Stolen Scrims Have Window Cleaners In A Lather

Window cleaners left high and dry after binmen dump their cloths: Two window cleaners were left high and dry on the job . . . after binmen carted off their gear. Stephen Fawkes and George Millar were in a lather after discovering their bag of expensive cloths had been tipped into the back of a lorry by refuse collection workers. The pair, who were cleaning windows at a home in John Lang Street, in Johnstone, discovered their scrim cloths had disappeared when they returned to their bucket for fresh water.

And after chasing down a refuse lorry, they claim they were told their cleaning materials had been piled in with the rubbish. Stephen, 22, said: “I was up the ladder at the front of the house and George was round the back and when I went back to the bucket I noticed our bag of cloths was gone. “It was then that I spotted the bin lorry up the street and I ran after it and asked the guys if they had lifted a plastic bag from the street. “It turns out one of the boys had thrown it in the back of the truck, along with the waste from the wheelie bins, thinking it was rubbish that had been left out.

“Needless to say, there was no way we could get the bag back so that was us for the day. “We couldn’t do any more windows and as we’d only just started the shift we were pretty raging about it.” Nineteen-year-old George’s dad, Charlie Millar, runs the C&J Cleaning Services business. He contacted Renfrewshire Council’s environmental department to report the blunder in a bid for compensation for the dumped cloths. But he had his bubble burst when council chiefs refused to take responsibility for the missing cloths.

Charlie said: “Inside the bag were about 20 scrim cloths worth £5 a time and a few standard cloths so there was at least £100 worth of materials chucked in the back of a bin lorry. “I don’t understand why anyone would think it was rubbish when they were sitting beside a bucket of water and a spare squeegie. “However, the council said their guys wouldn’t have touched it because they’re not trained to lift bags. There’s no chance of being refunded. We’ve been left to pick up the tab.”

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “One of our employees lifted a bag that had been left beside a bin and threw it into the refuse vehicle. The window cleaner approached the employee but told him not to worry as the bag only contained rags. If this wasn’t the case the council has a well-established procedure that people can use to make a claim to our insurance company.”

Window Cleaning Snippets

Steve Little, of Steve's Window Cleaning of Rutland, had the perfect day to clean off the windows at Maplefields in Manchester on a warm spring day Thursday. Click picture to enlarge.

New Services for Float Glass Quality Concerns and Cold-End Processes: Safety Glass Experts International Ltd is widening the range of expert services available. From the beginning of March 2010 company has started offering independent and objective expert services for float glass cold-end production and float quality related projects. The new float glass expert services are targeted for float glass producers and safety glass processors requiring assistance in their daily activities or problem shooting situations. Producing flawless quality float glass requires versatile quality inspection programs. Although efficient qualitycontrol activities defects in float glass are sometimes recognized. These defects can be extrem ely painful for the glass processor. Commonly safety glass processors do not hold required knowhow to inspect and evaluate float glass defects. Newly started or older float glass producers require training to improve and update their production and quality control procedures - This is where Safety Glass Experts comes in. Float Glass production cold end Expert Service’s available:
Safety Glass Processors:
Evaluation and Examination of sub-supplier float glass quality
Evaluation and Examination of suspected float defects causing processing failures
Consulting to develop internal quality requirements and specific Customer Specifications for float glass subsuppliers
Float Glass Processors:
Present state evaluation
Consulting services for qu ality control activity update projects
Training Services for cold end processes

Mr. Lee’s journey to a CrossFit trainer and business owner began as a teenager when his mother bought him a plastic weight set. Always an active child, he took to the weights and continued lifting through high school. He moved to Nantucket after high school and took to body weight workouts like pushups, sit ups, and pull-ups. But eventually exercise started getting monotonous. He moved to Cape Cod, but continued commuting to Nantucket to keep up his window- and power-washing business. He fell out of shape. One day he started having heart palpitations and felt dizzy. He went to the doctor. The experience scared him back into shape. He started training for and com peting in triathlons, which he stuck with for a few years. He took a second job as a trainer in a country club gym, back on Nantucket. Then he was working out with a friend from New York who told him about this new fitness model that some other friends were doing that was taking them “to the next level.” He did some research about CrossFit and decided he wanted to get into it. He took to it, sold his cleaning business on Nantu cket, moved to Mashpee about a year and a half ago and started CrossFit Cape Cod, which is affiliated with the national program. Ms. Lee picked it up, too, and got her certification as a trainer. Mr. Lee’s dedication to CrossFit and exercise is quickly apparent.

