Irish Window Cleaner Wows Dragons In New Series

Window cleaner wows Dragons in new series: A former labourer named James has come up with a business idea that's being hailed as a "phenomenon around the world" on the new series of Dragons' Den. He was one of 19 delighted entrepreneurs who managed to entice some cash out of Dragons Sean O'Sullivan, Norah Casey, Gavin Duffy, Niall O'Farrell and Bobby Kerr.

And producer Larry Bass explained that contestants are becoming far more inventive with their ideas in the recession. "The Dragons are all looking for quality investment opportunities and there was no shortage of them," he said. "There's a guy named James in episode three who has completely reinvented himself from being a self-taught brickie and, like thousands of people around the country, once the recession hit, he got laid off.

"He started again with a window washing business just to get back into the workforce and then he came up with a totally new idea for the Dragons. It's something that's going to be a phenomenon around the world. "This guy is the type of character who just gets on with it and would always do well."

The new series, which starts tomorrow night on RTE One, has seen the biggest amount of investment to date, with the dragons ploughing some €800,000 into new Irish business ideas. Mr Bass added: "The whole series has a different feel, there's real quality ideas coming in and having Sean join the Dragons has lifted the competitive nature of the show."

Window Cleaning News With Shepherd's, Ferrari's, Jim Beam & Pitted Glass

State drops complaints against Shepherd’s: The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has dropped its two-year investigation of prevailing wage law complaints against the Shepherd’s Co. of Fulton, a faith-based construction company. Shepherd’s Co. also operates as a window cleaning firm and does business in Fulton, Jefferson City, Columbia, and the Lake of the Ozarks. It has more than 2,000 commercial and residential accounts in Central Missouri. The state agency has reached a non-monetary settlement with Shepherd’s Co. Under the settlement, the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations admits its long and costly investigation of the Fulton company failed to find any violations of state prevailing wage laws.
Tom Mahaney, Shepherd’s general manager, said last year the firm had expenses and lost business costs of at least $1.5 million that are associated with the state agency’s investigation of the firm. Scott Charton, a spokesman for Shepherd’s, said he believes total expenses for the firm, including costs associated with forming a new company and legal costs, eventually will total more than $2 million. The settling parties admit to no violations of state or federal law or authority in the agreement, Charton said. The settlement agreement provides that no notice of violation of Missouri’s prevailing wage or minimum wage laws will be made by the department on Shepherd’s projects that have been under investigation.
Shepherd’s Co. issued a statement saying that the “essential faith underpinning the Shepherd’s Company partnership has not changed, nor will it change. Shepherd’s Company is hopeful the settlement with the state satisfies any concerns or possible concerns that any public governmental bodies may have, or have expressed in the past. In the spirit of Christian forgiveness and fellowship, Shepherd’s is moving on, and looks forward to continuing its high quality service and workmanship for all clients, private, corporate and governmental.” Shepherd’s will continue operating as a partnership but will also form a separate corporation that will be used to bid on government contracts that are covered by state prevailing wage laws.
During the investigation, Labor Department Director Larry Rebman had written letters to Columbia Public Schools and the Missouri Department of Transportation telling them that the firm was the subject of a wage hour violation investigation. That prompted both government agencies to discontinue projects with Shepherd’s. After asking for extensive records from the firm, Shepherd’s Co. filed a federal lawsuit against Rebman and Carla Buschjost, director of the department’s Division of Labor Standards. In their federal lawsuit against the state agency, Shepherd’s Co. accused the state agency of  not providing due process to the company under the U.S. Constitution.
Based on unnamed complaints, the state agency began the investigation in 2009 that Shepherd’s Co. was outbidding union competitors. The state asked Shepherd’s to turn over virtually all of its financial records, customer lists, payroll records and numerous other documents. Shepherd’s fought the requests for a year and then turned the records over in 2010. It later filed the federal lawsuit against the state agency. Mark Comley, a Jefferson City attorney representing Shepherd’s Co., said Wednesday as part of the settlement he has dropped the federal lawsuit.
Comley said the company is now organized as a general partnership. Comley said as part of the settlement agreement, the firm will become a subchapter S corporation. “That will create a better paper trail for payroll and record keeping. Shepherd’s Co. has agreed to do this as part of the settlement,” Comley said. Shepherd’s Co. is operated by Shepherdsfield Community, a faith-based group that lives in a communal lifestyle. Members of the community voluntarily contribute their earnings to the community and they all share in proceeds from business ventures.
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Dragon slayer Tony Earnshaw driven by Ferrari fantasy: As a 12-year-old lad Tony Earnshaw was in the back of a police car waiting to be taken from his foster parents to a council care home when a Ferrari sports car flashed by. He told the officer: “I can’t wait to get one of those.” According to Tony the officer replied: “Son, where you are going, there is only one way to get one of those - you would have to steal it”. He said the words have has stayed with him ever since. Fast forward 13 years and he is on Dragons’ Den, the hit BBC TV programme for wannabe entrepreneurs - although more often, a graveyard for dreams. He and colleague Steve Pearson deliver a smooth presentation asking for £100,000 so they can take their commercial cleaning business nationwide.

