“Finish what you’re doing and go home,” David Mac was told. “We’re done here.”
He wasn’t the only one to hear that.
Over spring and summer in 2020, thousands of people were getting the same instructions.
The pandemic had done quick and serious damage since its arrival in Britain in March; halting work, shrinking the economy, and leaving millions furloughed or unemployed.
One of the other (many) people left without work was David’s close friend – and best man at his wedding – Aidan.
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The pair had originally met during their time in the army, remaining pals long after they’d left the forces to set up their own respective businesses (David in camera installation, Aidan in the security industry).
Coronavirus had taken out both their companies in one fell swoop.
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“Everything fizzled out overnight,” Aidan tells us.
“In my line of work, we rely heavily on events that just weren’t happening any more. It really hit us hard.”
Fortunately, army experience gives you the kind of discipline and perspective required to stay cool in a crisis.
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Dave and Aidan understood the bigger picture – and they even had an idea of how they might be able to help.
The duo had dedicated years to protecting Britain on the ground. Now, they wanted to guard people from the invisible threat of COVID-19.
Dave and Aidan in their army days
Both Dave and Aidan had purchased PPE in large quantities during the early part of the pandemic – just like many companies across the UK.
During that time, they’d learned a few things.
First, they’d spotted that most PPE was being manufactured in Asia rather than here in Britain – so there was a gap in the market. But most importantly of all, they realised that the industry was surprisingly unscrupulous.
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Despite PPE’s new status as a health essential (in some instances required by law) the markup some companies were placing on products was astonishing.
People were being ripped off left, right and centre, and Dave and Aidan wanted to do something to stop it.
“Honestly, there are so many horror stories about people paying hundreds of pounds for bottles of hand sanitiser,” David says, with more than a touch of frustration in his tone.
“People everywhere have been getting let down or overcharged or both.
“It’s not on, to be honest.”
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It was clear to David and Aidan that they could provide PPE more effectively – and ethically – than some of the existing suppliers already out there.
As a result, Nightingale PPE was born – a brand that has since supplied all the equipment required during the pandemic (including masks, hand sanitisers, visors, gloves, aprons, and antibacterial wipes) for affordable prices.
Nightingale currently operates out of two locations; one down south and another just around the corner in Manchester.
Clients range from Premiership football clubs, to schools, to local residents – with the duo having also struck partnerships with organisations in the local community (even becoming a sponsor for Romsey Football Club).
They’re also hosted a competition on Facebook – covering the Christmas costs for a deserving family, up to the value of £1,000 – and spoke to the winner on Zoom.
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“For us it’s about building relationships,” says David, explaining the Nightingale philosophy.
“Whether it’s a big organisation or an individual – everyone gets the same treatment.
“We make a bit of profit, but what we’re most concerned about is making sure people get a fair deal.”
Nightingale is no flickering candle, either.
As Aidan says, it was never their intention to make a million pound overnight.
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“We’re not here to make a quick buck,” he explains.
“We’ve got a national reach now but we want to keep that personal touch.
“Our focus for the future is bringing even more local people into the mix and buying British.”
Nightingale is here for the long haul – doubling its headcount over the past few weeks (with aims to bring in several more members of staff moving ahead).
“We’re trying to build this new business – and we reckon it’s got legs – that is known for what it is: A reliable, trusted place to go for PPE,” Dave tells us.
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“There’s four of us here right now, but we’ve got plans to keep growing throughout next year.
“The intention is to create some local jobs and become the go-to place for PPE in the UK.”
They may no longer be in the forces together, but Dave and Aidan’s instinct for protecting people remains very much intact.
Learn more about Nightingale PPE and see what products they have for sale by visiting their website.
The company is also hosting a competition on Facebook for a family in need to win £1,000. Click here to learn more.
Business
Manc architects submit plans to demolish 1970s office block and make way for new residential area
Danny Jones
A Manchester-based architects has submitted promising proposals to demolish an old 1970s-era office block and make way for a brand new residential community in Stockport.
The vision seems fairly ambitious and lofty – pun intended – but the potential outcome could be stunning.
Ollier Smurthwaite (OS) Architects are the local practice behind the new housing plans, which will not only provide nearly 300 new homes but also bring part of the Stopfordian skyline down; it’s not often you hear of things getting lower when so much of Greater Manchester just keeps building up.
Sharing the first proper glimpse at what they hope the redeveloped corner of the busy A6 main road will look like, many have been pleased to see familiar red brick and a traditional feel as opposed to more glass towers.
Writing a lengthy caption alongside the social media post, the OS state, “We are preparing a planning application for the St Christopher’s site in Stockport.
“Located at the prominent junction of Wellington Road South and Longshut Lane, the proposal aims to transform the prominent corner by demolishing the existing 10-storey 1970s office block to make way for a new residential community.
“The proposals are for a modern ‘mansion’ block with taller ceilings, more windows, better communal areas and private gardens.”
It remains to be seen at what price point these apartments will be available for.