In a case expected to hinge on the testimony of doctors, 53-year-old Allen Grabe’s fate will be decided by how the jury answers a two-pronged question. Was he, under state law, “diseased or defective of the mind” in September 2008 when, as authorities allege, he fired nine shots at close range, killing his 13-year-old son as the boy was asleep in his bed? An d was the Pear Park father capable of discerning right from wrong at the time? Jury selection starts Monday in Allen Grabe’s murder trial. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of his son, Jacob, an eighth-grader at Grand Mesa Middle School who had been treated for a neurological disorder similar to autism.
Jurors are expected to hear testimony suggesting Allen Grabe, who operated a window-washing business with clients up and down Main Street in Grand Junction and beyond, was under increasing financial stress after the loss of cleaning contracts in the fall of 2008. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Grabe entered his son’s bedroom the night of Sept. 11, 2008, opened fire, then stopped and told his wife, Jaquette, “I had to kill him because you were ruining him.” Grabe returned to the boy’s room and fired more shots, the affidavit said.

Samurai sword attack nearly killed me: A father has told how he believed he w as going to die when he was brutally attacked by a man wielding a Samurai sword while drinking in a city pub.
Window cleaner Greg Cook (pictured below) suffered three "slice marks" on the top of his head in an assault by "psychotic" Keith Giles (pictured left). Mr Cook grabbed a table to shield himself and other pub customers bravely leapt in to tackle Giles and pin him to the floor. Mr Cook, 45, said, had it not been for the table and the courage of other people in the pub, he would have been killed. He said: "He (Giles) was psychotic. I didn't have time to think then because of the shock of it all but I could have died that day." Detective Constable Adam Suett, who investigated the attack, said Mr Cook was lucky to be alive. He said: "Mr Cook suffered three slice marks to the top of his head. During this completely unprovoked attack, he was hit at least three times with the sword. "He is lucky that the other people in the pub at the time were able to overpower Giles and pin him to the ground until the police arrived. Had they not done that and had he not been able to help protect himself with the table, I think he would have died." The attack happened at the London Midland Railway Recreational Club Association.

Seattle Center may replace Fun Forest with 44,000-square-foot “glass house” & Dale Chihuly exhibit: The Seattle Center has been debating what to do with 68,000 square feet of empty space left after half of the Fun Forest was cleared out back in January. Originally the space was meant to be used to showcase new vendors and temporary projects on a trial basis while the Center searched for mor e permanent ideas to implement into the Century 21 Master Plan, a $570 million, 20-year investment in the revitalization of Seattle Center and in homage of the 1962 World’s Fair that gave the Center its start. However, according to a report by our news partner, the Seattle Times, after receiving project ideas for the space that left the Center “disappointed,” they decided to consider a proposal to build a 44,000-square-foot “glass house” that would house artist Dale Chihuly’s work. Many consider this proposed project an “extraordinary opportunity” for the Center.

Small Business Snapshot: Premier Residential Services.
Hours of operation: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; Saturday, Sunday and after hours scheduled upon request.
General manager: Susan Lovato
Date founded: 1959.
Description of business: Residential, co mmercial and concierge services. The services include housekeeping, window washing, handyman repairs, home-watch inspections, janitorial cleaning, summer home care and property management.
Number of employees: 65
Projected revenues: $5 million
Cost of startup: “Too many years ago to remember.”
Source of startup financing: Internal.
Did you write a business plan? “Yes, there was an initial business plan; however as times change and opportunities arise, the plan is constantly modified.”
Marketing budget: $18,000.
Recipe for success: “Staff selection, training and performance are the key elements to our success.”
Personal motto or mantra: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Where do you seek advice? Key staff associates, current clients and members of our preferred vendor network.