On the panel was North East-based tycoon Duncan Bannatyne, who offers the full £100,000 for a 35% in the business, which they accept. A further 12 months on, with Duncan’s regular input, the company has won new contracts worth around £2m and the future is looking very bright for Tony. A far cry from when he walked into the council care home. He described how there were metal bars on the windows while in the pool room the cues were chained to the floor so they couldn’t be used as weapons in fights. Tony said: “Don’t get me wrong, the staff were very good and tried their best to make you feel at home. But at that age it is still the last place you want to be.”

Without naming names, he said one fellow resident at the time suffered a drug-related death while others have fallen into a life of crime. But Tony went a different way. He persuaded the man in charge of the care home in County Durham to let him go to Biddick Comprehensive School near his former family home in Washington, Tyne and Wear. As he had been bullied and taken into care after his single mum was taken into hospital, Tony was barely able to read or write but progressed rapidly. By 15, he had a milk round and his first taste of working life. At 16 he left school with eight GCSEs to go into sales by day, flipping burgers by night in his first business venture - a £50 fast- food trailer. With a brisk nightclub trade, he made £3,000 in a matter of months - then sold the business for £2,000. He bought a window-cleaning round for £300 which made him his money back in the first fortnight. Six months later, he sold that business for £6,000. Tony said: “I turned up to buy the round with an two big drums of water in a clapped-out old van which was like something out of Only Fools and Horses.“But my entrepreneurial spirit was really taking hold by then and I knew that I wanted to pursue my dream - and get that Ferrari. Despite all my problems I was always business-minded. “I told the window-cleaning business man I was going to build up the biggest cleaning company in the North East and he just laughed and said: ‘I will be watching you.’ But within six months I had my own depot, two vans and I was the biggest, taking £6,000-a-month.” He again sold that for a healthy profit, taking £16,000, before an HND in business helped him establish UK Commercial Cleaning Services in 2007. The company has expanded, now covering Newcastle, Sunderland, Teesside, Leeds and London, with franchises in the pipeline for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The Dragons’ Den appearance helped him pick up the Institute of Directors North East Young Director of the Year Award. He now employs 40 staff, has a £200,000 house in Durham and a £30,000 Range Rover as he bides his time for that long-awaited Ferrari that cost between £140,000 and an eye popping £1.2m brand new. Probably in red,” he said. “I am not there yet, but I will get it,” said Tony, who is single, and whose mum Sandra, 42, is now well again and studying to be a chef while his younger brother Gavin, 21, is at university. “Just because I went into care did not mean that I was going to be a loser. I was there for two years and there were some bad boys who had been kicked out of mainstream school. Many may have ended up in prison, but by 14 I knew I had to change and stand on my own two feet. “Nobody was going to do that for me, but I did not want to go to jail. The key is ambition but problems in your past do not mean you cannot do something with your life. “Everyone is born the same way - there is no reason why you cannot achieve the same things.”

Residents claim bad propane ruined homes: Consumers, who had purchased what they believed to be a safe and reliable product, have discovered the hard way that may not always be the case. Bob Eskew and Linda Maxwell, Margie Southern Woodrum and Jackie and Shirley Jiles are among the growing list of local consumers who know the problems of dealing with propane gas allegedly contaminated by fluorine. Contaminated propane allegedly caused etching in the glass in their homes, but even worse are the health issues involved. Eskew and Woodrum have lost most of their vision. Both have undergone significant health concerns in the last few years, including ongoing respiratory problems and flu-like symptoms. For years they have unsuccessfully fought a battle to get the company responsible for the sale of the allegedly contaminated fuel, Green Country Propane Sales Inc., to pay for damages to their homes and medical expenses. Green County Propane purchased the propane from Coffeyville Resources and Refining and Marketing LLC of Kansas.

Pictured above: The window may look like a good washing would help, but Linda Maxwell tried washing the glass in picture frames and in the windows of her home, west of Sallisaw, to no avail. Maxwell claims glass and metal objects were pitted and etched by contaminated propane gas.

Too much Jim Beam in the Kitchen? Dan Kitchen withdraws from council appointment race: Whiskey apparently played a part in Dan Kitchen’s decision to throw his hat in the ring for a soon-to-be-vacated Aspen City Council seat, and the fact that he has too many good ideas is why he withdrew his application on Tuesday, Kitchen said. “They aren’t going to pick you,” said Kitchen, quoting the feedback he got from family and friends on his decision to pursue a temporary appointment to fill Councilman Dwayne Romero’s seat. “They said, ‘you’re a caveman, you have too many good ideas.’”
Kitchen jokingly admitted on Tuesday that when he considered serving in public office and subsequently submitted his application earlier this month, he had been drinking Jim Beam and wasn’t thinking clearly. Add that to his belief that since the planet is going to self-destruct anyway, Kitchen, 58, said traveling for the next year, and spending time with friends and family, sounds like a better plan. Besides, the window washer said he’d be too frustrated with the slow bureaucratic pace of government - noting that he first suggested bear-proof trash cans in 1992 and it took years for local governments to require them, and he’s been waiting for a solution to the entrance to Aspen for decades. 

He also said he wouldn’t be a good candidate because he’s technologically illiterate. “They’d have to have special meetings for me,” to follow along, Kitchen said. With Kitchen out of the running, there are eight Aspen residents vying for the two-month appointment. Romero will vacate the seat on Monday so he can take a job as Gov. John Hickenlooper’s economic development director.