Promising a total of 278 ‘new dwellings’, the scheme will crucially see the height of the existing plot lowered to fall in line with other neighbouring properties, as St Christopher’s House currently sits well above the nearby terraces and its metropolitan style does stand out against the surrounding brickwork.
The early reception to the proposed plans looks to be largely positive, too, with one user commenting online, “A very nice looking building with character. More of these please”; another went so far as to add, “These are the sort of modern buildings that will become grade listed.”
It’s also worth showcasing what exactly these blueprints look like when they’re brought to life, such as another development over in Longsight:
Render vs Reality. We recently completed our Daisy Bank scheme in Longsight Manchester for 72 new homes. The scheme takes contextual references from Dalton Ellis Hall & Victoria Park Christian Fellowship in the adjacent conservation area.@createstreets@archi_tradition… pic.twitter.com/DasRUtaylh
Safe to say that seeing what businesses trying to regenerate boroughs actually deliver compared to their initial mock-ups is always useful.
The award-winning firm goes on to add that “the building will be deliberately stepped back from the pavement to create a planted tree-lined avenue”, which will also revolve around a central courtyard and residents’ gardens, with ground-floor flats benefitting from private patios.
CGIs of shared communal roof terraces also give the designs that added modern look, with few other places in the vicinity offering this kind of space. It could be a welcome addition to the region that is already going through plenty of change at the minute.
Another big construction scheme is the one being carried out by Capital and Centric over the new Weir Mill district, which could be transformational for the town centre.
Internet signals reportedly ‘100x faster on the moon’ than on some UK trains
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: according to a recent study, internet signals on some UK trains are currently estimated to be 100x slower than they would be on… wait for it: the actual MOON.
Give us strength – and by that we mean signal strength.
As per new analysis carried out by Good Business Travel (GBT), research into some of the worst-connected train routes across Great Britain has delivered a rather depressing evaluation of our telecommunications systems and railways.
While some may certainly be better than others, it’s fair to say that we’ve all been there; you’re trying to have a call or use even a crumb of your data on a train before you ultimately give up and start arbitrarily looking through your photo library.
Put a man on the moon ✅ Cure diseases ✅
Get wifi on a fucking train. ABSOLUTELY NOT. NOOOO WAYYYYYY.
As damning and hyperbolic a claim as it might sound, GBT have indeed found that when compared against Ofcom’s benchmark for reliable internet performance (5Mbit/s), not a single train journey consistently meets the regulator’s standard.
Anyone who’s ever done Manchester to London and vice versa will know all too well how frustrating it can be to get a steady signal during your journey.
Never mind, eh? You know, they’re only two of the most modern and digitally-driven cities in the entire country – foolish of us to expect the key North-South link would carry over to internet connection.
Regarding train WiFi, hit and miss is putting it mildly, and even if you’re lucky enough to be on one that actually has a decent signal, it’s only a matter of time before the carriages fill up and throttle everyone’s connection, and it becomes patchy at best.
In what might be one of the slightest consolations ever, you’ll be glad to hear the LDN-MCR speeds are only the seventh worst in the nation, managing just 16% when it came to the average mobile network ‘Good Performance’ by Ofcom standards. You can see the unwanted top 10 leaderboard in full below.
The worst UK train journeys for mobile connectivity
Rank
Route
Average mobile network Good Performance (Ofcom)
1
Basingstoke to Coventry
6%
2
Sheffield to Doncaster
12%
3
Taunton to Leeds
13%
4
London to Edinburgh
14%
5
London to East Midlands Parkway
14%
6
Bedford to London St Pancras Peak
15%
7
London to Manchester
16%
8
London to Glasgow
18%
9
London to Plymouth
24%
10
London to Bournemouth
25%
Put simply, a staggering number of domestic train journeys fail the litmus test for what would be considered even a decent connection.
It’s got to the point now that there are even people starting nationwide campaigns to help generate awareness around upgrading telecoms infrastructure across the UK, with trains being one of the biggest challenges in this country.
Speaking on the report, Good Business Travel’s Client Experience Director, Natasha Inglis, said in a statement: “Millions of people travel by train every week expecting to work, stream, message friends or simply stay connected.
“Instead, they’re met with frozen video calls, emails that won’t send and endless buffering. While improvements to Britain’s rail connectivity have been promised by the government, passengers still have to deal with unreliable coverage every day. There are a few tricks that can help in the meantime.
“Many people don’t realise that sitting on the side of the train facing nearby towns or major roads can improve your signal because you’re closer to mobile masts. It’s also worth switching your phone to 4G instead of allowing it to constantly search for weak 5G signals, which often makes connectivity even less reliable on moving trains.”
But hey, things are slowly getting better if reports are to be believed, with satellite-enabled mobile services gradually being rolled out, meaning traditional ‘deadzones’/signal blackspots may not be as big of a problem as they once were. Touch wood.
For now, we’re just going to keep making sure we’ve got a decent book with us and enjoy taking a break from endless screentime.
The Manc -
14th December 2020 