Has anyone seen Scott? He's the tubby man who came to our house on Saturday, offering to clean the windows. Busy fellow. He had a whole team of people in the street. Naturally, I'm not one to be taken in, so I told him to come back in an hour and then forgot about it. There he was again, just before his men were due to reach the Citizen's Advice Bureau on the corner. Having produced the money, I could then only agree that it would be very convenient if he returned in a month's time. If I paid in advance, we wouldn't even need to be in. And so Scott and I walked to the cashpoint together, having what was to me an insightful conversation about the world of a window-cleaning entrepreneur.
Since then, strangely, our windows have not been cleaned. Nor, I suspect, have anyone else's. I've been trying to look on the £80 of which I'm now short as a charitable donation. In an attempt to recoup some of the money, I didn't lash out on a white loaf to make bread sauce that evening, but, instead , used some stale hotcross buns. Many of the greatest cuisines of the world are born out of the peasant need to economise. What chance of my bread sauce becoming a classic?

NAGPUR: In an excellent example of reverse engineering accompanied with innovation, the department of applied physics at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) has developed a 'radiation resistant glass or RRG', opening the doors of self reliance for all atomic research centres which use this glass in the hot cell of their reactors.

There just aren’t enough opportunities in life to take full advantage of a window scrim. This handy item, incase you’ve no t come across it before, will give your windows a smear-free finish. It could be a handy implement in a house with three children, lots of windows, several mirrors and a glass panelled kitchen door. The mysteries of the scrim have been revealed to me via a catalogue dropped through the door encouraging me to recall that it’s the season for spring cleaning. Inside the catalogue, there’s a nifty static duster set (do they mean anti-static?) and a purple chenille mitt which might look quite fetching whilst scrubbing away. But, while cleanliness is close to godliness it is also, like beauty, all in the eye of the beholder. The catalogue, full of handy hints to create the image that I am indeed a domestic goddess, makes wonderful bedroom reading. “Darling, do you know you can clean baths with lemon juice?” is a comment sure to prevent insomnia.

Angler catches second perch over the magical 5lb barrier: A low-resistance set-up was key to Clive Logsdon’s capture of this enormous 5lb 1oz perch from record-holding venue Stream Valley Lakes. Steering clear of more conventional baits such as maggots and worms, the window cleaner from Kent offered a bright red legered king prawn that had been soaked in Dynamite Baits Predator Plus liquid to tempt his prize. Click picture to enlarge.

Bikers set for fuel protests: Bikers are planning their biggest-ever motorway protest against the increasing cost of fuel. Organisers want thousands of drivers to join a go-slow convoy along the M62. They are aiming to beat the turn-out two years ago when more than 1,500 bikers joined the first protest, causing huge delays to traffic. More than 400 also joined last year's ride held in July. Protest organiser 'Maverick' said this time they were turning out on a Saturday rather than a weekday, to minimise disruption. “A lot of us are self-employed so every penny makes a difference. Prices are slowly creeping back up again, while a barrel of crude oil is a third of the price cheaper than a year ago.”
Riders will meet at 9am on May 1 at Hartshead Moor Services before joining a second convoy at Birch Services. They plan to take up all lanes at speeds no greater than 25mph. The AA has said petrol prices could hit a record high of 128p per litre just after Easter with a wholesale rise and fuel duty increase set to hit motorists over the next few weeks. Maverick added: “We're doing it on a shopping day so people from all walks of life can come and air their grievances. “Prices are still so high and are affecting everyone. One of our lads is a self-employed window cleaner and for someone like him making a living is very difficult.

A former taxi driver who set up a window cleaning business has received funding after winning a Dragons’ Denstyle event. Paul Wallace won £2,500 for his business Wallace and Sons Cleaning Services, after taking part in the City of Sunderland College’s annual entrepreneurial event. Mr Wallace, who is in the final year of an HND business and management course at East Durham College, established his business in August, and will take it full time from May. He will use his prize money to buy equipment. Mr Wallace said: “I really enjoyed being a taxi driver, but the long and often unsociable hours meant I spent a lot of time away from home. Running my own business allows me to be more flexible and I’m getting a great sense of achievement. “I’m thrilled to have won the contest. “The new equipment is environmentally- friendly, so I won’t be using detergents or harsh chemicals.”