Window Cleaning News

Missouri — Tuesday was so hot & sticky it wrapped around you and held you in a big, sweaty hug. The heat intensified the relief of walking into an air-conditioned building. Naymon Holliman had to add a coat to his ensemble of long pants and work boots before cleaning the windows around the ice rink at the Washington Park Ice Arena in Jefferson City, the ones right along the ice that keep pucks from flying into someone's face.

The UK's Strongest Man competition: That is what happened when window-cleaner Paul Wood lifted the title for the second time in a row at Whitstable Rugby Club, Chestfield, on Sunday. More than 500 fans watched weight-lifter Paul, 39, battle through eight rounds to beat 10 other strongmen and clinch the title in front of a home crowd. Paul, who lives in Cornwallis Circle, managed the feat while sporting a natty pleated skirt. Afterwards he insisted. "It's not a skirt, it's a kilt. "For years, men have worn kilts as warriors. I look on these contests as going into battle. "Besides, it makes me feel good, gives me an edge and the crowd seems to like it."
Paul, a competition veteran, trains at The Cell gym in Faversham, and praised the other competitors. He said: "The contestants were better this year. They all put me under pressure. "I was very nervous before the first challenge, but once I won it I enjoyed the rest of the day."
However, there was drama when Mark Clegg from Manchester – Paul's closest rival – burst his biceps trying to flip a lorry tyre and had to be rushed to hospital. Paul said: "I was sorry to hear about Mark but it's part and parcel of the contest. We are all humans pushing our bodies to the limit. Sometimes things break – it's an occupational hazard." Paul is now fighting against the clock to be fit enough to enter the World Strongman finals in South Africa in six weeks time. Pictured - Paul Woods winner above & Paul flipping a car.

Terrified residents watched in horror as a van exploded in flames in a quiet city cul-de-sac. A woman and her daughter were forced to scramble over their garden wall to escape the blaze outside their property in Edgebaston Mead, near Woodwater Lane in St Loyes. And a series of loud explosions shook residents as the vehicle was engulfed in fire. Witnesses described seeing plumes of black smoke filling the street as people rushed to contact the emergency services. Firefighters feared the blaze would spread to nearby houses and residents in the cul-de-sac told the Echo the heat from the fire was so intense that the paint on cars parked nearby started to melt. Workers were fitting cavity wall insulation when their two-and-a-half-tonne van, which was parked on the driveway outside the house, exploded.
The owner of the property, Geraldine McDonagh, a midwife, described the incident as "absolutely terrifying". "We were in the house when I saw the fire from the window," she said. "We couldn't go out the front as the van was parked outside and all I could see was flames. I was absolutely terrified. We went out to the back garden and climbed up on to the rabbit hutch and on to the shed. "I shouted for my neighbour and luckily the window cleaner was there so he helped us down on his ladder. My legs are all grazed from climbing up to the wall. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue control centre received around 17 calls about the incident, which happened at around 10.30am yesterday.

A North East industrial cleaning business, which secured the backing of TV Dragon, Duncan Bannatyne, has won a major contract with private healthcare firm BUPA. UK Commercial Cleaning Services (UKCC) has been awarded the three-year contract to provide services to 304 Bupa care homes across England, Wales and Scotland, beating a large number of other firms from the commercial cleaning sector. It is the latest success for the Washington-based firm, which won £100,000 backing on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den. Tony Earnshaw, 26, started the business by buying a window cleaning round for £300 when he was 19, turning it into a company with a turnover of more than £1.5m. He said: “We are really looking forward to working alongside BUPA over the next few years. Cleanliness is important in any public setting, but it is a paramount necessity for a respected company such as Bupa. “We pride ourselves on giving the best customer service and working to the highest standards. “I believe this is why we won the contract.” Gary Reed, head of property finance at BUPA Care Services, said “We are committed to ensuring our homes are as clean and well presented as our residents and relatives expect. UK Commercial Cleaning Services demonstrated a professional approach and the ability to cope with our extensive, nationwide portfolio of homes.”

A house, job, healthy body and loving family — these are all things Martin Martinez has. But Martinez spends a great deal of time planning how he can help those without these things. During the community's Independence Day celebration at Palm Springs Stadium, Martinez fed more than 300 people tacos and water which he provided with his own money. “The economy is real hard, and I remember coming to an event one time and I didn't have sufficient money to buy my kids what they needed,” Martinez said. “So I wanted to make sure that no one else had to experience that.” Martinez lends a hand to anyone in need, from the homeless to elderly residents who need rides to their doctor appointments, to kids in need of clothing and school supplies. “I would love to have a van so that I can get the elderly to their appointments and to the store,” he said.
Martinez, who owns a window cleaning company and clothing line, has gotten approval from some of his clients to place boxes in their establishments for donations of shoes, clothing and book bags for kids in school. Boxes will be placed at K-9 Country Club, Palm Liquor, Palm Canyon Tobacco Shop and Calzones Restaurant. Homelessness is another issue that concerns Martinez, who said he has a brother who's homeless because of substance abuse. “It is the drugs that keep him (homeless) and it is his choice to be like this,” Martinez said. “I can't force him to change. He has to want to do it.” Each day Martinez makes the trip out to Sunrise Park to talk to his brother and other homeless people who hang out there. “I come out here and I talk to them. I write everything down about them,” Martinez said. “I keep a profile on each person.”

