’s Mill, organised the event with colleagues from Moorlands Housing, Wrekin Housing Trust and Aspire Housing.

On their way to an MBA…Helen Jamieson, Enterprise Consultant,and Sonia Bassey-Williams, Head ofEnterprise Development, are bothstudying for MBAs, in Helen’s casespecialising in social enterprise.

The courses are being run by JohnMoores University in Liverpool, andboth Sonia and Helen expect to beworking on them for the next threeyears.

Our very own Christmas trees Plus Dane is now the proud owner oftwo very beautiful native Caledoniantrees at the Alladale Reserve in theScottish Highlands. The trees were‘given’ to us instead of cards by VibrantEnergy. Property Investment ConsultantMartin Gladwin has formed apartnership with the company,providing Energy PerformanceCertificates not only within the group,but out-of-house as well.

Margaret Garner

Helen & Sonia

Staff help residents BEAT THE CHILLStaff and board members from across the group helpedhighlight fuel poverty and energy efficiency to residents this winter.

The Beat the Chill campaign was co-ordinated by AndyLomas, Neighbourhood Director [Customer], but involvedstaff from all offices and departments.

Staff were involved on every level - from planning to packingNeighbourhood Investor winter survival packs to carrying outhome visits.

Ken Perry and chairman of the board John Pollard wereamong those making home visits to selected residents,handing out the packs and offering advice and support.Staff from across all offices were also assigned people tovisit in pairs.

All residents were also sent top tips for coping in winterand invited to special events held in Cheshire andMerseyside.

Feedback from staff and residents is still being gathered,but in the meantime, here is an excerpt from a letter thattwo Congleton residents, Ruth and Bill Thomas, submittedto their local newspaper:

“A few days ago we thought Christmas had comeearly as a very nice young man from our landlordarrived with bags to help us keep warm through the winter. Thermal blankets, socks, low energy light bulbs, hand warmers, packets of tea and coffee and thermometers to check we keep the rooms at a safe temperature.”

“As we can’t remember anything like this happeningbefore we hope you will print this letter to show everyone concerned our sincere appreciation and thanks. Here’s hoping they will have as warm a Christmas and New Year as we shall.”

The letter was printed in the Congleton Chronicle shortly afterwards.

The award-winning team at Plus Dane has been adding to its collection of honours - scooping two more titles.First, the in-house team of gas engineers and apprentices was nominated by their regional CORGI representative foroutstanding levels of service and quality. The team received CORGI Certification in November 2007, a status achieved by less than 100 CORGI installers from a total of over 65,000.

They went on to be named as theCORGI Installer of the Year for CentralEngland. The Awards were held at the RICOH Arena in Coventry, andhosted by comedian Michael McIntyrefrom TV show Mock the Week.

Dane Group's in-house gas teamservices and maintains gas installationsacross the group's Cheshire region. It also provides specialist services,installing renewable energy sourcessuch as solar panels. These servicesare also available to private customersand the team brings in £1million ofbusiness each year.

New Business Manager Mark Daviestold us: "This award is a tribute to thehard work, skills and dedication of ourteam. We're really proud to havereceived such recognition."

Further success came at the UK Excellence Awards in London, held in the presence of HRH the Princess Royal,patron of the British Quality Foundation.

Dane were given a prestigious NationalAchievement Award for their outstanding customer care.

Paul Robinson, Excellence Director atPlus Dane, said: "We are absolutelythrilled to win this Award. We feel it isrecognition of our total commitment to customers.

"The Special Achievement Awards are made to organisations from all sectors, both private sector and voluntaryorganisations, from across the UKdemonstrating the best in Excellence. We feel particularly proud to be arepresentative for social housing, having been ranked along-side some of the most successful organisations in the UK."

Mike Doran, Managing Director for Cheshire, added: "I am particularly pleased by the result because the judges noted the real sense of pride taken by staff in their work and for the neighbourhoods we serve.

"Our citation noted our high level of customer satisfaction in all aspects of the business. Tenants are particularly satisfied and these outstanding results have been achieved through Dane's commitment to customers which is evident throughout the organisation."

Winners

New kids on the block...Phil PembertonPhil Pemberton has joined us as Neighbourhood Director [Property and Procurement].