Faye Bossman, 54, died Monday, March 15, 2010, at the Iowa River Hospice House in Marshalltown, Iowa, after a 9-month battle with appendiceal cancer. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, March 22, at the Center Street Baptist Church in Marshalltown. Burial will follow in the Woodlawn Cemetery at Toledo. In 1990, Faye and her husband began home schooling their three daughters, subsequently being blessed with the opportunity to provide 13 years of Christ centered instruction. Faye and her husband were also involved in a number of home business ventures, including custom woodworking and a window washing service.

Window Cleaning News & Videos

Tony Evans of "New View" window cleaning in Wellman, Iowa shows his method for wrapping the scrim round the pole for detailing. Scrim is now available in the US at the window cleaning resource shop.

How we became our own bosses: Starting your own business is said to be one of the most stressful and rewarding things you can do. While it brings you all the freedom to be your own boss, it also leaves you worrying about the balance sheet at the end of every month. We spoke to four entrepreneurs in Norwich who have recently launched new businesses about what they think it takes to succeed. Norman Straight spent the past five-years on the dole before starting his own window and cleaning business. He is a perfect example that the best ideas are sometimes just in front of you.He said: “It originally came from my mate. He was a window cleaner and he said it's good hours and you can work whenever you want. One day I just bought a set of ladders and a bucket and started walking round my estate.“It's a people business. With a lot of customers it's more about your conversation skills more than anything else.” Since starting the business a year ago the 31-year-old from Costessey has built up 60 private clients and landed two major contracts including an office and an old people's home.A huge leap came in March when he passed his driving test after just two months tuition meaning he can vastly expand his clients.

Families not home after Mold gas blast: Some families have still not been allowed home following the gas explosion in Stanley Street, Mold. Health and Safety Executive officials were yesterday still investigating what caused the gas blast which blew out windows at No 21, brought a ceiling crashing down and cracked the front walls of the terraced house. David Roberts, 41, a local window cleaner, suffered minor injuries when he lit a cigarette in the front room of his parents home on Monday morning. His parents escaped injury but were very shocked. Yesterday police still had the street cordoned off and were patrolling while experts locate the cause of the problem. A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said some stabilisation work had been needed on the damaged house. People who were evacuated were able to use the nearby Glanrafon community centre yesterday. Don Norris, Flintshire’s Civil Contingencies Manager, said last night: “We expect three families will not be able to return to their properties this evening. Arrangements for their accommodation are being made as appropriate.”

Internet warning ‘a waste of time’: An internet warning about rogue traders operating in a Neath community could be a waste of time – because those most vulnerable do not know how to use a computer. The claim was made by Coun Doreen Jones, chair of Blaenhonddan Community Council which, at its November meeting, was warned about criminals preying on the area’s residents. Sergeant Dave Williams told councillors that residents should be on their guard when approached by strangers offering to do around-the-home jobs. It was suggested that the warning be included on the council’s recently-launched website, but Coun Jones said: “The majority of people being conned by this do not even know how to use a computer.” The officer’s warning came during the section of the meeting devoted to discussing Blaenhonddan’s crime figures. Regarding burglary, he said: “Be alert. We have had issues with people coming round offering services like window cleaning and gardening. Some of these people we are aware of and we believe some of these people are involved in these crimes.

NETHERLANDS - Pensions provider Cordares has been chosen as the new administrator for the €1.35bn industry-wide pension fund for the cleaning and window cleaning sector. Cordares will also become responsible for board support and carrying out the scheme’s early retirement arrangements of Vut once the contract takes effect from 1 January 2010, said Franck Erkens, spokesman for both parties. With 600,000 participants, the window cleaners’ scheme, known as Stichting Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het Schoonmaak en Glazenwassersbedrijf, is among the 10 largest schemes in the Netherlands.