Brief mention opens a new window on cycling pair: A fleeting mention of Ryde’s distinctive window-cleaning brothers from the Fifties – who got about on bikes with a ladder carried between them - got Tony Lambert writing from Princes Risborough. He said: "I believe their name was either Langdon or Langridge, because I remember they had a sign on their bikes. "They were one of the most familiar sights in Ryde during the Fifties, and when I used to walk to work early in the morning they were always about. "They must have cleaned most of the shop windows in the High Street and Union Street in their time." Well, I can inform Tony their name was indeed Langridge, because the son of one of them – Peter – wrote to tell me. He said: "They were my dad (Tom) and my uncle (Fred). Fred was the older one with a parting through the middle and my father was the one with a parting on the side!"

Oh God! She’s on a crane! In a very literal example of life imitating art, Kelly Brook spent an overcast afternoon dressed in a snazzy pair of Reeboks, standing directly in front of a massive poster of Kelly Brook in a snazzy pair of Reeboks. Anyway, Kelly spent probably around an hour or so voguing for a shaky cameraman - managing to squeeze in a couple of classic “over the shoulder, look at my bum” shots, and at one point she even dared to climb a window cleaner’s crane!

Ding Dong. Times two: Two reasons why officials want to get an application available online soon for residents to sign up for the borough's "Do Not Knock" registry were standing at the mayor's doorstep this weekend — a pair of salespeople who rang his doorbell. "On Saturday afternoon, I was trying to cook and there were two people at the door within an hour and a half," said Mayor Pasquale "Pat" Menna. "One was selling window cleaner and the other selling computer rags." As soon as today or Thursday, Menna expects to have online applications up on the borough website for residents to sign up for the newly created registry that works the same as the national "Do Not Call" telemarketer list. Residents also can fill out an application at police headquarters, in the municipal building at 90 Monmouth St. Borough officials plan to follow the example of Woodbridge, which offers a sticker to warn door-to-door salespeople that the home is on the local "Do Not Knock" registry, Menna said.
Woodbridge, which offers a sticker to warn door-to-door salespeople that the home is on the local "Do Not Knock" registry, Menna said. "We'll duplicate that and have a sticker," Menna said. "We're getting quotes and hope to have them within a week." Last week, Menna warned the council about numerous applications the borough has received for door-to-door sales permits and asked officials to step up an effort to allow residents to apply for the registry online. The two salespeople who rang his bell did not have permits, he said. The law, which was approved in May, does not affect nonprofits or political candidates, so as not to prompt a constitutional challenge on free speech issues.
The list would contain only street addresses and wouldn't identify residents by name, age or gender, Menna said. Salespeople and other door-to-door solicitors, who already are required to register with police, would be given a list of addresses where they're not allowed to ring the doorbell. A similar law in South Plainfield was introduced in April as a response to a home invasion robbery this winter in which robbers posed as snow shovelers. "We want to provide a reasonable safety net for individuals living by themselves, who are concerned about safety," Menna said. "They're entitled to a reasonable degree of privacy."

Drug man an 'idiot' - A dad who tried and failed to grow cannabis in his wardrobe at the family home has been branded an "idiot" by a judge at Doncaster Crown Court. Paul Anthony Meakin was handed a community sentence but was warned it was his last chance and if he offended again he would go to the prison "with the blessing of the community". Mr Outhwaite said Meakin had convictions for possession of cannabis at the same address in 2006 and 2007. There had been other searches of the property when cannabis was found. The window cleaner was also in breach of a suspended prison sentence for a separate matter of affray last year. Defence counsel Richard Sheldon said Meakin had put his liberty and home in jeopardy because of the suspended sentence.

A heroin user who was funding his habit by selling the drug has been jailed for 18 months. Derek Gething turned to dealing after he lost his job as a roofer because of his addiction to the class-A drug. But Gething, 30, was caught with dozens of wraps of the drug stored in a film canister when police raided his house last year. Although he denied he was dealing in heroin, a judge at Swindon Crown Court did not believe him and said the wraps were for commercial supply. Since the arrest he said Gething had stopped using drugs and was at home living with his father, sister and step mother and worked cleaning windows.

Theft from 99p store ends with £100 fine: A recovering drug addict discovered that shoplifting from a 99p store was rather more expensive than actually buying from there after he was fined £50 for stealing a tin of dog food. Jonathan Peacock, 36, was seen putting items into his bag at the 99p Store in Union Street, Aldershot, on July 19, magistrates heard last Thursday (July 29).
Police were called using the town centre traders’ radio system as Peacock headed off to the Iceland supermarket in Victoria Road, prosecutor Ghislaine Watson-Hopkinson said. Two police community support officers stopped Peacock outside Iceland, but as they have no powers of arrest they had to call for back-up from a police officer. Searching his bag, the officers found items from Iceland and dog food from the 99p store, none of which he had paid for, the court was told. While currently out of work and on incapacity benefits, Peacock had previously worked as a window cleaner and was looking to find employment in the near future, the solicitor said. He had been a heroin addict but was now on a doctor’s prescription for methadone, a heroin substitute. Mr Pigott added that the latest thefts had not been drug-related.