He is responsible for maintenance and repair, business planning, and for overseeing our £7.4m investment programme.

Phil joins us directly from Connaught Partnership, where he worked at director level. He has a wealth of experience in the sector, including 20 years in housing at WarringtonBorough Council and then Golden Gates Housing after a successful stock transfer.

Phil places customer service and customer involvement high on his list of priorities, and is so far enjoying the challenge and satisfaction of working with Plus Dane. He says: “Our residents are at the heart of everything we do, and I am very muchlooking forward to developing my role.”

Although he has an office in Shepherd’s Mill, Phil is very much ‘out and about’ acrossthe group, and by now a familiar face in most Plus Dane venues.

Phil has two children, and enjoys keeping fit and playing football.

Michelle DavisMichelle arrived at Plus Dane as new Neighbourhood Manager at the start of November - andpromptly left again to go on holiday for four weeks!

Before taking up her new role at Shepherd’s Mill, Michelle and her family had arranged a trip toAustralia to see friends. Now, though, she is back and very much in the swing of things, managingher team of five housing officers.

Michelle previously worked for Congleton Borough Council as Senior Housing DevelopmentOfficer, and before that in the homelessness team.

She has two children - a son aged nine and a daughter aged 12 - and is so far loving her new rolewith Plus Dane. She says: “I really enjoy working here, everyone is really friendly and committed towhat they are doing, and so far I love my new job.”

Paula ThompsonPaula recently joined Plus Dane Group as Neighbourhood Investment Manager at Evolvein Bootle. She joins the Group from Wigan and Leigh Housing where she was DeputyArea Housing Manager.

Paula began her career in housing as a school leaver, she was employed by WiganCouncil on a youth training scheme and progressed to repairs assistant. After two years,her career changed direction and she went to work in the private sector working as aBranch Manager and then Development Manager across the North West. Paula returnedto housing in 2002.

She says: “I like the ethos of bringing customers into the company, allowing them tohave choice and input into the decisions made.”

She also likes the fact that the senior management team are accessible and take thetime to meet new members of staff and make them feel welcome.

Plus Dane has welcomed some new starters to the group, in a variety of roles. Here we say ‘hello’ to a few of the new members of the team.

and welcome to…

Yvonne Davies, Steve Bowyer, Samuel Newton, Joanne Fynney, Samantha Mills, Sarah Higgins, Amy Harding, Lewis Jackson,Linda Chapman, Jennifer Connolly, Michael Parsons, Michael Neilson, Paula Ellis, Lucy Christian, Victor Twagirumwami, Clare Feeney, Carol Parker, Claire Lloyd, Peter Dodd, John Irvine, Richard Leahy, Karl Duffy, David Hindley, Kiel La Cruz, Gerald Aryeety, Brett Williams, Ray Fowles, Darren Dixon, Wayne Leary, Michael Broadfoot, Ben Carpenter, Sandy Rourke, Neil Hill, Anne Lundon, Terence O’Neil…

Who have all joined Plus Dane since November.

George PattulloretiresFamily, friends and colleagues gathered together to bid a fondfarewell to longstanding CDS board member, George Pattullo,at his retirement party on Friday 5 December.

George retired after serving almost 30 years as a CDS Boardmember. His contribution to the growth and development of CDSover this period has been outstanding.

George first became involved with CDS as an advocate on behalfof a housing co-operative in Dingle. He became Chair of the CDS Board in 1993 and has also been a Board member of NewGeneration Housing Association and Include NeighbourhoodRegeneration.

During the evening, held at the Racquets Club in Liverpool,George was presented with a ‘This is Your Life’ style photobookaccompanied by a presentation from former Chair, Roger Morris.

Managing Director Clare Budden said: “George has been one ofthose board members you can always rely on, he has rarelymissed a meeting or event we have organised and always makesa contribution.

“His dedication and commitment to the organisation has beenamazing and he has always made sure that CDS continues tolisten to its customers, involve them in all it does, and delivergood services and excellent quality homes. He has seen manychanges in his time and has supported the development of manynew initiatives which, at the time seemed risky but with hindsightwere exactly the right things to do.”