University students take home award for automated window-cleaning robot: A team of four engineering students from Michigan State University have created — and won an award for — an automated window cleaner that requires a human to do no more than push a button to get it started. Called the Winboni, the 'bot runs off of AA batteries and adheres to the window using a suction fan, cleaning it with felt pads. Felt pads don't sound like they'd clean a window as well as a professional washer would, but the Winboni would be able to tirelessly work on both home and office buildings, just like a robotic vacuum cleaner. If the design was improved upon, we could very well see a successor of the Winboni cleaning every office building in the future. Teammates Emily Duszynski, Kyle Koepf, Jonathan Luckhardt and Joshua Thomet took first place in the International Student Design Competition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Check out the video above to see how they did it. Also here.

This has to be one of the best productions I have seen at the Little Angel. The venue’s puppet shows are generally of a high standard but writer Tim Kane and director/designer Peter O’Rourke have excelled themselves with a joyful adaptation of an enchanting Roald Dahl tale. When young Billy meets Giraffe, Pelly (a pelican) and Monkey, they are desperate to get their business (the Ladderless Window Cleaning Company) up and running so they can earn some money for food. When the Duke of Hampshire requires their services - his house has 677 windows - the adventures really begin. What is particularly impressive about this interpretation is that the creative team has retained the uniqueness of the original and yet also made it their own. Part of this can be seen in the puppets themselves which are reminiscent of the original Quentin Blake drawings and yet are also very much the product of O’Rourke’s imagination.

Yet on this particular St Andrew's Day it is worth looking to the future, for two years hence, on November 30, 2010, the Government intends to hold a national referendum on independence. In just 24 months, the Scottish people will have the opportunity to make a decision that will shape our lives to come and that of Scots not yet born. Will we vote to separate from the United Kingdom? Or will we prefer to give the devolved Scottish Parliament greater powers? David Steel is a window cleaner and organiser of the Loony Dook, an annual event which, on January 1, sees Scots plunging into the freezing Forth. He favours independence because he feels Scotland doesn't get as much investment as it ought to from Westminster. "But I don't think that independence is 100% necessary to achieve what we want. Long term maybe, but the SNP have proved they can work within the current framework."

The Burgesses live with their four children in a mobile home just outside Peoria's city limits. Their living room is already decorated for the season, with a white Christmas tree in one corner and their four kids' stockings on the wall. Lists for Santa Claus are in their stockings waiting for St. Nick to take a look. Michelle cautioned her, "don't count on it." Michelle wrote the letter because she knew her children wouldn't have much of a holiday without help. "I want my kids to have a Christmas," she said. "They will be thankful for anything." It's been particularly rough for the Burgess family this year because of the economy, Michelle said. Michael used to clean windows for corporate offices downtown, but since the economy has taken a turn for the worst he's lost a lot of work. "Window cleaners are always the first thing to go," Michelle said. "Because its not really needed." Their struggling business has been put on hold for now, and both Michael and Michelle's paychecks - she works as a cashier for Tony's Market and he's a fork lift driver for G&D - go toward bills, with little leftover for extras. Despite the uncertainty of what this Christmas will bring for her kids, Michelle also plans to give what she can. She and sisters and their daughters plan to bake cookies to deliver to area nursing homes for Christmas, and her children are looking forward to shopping for their relatives.
The Mardyke Entertainment Complex was awarded the Best Pub Front in the Cork Better Buildings Awards, a Cork Marketing Partnership initiative, in association with Cork City Council. The Cork Better Building Awards aim to raise awareness of - and applaud the effort that goes into - the good design, maintenance, conservation and presentation of Cork buildings.
These Awards also seek to recognise and acknowledge staff, managers, property owners, developers, architects and designers for high standards in design, conservation and creativity and salute the window cleaners, painters and maintenance staff on their good practice in the presentation and upkeep of Cork's buildings. The Award was presented to Eddie Nicholson, Managing Director of the Mardyke, at an awards ceremony in The Imperial Hotel recently.
Previous Cork Better Building Award winners include Beamish & Crawford and the Classic Bar.