The "Glass Delusion Exhibition" on show at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, looks at glass, balance & obsession & runs till the 3rd October 2010. The exhibition title is inspired by a psychiatric disorder, documented in the middle ages, where sufferers imagined parts of their bodies to have turned into glass.

Window Cleaning News, Fish, Squirrels & Dragons

First impressions always count for window washer Jason Smith: Clean windows are often part of a customers' first impression. That's why many businesses have their windows cleaned professionally by Jason Smith of Fish Window Cleaning. "Some businesses are on a weekly rotation, and others are once a month," said Smith. Smith takes calls and gives free estimates. He charges by the pane to do residential and commercial windows. When he's looking for new business, he will make cold calls by stopping at a strip mall, offering to wash windows and setting them up for future appointments.
Smith starts with a bucket of clean water and dish soap. He uses a window mop that looks like a sponge on a squeegee and washes the window until the mop glides. He changes to a squeegee with a sharp rubber blade and uses the swirl or fanning technique to glide the dirty water down and off the window. The squeegee leaves the window streak free. He finishes the job with a clean, lint-free cloth on the window edges, the sills and the frame. "I don't just wash windows; I clean them," he said.
Smith also works on windows up to three stories with either a pole or a ladder. He does windows inside and out. What's needed: A window washer must like to work and be self-driven for business cold calls. Working in the elements year-round and some ladder work is required. Attention to detail is important. Smith likes to see a positive attitude and punctuality. Employees must be clean cut and in proper uniform.
Smith worked in appliance delivery for 10 years. He's also worked in construction, car detailing and carpet cleaning. Now he's the operation manager. "This is the first time I've been in management, and I really like it," Smith said. In addition to washing windows he handles the phone calls, estimates, paperwork and billing and makes sure the employees get paid.

• Highlights: The best part of the job for Smith is the drive time and seeing all different types of businesses.
• Lowlights: The worst part of the job is filling up the gas tank.
• Advice: There's no such thing as a stupid question.
• Future: Smith would like to someday own part of the company.
• Facts: No special formulas are used in professional window cleaning — plain old dish soap and water and elbow grease.
  

Local business owner witnesses OSHA and IWCA alliance: Local business owner, Victor Munson, traveled to Washington, D.C. this past month to be part of a long awaited event. The International Window Cleaning Association (IWCA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced their alliance to promote safe and healthful working conditions for professionals who work within the window cleaning industry. “We pursued the alliance with OSHA to promote the importance of on-going safety education in our industry,” said Victor Munson, IWCA President and owner of Erlanger Window Cleaning in NKY. “With representatives of both organizations working together, we should be able to achieve our goal of increasing safe and healthful working conditions.”
The new alliance will concentrate on educating members by providing them with information and guidance to help them protect their employees. It is IWCA’s intention to focus on (i) improving fall protection education (ii.) reducing other job site hazards and (iii) addressing the challenges of small business owners and low literacy and limited English of employees in the window cleaning industry. In addition to member education, IWCA and OSHA will work together to promote workplace safety and health on a national level. “We want our members, and everyone in our industry, to know we take workplace safety very seriously,” said Debra Nemec, Executive Director for IWCA. “Together, SWRI and OSHA will be able to utilize their combined resources to maximize job site safety and awareness.” Both groups formalized their alliance during a meeting at 3 p.m., June 10 at OSHA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. For more information about the alliance, please contact Vic Munson at 859.371.4210

Michael Portillo (smug picture) has been staring out of a lot of windows lately, exploring Britain's rail journeys for the BBC. So he knows a good shine when he sees one, and has taken to evangelising about his window cleaner back home. Residents of Chelsea have received hand-signed letters from the former Tory MP recommending the services of one David Doyle. "When someone works inside and outside the house, I must have complete trust in that person," it reads, "I do place my trust in Mr Doyle." In case you don't believe him the letter provides Portillo's home address, email and even his mobile phone number. He's clearly forgotten what it's like to have constituents.

Answers From a Window Cleaner, Part 3 - have been added to the original questions & answers featured here. Andrew Horton, who has been a window cleaner for more than two decades responds to readers. Andrew Horton knows the secrets of the trade and safety practices.

Friends and family of murdered teenager Ben Lund have marked the first anniversary of his death and collected more than 1,200 signatures in support of a memorial garden. Nineteen-year-old Ben Lund, a popular window cleaner, was murdered in the Funktion Rooms Nightclub on July 11 last year. Nicholas Sitko, 25, repeatedly punched the teenager causing a fatal brain haemorrhage and was sentenced to at least 14 years in prison for his murder. Last Sunday, on the anniversary of Ben's death, sunflowers were placed outside the Funktion Rooms from Ben's family and other flowers, letters and cards were left by his friends.