George was delighted to see so many of his family, friends andcolleagues, past and present, there to help him celebrate hisretirement. George is really passionate about the work he hasbeen involved in with CDS and hopes to continue working in thefuture with Plus Dane.

Singing their hearts out:Anne Steel & Nicola Andrews

Staff admiring the talentPlus Dane rat pack:

Dave Tai, John Foster, Kevin Clifford & Ian Reed

Impressed staff:Andrea Moore, Clare Murray

Reach for the stars:Top L-R Brenda O’Farrell, Jackie Connolly, Julie Surridge

Bottom L-R Caroline McCann & Amy Done

Contestants

see the Vibe

Elvis is alive!... oh no, it’s Paula ThompsonDancing Queens: Maria O’Brien & Clare Budden

The Judges: Phil Pemberton [Simon], Maggie Dobson [Sharon] & Denis Hogg [Louis]

Has Dave Tai got the X Factor?

The Old Spice Girls:Anne Steel, Noreen Fallon, Julie Gaudie, Paula Thompson & Nicola Andrews

Kevin and John get tied up

Party time: Jayne Skinner, Elaine Bright, Tony Kiely & Karin Webster

Cheers: Clare Mawdsley, Ruth Lee & Val Anderson

Come dine with me:Judith Martin, Silvanna Kenny, Maggie Dobson, Bob Jones

Denis Hogg, Dawn Morris, Julia McKeown & Ian Kelly

KIP’s Christmas lunch:Daniel O’Donnell, Ian Kelly, Alex Garcia, Julie Walker, Chris Sharrock, Ashley Oldfield,Tom Jackson, Amanda Waldron, Howard Jones, Ann Foy, Daniel Sayle & Paul Billington

Here come the girls: Amanda Waldron, Tina Peet, Judith Martin & Leanne Brady

No papararazzi please: Alex Garcia

Kenny Higham collecting his ‘Building Bridges’award for his work to deal with Anti-Social Behaviour

Three’s company:Sandra Sayle, Howard Jones & Jayne Phillips

Cheshire Staff Children’s Party

Please send your pictures for the next issue of Vibe to vibe@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

see the Vibe

Erika Rushton at the Youth Voice event All together: Emma Hartley, Clare Feeney, Dennis Lally & Anna Abbie

Twisting the Night Away: Gemma Tuzio & Stephen McNicholas

Residents Beat the Chill with Father Christmas & Emma Sneyd

Merseyside Staff Children’s Party

Adrian Pennington, Business Supportand Project Development Manager,tells us how a wet weekend inShropshire CAN be fun…

Walking and running eight miles?Sleeping under a tree? Completing anassault course? Does this sound like fun?

Perhaps it doesn’t, but the satisfactionand warm glow we had after taking part in the Executive Stretch weekend made it all worthwhile.

The event was organisation by SaBRE, who assist and promoteorganizations that employ reservists.

Myself and colleagues from Plus Dane met up at Shrewsburybarracks for briefings, a great curry and one or two drinks at thesubsidized bar! Saturday started at 5am being shouted at to get up,then on to Nesscliffe training site.

The teams had to enact tasks as diverse asnegotiating a Militia blockade to extracting trappedtanks and military vehicles.

After setting up our sleeping arrangements - a plastic sheet tied between trees in the woods - we were amazed to be lead to an old large brickshippon to have a surprise evening dinner, all themore surprising after we had been advised to stay in our wet muddy clothing as there would be nightactivities. It was a surreal experience to have achampagne reception in what appeared to be a 5* restaurant, which an hour before had been a far less inviting place.

We were met by Anne Ward and her husbandRichard and many other Army dignitaries who all contributed to this wonderful evening.

At 6am we were awoken by our section leader, to face the much feared assault course. After watchingthe ten section leaders [all soldiers] struggle to clear the famous brick wall we knew we wouldstruggle. We hatched a plan to ensure we acted asteam, which certainly paid off as we came secondand narrowly missed the fastest time, in doing so beating a team of fire fighters who were all huge!

The final event was a bridge building competition, we had an hour to build a bridge out of hemp rope, 6x2 timber planks two railway sleepers and two pallets, the winner being the one that spanned the furthest.

At the end of the hour the Brigadier tested eachbridge. Despite a few toe curling moments as ourbridge sagged, it held and we came third.