Officials target lead poisoning, Connecticut: A child suffers headaches, eats little and becomes irritable. He's tired often, can't maintain focus and has stomachaches. His muscles are weak, and he shows aggressive behavior.The child may have lead poisoning. But if state legislators and health professionals succeed, the problem will affect fewer children next year, and eventually vanish as a public health concern.Beginning in January, a state law will require health care providers to screen children for lead poisoning annually up to 36 months while lowering the amount of lead in blood needed to trigger official action. The new law will lower the threshold for a home visit from 20 to 15 micrograms per deciliter in two samples taken more than 90 days apart, placing additional pressure on local health workers to handle more cases with limited resources in a time of budget tightening. Polito and colleagues interview families and inspect homes. They test the walls and the windows. They wipe for dust and collect water and soil samples. They evaluate parents' hobbies and activities to determine where a child is getting the lead.Polito said they often find old windows are the culprits."When you open a window and you have old chipping paint, it creates a frictional surface that creates chalking and dust," she said. "Most people don't think about cleaning their window out. We can go in and usually look and know immediately it's those windows."The new standards will require an on-site inspection but not a full investigation and risk assessment for children testing between 15 and 20 micrograms per deciliter.

Window Cleaners Scrim

Irish Linen - The Cloth of Kings: Did you know that linen is the oldest fabric known to man and even pre-dates the invention of the wheel? But, while it was prehistoric man who created the first-ever fabric from the fibres of the flax plant, it was probably the Egyptians who, in recognizing it as a noble fabric, pioneered the industrial production of what was to become the cloth of kings. Three thousand years before Christ was born, linen was the favored fabric of the Pharaohs and the Egyptian aristocracy in both life and death. Indeed, mass production of linen was essential because it would have taken approximately 1000 yards of linen to wrap around an Egyptian king, as part of the mummifying process. It was to be several thousand years before linen made its way to Ireland. It is thought to have arrived in early Christian times and it is said that St. Patrick is buried in a shroud of Irish Linen.

While historical records show that linen was being made in Ireland through the Middle Ages, it was not until the early 17th Century that the Irish Linen industry began to develop in any structured way. Production was concentrated in the north of the country, particularly in the area of land between the two great rivers of the north, the Bann and the Lagan. To this day, the area is known as The Linen Homelands. But what is it that sets Irish Linen apart? Why is it the preferred fabric of The White House, The Sultan of Brunei, Queen Elizabeth II, the Imperial Court of Japan and the Vatican?

There are other reasons that Irish Linen has become the world's favorite. The linen manufacturing process is complicated and requires great skill at each stage of production. Linen is a natural fabric produced from fibres of the flax plant (pictured left). The plant is sown in April, produces delicate blue flowers in June (pictured right) and is harvested in August. After pulling, the crop is laid out in the fields to ret, a process where the woody bark of the plant is naturally rotted so that the fibres come loose from the main stem. The seeds are removed and used for linseed oil or cattle cake and the bark is removed by a process called scutching. It is used for chipboard. No part of the flax plant is wasted.

Flax fibers are amongst the oldest fiber crops in the world. The use of flax for the production of linen goes back 5000 years. Pictures on tombs and temple walls at Thebes depict flowering flax plants. The use of flax fibre in the manufacturing of cloth in northern Europe dates back to Neolithic times. Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are used to make paper, cloth, or rope. Flax fibre is extracted from the bast or skin of the stem of flax plant. Flax fibre is soft, lustrous and flexible. It is stronger than cotton fibre but less elastic. The best grades are used for linen fabrics such as damasks, lace and sheeting. Coarser grades are used for the manufacturing of twine and rope. Flax fibre is also a raw material for the high-quality paper industry for the use of printed banknotes and rolling paper for cigarettes. Flax mills for spinning flaxen yarn were invented by John Kendrew and Thomas Porthouse of Darlington in 1787.

Flax seeds come in two basic varieties, brown and yellow or golden, with most types having similar nutritional values and equal amounts of short-chain omega-3 fatty acids. The exception is a type of yellow flax called Linola or solin, which has a completely different oil profile and is very low in omega-3. Although brown flax can be consumed as readily as yellow, and has been for thousands of years, it is better known as an ingredient in paints, fibre and cattle feed. Flax seeds produce a vegetable oil known as flaxseed or linseed oil; it is one of the oldest commercial oils and solvent-processed flax seed oil has been used for centuries as a drying oil in painting and varnishing.