First case of it's kind: Man told to pay £1,500 after being found guilty of drowning a squirrel - When grey squirrels invaded Raymond Elliott’s garden and targeted his bird feeders, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He bought a cage to trap the pests and, when he did catch one, dropped it into a water butt, killing it ‘almost instantaneously’. But after a neighbour tipped off the RSPCA, he was hauled into court, charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and - in a legal first - forced to pay £1,500.
The 58-year-old window cleaner, who said he believed he had killed the animal in a humane way, will now be lumbered with a criminal record. The case sets an important precedent for killing grey squirrels, which are classified as a non-native invasive species, and could pave the way for hundreds of other prosecutions across the country. The RSPCA, which brought the prosecution, warned that many common methods of killing grey squirrels and other pests could now fall foul of the law. It added that the only humane - and therefore legal - way to kill them would be to have them put down by a qualified vet, which can cost up to £40 a time.
Mr Elliott, from Branston, Staffordshire, was prosecuted under Section Four of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. He pleaded guilty and was given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1,547 to cover investigation and legal costs incurred by the RSPCA at Burton Magistrates last Friday. Yesterday, he described the fine as an ‘injustice’ and claimed he had been singled out by the charity.
He insisted that the way he killed the grey squirrel was not cruel or inhumane and said he was simply trying to do what homeowners across the country do when the pests invade their homes and gardens. 'This is an injustice. People do it across the country all the time - they are just making an example of me,’ he said. ‘I do not feel what I did was inhumane or cruel and I was shocked by how big the fine was. ‘All along it was going to be guilty because it was a test case and they needed a guilty verdict.’

Dragon helped me spread my wings: Tony Earnshaw was just 18 when he started his first business, buying a rundown burger van for £50. After securing a pitch in his home town of Glebe in Washington, Tyne and Wear, he made £3,000 in two months before selling the van for £6,000. Tony, 25, used the profits to buy a window cleaning round for £300 that he rapidly builtup before selling it for £16,000 six months later. Next he bought two transit vans and a small depot and launched UK Commercial Cleaning Services, offering everything from shampooing office carpets to a specialist operation cleaning up crime scenes.
Last year Tony appeared on the Dragons' Den television show, which began its latest series last week, and secured £100,000 from Dragon judge Duncan Bannatyne in return for 35% of the business. At the time of appearing the company's turnover was £370,000 and it operated only in the North East, but Tony had plans to take the business nationwide, having bought a second depot in Leeds in 2008. Now, nearly a year on, a London depot will open in two weeks' time and a depot in Stirling will open in six months. The firm now employs 40 people, up from 16, and turnover for the year ending April rose to £1.2m, with predicted turnover of £4m for this year.
Tony is also setting up a franchise that he hopes to sell to franchisees in the south of England. Though Tony had to hand over 35% of the business - up from the 20% stake he initially offered - he has no regrets about securing funding through Dragons' Den. 'Appearing on Dragons' Den gave the business a real publicity boost and has helped us to grow rapidly,' he says. 'I have the support and advice I need from Duncan, we speak monthly, but he gives me the freedom to run the business as I know best. As far as I am concerned there were no downsides.'

London's Strata tower: It is the world's first skyscraper with built-in wind turbines. But is London's Strata a green gimmick – or the future?At 147 metres, the newly opened Strata is London's tallest residential building. The plan was first made public six years ago and work is unlikely to be completed before 2020. It's a colossal challenge, as well as an opportunity, and the £113.5m Strata, the first of three skyscrapers planned for here, is a symbol of the dynamism and energy the project demands. And that energy must, of course, be seen to be green. It's early days, but if the turbines work as planned, and aren't too noisy for residents in the pricey penthouses beneath them, they should generate 8% of this 43-storey building's energy needs. This is roughly enough to run its electrical and mechanical services (including three express lifts and automated window-cleaning rigs) as well as the lighting, heating and ventilation of its public spaces, which include an underground car and cycle park. Strata is the first building in the world to incorporate wind turbines into its structure.

Harrisburg, Pa. - A glass panel from a 9th floor tower fell from a downtown Harrisburg building Monday evening. The panel was from a Verizon Tower and fell from the building, landing on the bridge to Capital Park from Strawberry Square. Hassinger said a visual inspection from the ground was conducted by Hershocks and HDC employees following the incident. City and Capitol police were notified and the bridge to Capitol Park remains closed until further notice. Also, the sidewalk corridor along the South side of Walnut Street along Strawberry Square has been closed to pedestrian traffic. Glass from the incident is being swept from the area by a contractor hired by HDC. An inspection of the glass panels on both the Verizon Tower and SO1 (State office tower occupied by Revenue and Attorney General's office) is being scheduled within the next 24-48 hours.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group: "Snapple was founded in 1972 by Arnold Greenberg, Leonard Marsh, and Hyman Golden. Greenberg operated a health food store on the lower east side of Manhattan. His boyhood friend Marsh ran a window-washing service with his brother-in-law, Golden. In the early 1970s, the three founded Unadulterated Food Products, Inc., to sell pure fruit juices in unusual blends to health food stores. Products were bottled at a small plant in the New York metropolitan area. The partners ran the business in their spare time while all three kept their regular jobs, and the enterprise plodded along until the late 1970s. In 1978, Unadulterated Foods began to market carbonated apple juice. The company called the product "Snapple," after purchasing the name for $500."