We had so many laughs and learned a lot about ourselves and teamwork.

weekend Vibe

Three cheers for Dennis

Dennis Lally, Enterprise Consultant,has become a fully qualifiedChartered Surveyor after passing his Assessment of ProfessionalCompetency by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Dennis is one of only ten RICSmembers in the country who havegained entry through the HousingCompetency Framework, and he did so after a demanding two yearprocess.

After extensive on-the-job training and studying, including a 3000 wordanalysis, Dennis faced the final hurdlein October last year, whenhe was interviewed bythree members of RICS,and delivered apresentation.

He said: “Obviously I am delighted tohave passed - andquite relieved aswell!”

Three passes at NVQ3

Three members of staff have passedtheir NVQ level 3 in Health and SocialCare [Adults]. Congratulations toFrank Daw, Christine Amphlett andCarol Ditcher, who are all CommunitySupport Co-ordinators within thesheltered housing department inCheshire.

They received in-house training andwere assessed in the workplace.

Baby boom

The stork has been particularly busywithin Plus Dane recently - deliveringfour beautiful baby girls to staff.

In December, 3 members of staff inCheshire had new arrivals - FinancialDirector [Neighbourhoods] Viv Crossgave birth to Scarlett Gabrielle;Neighbourhood Officer Kelly Johnsonwelcomed Evie May into the world, and Lily May was born to May Sheard.

In Merseyside Louise Davies, Head ofBusiness Development, gave birth to8lb 9oz Lucy in February.

We wish them all good luck copingwith the sleepless nights!

Scarlett Cross

Dennis Lally

Lucy Davies

I do...A honeymoon in the Isle of Skye and Scotland was the follow-up tothe wedding of Colin Mountford and Nicola Hunter. Colin, businesssupport supervisor at Shepherd’s Mill, married Nicola at the ManorHouse Hotel in Alsager.

Tanya Barber - formerly Tanya Darman - married John atMacclesfield Registry Office, before a bit of a do at the Vale Club in Congleton. Tanya, business support admin at Shepherd’s Mill,and John then went on honeymoon in Crete.

Both weddings took place over the summer.

Me and my petIf you think that a dog - or a cat, fish or guinea pig! - is man’s best friend, then this is the column for you.

We will be featuring Plus Dane staff and their pets in each edition of Vibe.

We start off with two cute dogs, owned by Sue Brown, PA to Anne Ward and JaynePhillips, and Howard Jones, Knowledgeand Information Management Director.

Sue’s new best friend is a CockerSpaniel pup called Merlin. Shesays: “I know I am biased, but he is so cute! Every time I see thispicture it makes me smile.”

Howard’s terrier Annie was rescued by Plus Dane staff after being abandoned at aproperty. Howard says: “I took one look at her and was smitten. She really is a lovely dog andhas fit into life at homevery well.”

Merlin

Sue

AnnieHoward with Annie

Did you feel the Vibe?We hope you have enjoyed this first edition of Vibe magazine. If you have - let us know. And if you haven’t - let usknow why! We are keen to get yourfeedback about what you enjoyed, whatyou didn’t, and what else you might like to see in the next edition.

The team here would also love to hear from anybody who would like to take part in the next Vibe - for example, would youlike to follow in the footsteps of our intrepid

traveller, Phil Lillywhite, and share YourPassion? It can be a place, a person, apastime - whatever you love doing, we lovehearing about. Or is there a restaurant, bar,or shop that you’ve discovered and wouldlove to recommend to colleagues via Vibe?Maybe you’d like to see your pet featuredin our cute and cuddly column!

To share your news, views and reviews,please contact the Vibe team atvibe@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

Staff changes

Good luck to Lynsey Dusterloh,Executive Assistant to Ken Perry, whowent on maternity leave at the end ofJanuary. Her baby is due in earlyMarch.

She has been replaced by JulieSurridge, PA to Clare Budden, whoseposition will be filled by Debbie Forsy.

Charity fundraising results

Staff across the group raised moneyfor various good causes in recentmonths.

Children in Need received a £50donation; breast cancer awareness day Wear It Pink raised morethan £100 and Jeans forGenes is £274 better off.