Window Cleaning News

Window washers still 'critical' after Orinda electrical accident: Two window washers severely injured in a weekend electrical accident in Orinda remained in critical condition Monday. Jose Herrera, 51, and Eduardo Guerra, 30, were working for Santa Clara-based Delta Window Cleaning when the accident occurred Saturday afternoon, a company spokesman said. A man who answered the phone at Delta said Herrera has worked there for 25 years. Guerra has worked for Delta for about a year, he said. The pair were cleaning windows outside an Orinda office building Saturday morning when their cherry picker ran into high-voltage transmission lines. The men suffered second- and third-degree burns over 75 percent of their bodies and were taken by helicopter to the burn unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, according to the Moraga-Orinda Fire Department. Both were reported in critical condition. No additional information was available.
A representative for state Division of Occupational Safety and Health said Monday that investigators are conducting interviews and gathering facts about the case. Orinda Assistant City Manager Monica Pacheco, Orinda police Chief Jeff Jennings and Moraga-Orinda fire Chief Randy Bradley met Monday morning to discuss the accident. Responding to criticism that emergency personnel did not arrive quickly enough, Jennings said personnel from both departments were on scene within minutes and that he and Bradley were very satisfied with the response to what Jennings called a chaotic situation. That situation was compounded by the fact that some bystanders ignored directions to stay away from the accident site, Jennings said. "That added quite a bit to the chaos, people basically getting into arguments with fire and police regarding their own safety," he said. Police and fire officials tentatively plan to meet Wednesday with witnesses to explain the departments' response and answer questions, Jennings said. Previous story.

Oil Odors: If You Smell It, Is It Toxic? Everywhere you go these days on the Gulf Coast, people are complaining about the smell of oil. Fishermen and other clean-up workers are noticing strong smells, and coastal residents from Venice, LA, to Pensacola, FL are complaining that when the wind is fairly still or when it blows from the South, they're suffering from the stench of oil. In some cases, people are telling us that when they smell the oil, they're feeling sick. The so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tend to have a sweet-sour 'solvent' odor (think paint-thinner). The semivolatile compounds like naphthalene have an odor that's more like tar or creosote. Hydrogen sulfide gas has a characteristic 'rotten egg' odor. 2-butoxyethanol (a chemical in some of the dispersants) smells exactly like a household window cleaning product.

Window Washing: The four upper windows in my office extend about 12 feet up from the floor; so I’m not surprised when the window cleaner hauls a ladder in and climbs up to wash them. I leave for a few minutes, come back, and there’s a different cleaner washing the lower four windows. I ask one cleaner why they divide the labor, and he has no answer. Does having two workers raise the average product? It could if they take turns and share the tedium and danger, but I don’t see why, since the first worker told me that he always does the ladder work/high windows. Does just having a colleague reduce boredom and perhaps raise productivity? Perhaps they take turns driving the truck from place to place? Overall, a strange way of organizing production.

London Midland’s trains sparkle thanks to pioneering liquid glass technology: London Midland is using pioneering liquid glass technology to help its trains sparkle, while protecting the environment. A thin coating of liquid glass – 500 times thinner than a human hair – is being applied to trains at London Midland’s Tyseley depot in Birmingham to produce surfaces that are easier to clean and highly durable. The rail operator is the first train company in the UK to use the new technology, produced by Nanopool, which can be applied to most surfaces and lasts around one year per application. Engineering director, Mac Mackintosh, said: “It’s made a real impact and we’re impressed. The trains are noticeably brighter and easier to clean.”
The Nanopool coating has also lead to a dramatic reduction in the amount of water and cleaning chemicals used in train cleaning, benefitting the wider environment and making the trains both cleaner and greener. Nanopool’s UK Project Manager, Neil McClelland, said: “London Midland have managed the project in a highly professional and focussed manner. Their goal was to create a cleaning and maintenance system which was eco friendly, enhanced the appearance of the trains and was low cost. They should be applauded for being innovators in the field of train maintenance.” Previous link.


A window cleaner works on the facade of the headquarters of the savings bank Caja Guadalajara as they take a walk in Guadalajara, 60 kilometres north east of Madrid. The ultra modern 12th-floor board room of savings bank Caja Guadalajara offers a bird's eye view of the empty industrial estate around it, a constant reminder of Spain's worst economic crisis for 50 years. "We moved our headquarters in December from the town centre to these offices, thinking there would be faster expansion on the estate," said Ana Maria Liron, branch manager of the bank which manages 365 million euros ($443.4 million) of loans and deposits. "But there is a big slowdown here ... No one expected such a long, hard crisis."

FCTA Threatens to Revoke Non-Performing Cleaning Contracts: Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration will not hesitate to revoke the concession of any cleaning contractor engaged if found not to be performing. FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, who gave this threat on Tuesday during an interactive session with the Abuja Cleaning Contractors in his office, warned that it was not going to be business as usual. The minister warned that his administration will not condone laxity from any cleaning contractor anymore, however highly placed the sponsors of such companies are. Mohammed reiterated that the era when FCT administration had to intervene where there were large volumes of uncollected refuse was over, insisting that everybody must effectively do his or her part by being responsible. According to him, the FCT administration has been paying the contractors promptly and, therefore, expects that they reciprocate the same gesture by improving their services. The minister decried the pockets of overfilled bins noticed in the city and charged the contractors to discharge their duties with dispatch.

Q. How can I remove the adhesive left by old window film?
A. Gila Films, a leading manufacturer of window films, recommends a solution of eight ounces water, four ounces ammonia, and one teaspoon of liquid dishwashing soap. Put the solution in a spray bottle. Gila also makes a ready-made solution. Protect the window sill and floor so no solution or adhesive can drip on it. Spray the adhesive thoroughly with the solution, and rub it in with an old towel until the adhesive turns milky white, then scrape off the adhesive with a razor-blade scraper (sold at paint stores) or single-edge razor blades. Keep the blade clean by wiping it frequently and replace it if it becomes dull. When all the old adhesive is soaked and scraped off, spray the window again and clean with a squeegee. Dispose of any towels used in the cleaning process. You can find detailed instructions for removing both old window film and adhesive at Gilafilms.

Court hears how attack left man paralysed: A man yesterday told a court he was left paralysed after he was attacked while walking home from a friend’s house. At the High Court in Glasgow Peter McInnes, 33, who gave his evidence from his wheelchair, said he was attacked by two men on May 22, 2009. John Freeman, 30, of Stanford Street, Glasgow, denies attempting to murder Mr McInnes by stabbing him. Mr McInnes denied shouting a sectarian remark prior to the incident and maintained that the attack was unprovoked. The 33-year-old, of Tollcross, said he was trying to get home when he heard shouting from a nearby house. He ignored the shouts and kept walking until he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see a man trying to hit him with a Buckfast bottle. He said: "There was a boy with a Buckfast bottle trying to hit me with it, I was ducking and weaving. He tried to kick me too." He claimed he was stabbed by a second man. "Then I got a sharp feeling in my back and I was out the game." The former window cleaner added that when he came round he saw a knife being pulled from his chest and two men and a girl running way. He was unable to identify his attackers. The court heard he sustained seven stab wounds to his shoulders, back and chest and was left paralysed from the waist down. He spent three months in rehabilitation in the Southern General. Mr McInnes said: "My spine was damaged by the first wound. I am not going to walk again." The trial before temporary judge Norman Ritchie QC continues.

Magpies superfan meets Fairs Cup heroes: It was Toontastic for lifelong Magpie fan Frank Patterson when he had fish and chips with his Fairs Cup heroes. The plucky pensioner said it was one of the best moments in his life when he went to North Shields Fish Quay to eat the Geordie delicacy with two of the star footballers who helped Newcastle United win the Fairs Cup in 1969. the 82-year-old has renewed his season ticket every year for more than half a century and listed Newcastle’s 1969 Fairs Cup triumph over Hungarian side Ujpest Dozsa among his fondest memories. Today Frank, a retired window cleaner, originally from Byker but now living in Forest Hall, said: “It was a lifetime ambition to meet the men I have watched so many times before at St James’ Park and I have finally done it. “And not only that, I have had fish and chips with them as well.

Dutch Muslims fear impact of far-right vote: Netherlands : Muslims reeling from an apparent surge of anti-Islam sentiment fear next week's Dutch election will fuel mutual suspicion and pit neighbour against neighbour. It was in here in Almere, where a third of the population is of immigrant origin, that Geert Wilders (pictured) led his far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) to its first local election victory in March. PVV supporters, in turn, say the government has let them down. "I will vote for Wilders because he stands for freedom," Brian van Rooyen, a 25-year-old window cleaner, told AFP. "The current government is allowing so many foreigners into our country who get everything for nothing. They get housing while we have to work for it."

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Installation of the first of 11,000 glass panels that will form the facade of London Bridge's Shard of Glass skyscraper started this week. The panels, which in total will cover an area of more than 56,000 sq m, are made of a low iron glass with internal blinds. Already 2,500 of the panels have been manufactured and are awaiting delivery to site. On arrival the panels will be erected from the internal floors thereby eliminating any hazards that could come from an external erection method. The target is to install a floor a week.

Dragon-backed business cleans up with contracts: A NE industrial cleaning business, which secured the backing of TV Dragon Duncan Bannatyne, has secured £2.1m worth of contracts in the past month. The contracts for UK Commercial Cleaning Services (UKCC) are based around the country in the private healthcare, retail and business sectors. It is the latest success for the firm, which last August won £100,000 backing on BBC TV’s Dragon’s Den. Tony Earnshaw, 26, from Washington, Wearside, established the business with £300 when he was 19, boosting the earnings from a local window cleaning round to £6,000 a-month. He then expanded to become a full commercial cleaning company with about 30 staff based in Washington and Leeds depots. He had already grown it into a £1.5m-turnover business prior to yesterday’s announcement of the new contracts, individual details of which cannot be released for commercial reasons. There are now plans to expand the business further with the opening of a London depot.
Mr Earnshaw said: “My aim is to position the business as a nationally-regarded contender on the commercial cleaning stage and these contract wins are helping us to do that. “Our motivated and energetic workforce has worked hard to ensure that we can fulfil these contracts and continue to win more throughout this year. “The North-East needs more private business successes and my team have proved we can do it. We now want UKCC to be a flagship business for the area and the beyond.” Television viewers last year saw Darlington-based businessman Duncan Bannatyne buy a 35 per cent stake in the firm for £100,000. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength. Last October, it won a contract to provide its services to care homes run by Four Seasons Healthcare, from Birmingham to the Scottish borders. It has also secured a number of other contracts, including Michelin- starred The White Room at Seaham Hall, County Durham. Earlier this year, Mr Earnshaw announced plans to franchise the business, with ambitions to deliver services to Scotland, Wales, the South of England, and Ireland.