Christmas also gave usthe chance tocontribute to charities- with £113 going to theAlder Hey Imagine Appealfrom staff based in Rodney Street, and around £900 going in to the Beat the Chill campaign in place of sending Christmas cards.

Blooming lovely!

Staff from In Environmental Servicesand Neighbourhood InterventionOfficer Ruth Webster helped children from St Finbar’s School inLiverpool 8 plant some spring bulbs in land near their school.

The planting day was part of a bigger project run in partnershipbetween Plus Dane, Liverpool City Council, Arena Housing andLiverpool Mutual Homes in the area.

Around 1,200 bulbs were planted, and more than 100 local children took part.

Ruth Webster

Reality TV has hit our screens and left an impression on our staff...

Ben Clay, Head of Home Ownership certainly has the X Factor when it comes to his look-alike Leon Jackson.

Customer Care Advisor Amy Harding is the spitting image of Dancing on Ice’s Holly Willoughby.

If you have any suggestions for celebrity look-alikes please send them tovibe@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

MyPassionsby Phil Lillywhite

look-a l ikesCelebrity

Produced by Plus Dane Communications and printed on 100% recycled stockcontact us at vibe@neighbourhoodinvestor.com

Vibe rreeccoommmmeennddss.... ..Lunch in Liverpool: Ashley Oldfield, Helpdesk Analyst inRodney Street, suggests the Renshaw Grill on Renshaw Street. He says: “It’s close to the office, the food is great, it’s quite fast,and you can get a three course meal for £10, as well asbottomless refills on your soft drinks.” www.therenshawgrill.co.uk

A Day Out With The Animals: Liz Miller, Marketing and Events Officer, recommends the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay. She says: “It is really good value compared to some of the other zoos, there’s a nice picnic area, and you can also enjoy the sea lion show and the March of the Penguins. Great for the young and the young at heart!” www.welshmountainzoo.org

Classy in Congleton: Sharon Smith, Supported HousingManager in Cheshire, is all in favour of The Pavilion, a bar and grillbased in the picturesque surroundings of Congleton Park, near to the Shepherd’s Mill office. She says: “It’s great for an occasion,or if you just want to go somewhere nice for lunch or dinner.”www.pavilionbarandgrill.com

Paris in the Springtime: Emma Sneyd, NeighbourhoodInvolvement Manager at Shepherd’s Mill, enjoys a quick trip toParis. She says: “It is easy and cheap to fly to from the NorthWest, a fantastic city to see for a weekend. We stayed at the Hotel 123, five minutes from the Champs Elysee and round thecorner from the fashion houses.” www.paris-le123.com

To travel or to arrive?...…is rather a nonsense question in a way, but what emphasis you place on each can change.

As a child, growing up in Surrey, we used to go on holiday to a caravan on the Sussex coast. That was a real adventure then.

As I got older, I travelled further afield - living in Finland for a time when I was a student, doingsome voluntary work in India, and spending time onthe West coast of America.

In 2000, I decided to haveanother go at travelling for my annual holiday. The excitement of puttingtogether my own rough itinerary,and the prospect of different cultures and

landscapes were an important part of theholiday. So, in four consecutive years I went toCosta Rica, Chile, Ecuador, and Jordan. The reality pretty much matched the expectation. I should point out that I’m a bitof a birdwatcher, and there were plenty of exciting species to beseen in fascinating habitats.

Then I rather ‘lost’ it. Travel, especially if it involved airports,became harder work, and I felt that I wanted to be somewhereas opposed to getting there. So, I then indulged my love ofsmall islands by staying on some in West Ireland - I dorecommend Tory Island off Donegal. Bit of a hairy sea crossing,but a fascinating place. It has its own ‘king’ and a unique ToryIsland style of landscape painting by local artists. Holidays forthe last 3 years have been spent in a croft on the eastern tip ofSanday in the Orkney Islands off Northern Scotland. Nearest

building is the lighthouse, and the closest neighbours areseabirds and seals. Lots of wind, big skies, and no streetlights - marvellous!

As much of my work for Plus Dane is focused on people,the lack of this species on holiday is a most welcomechange. I need to be a bit careful though - could end up as a hermit in a cave!

Travel well and enjoy being there! Sanday, Orkney Island

Tory Island, Ireland

Rain forest, Costa Rica