What's happening?

Shouting about things is our bag, so this is where you can find what our clients have been up to, what's happening in our beautiful county of Shropshire, Team J&PR updates - and, of course, our PR and social media advice and tips!

The end of an era!

04 Sep 2015

by Rhea Alton

So today marks the end of an era for many of us at the J&PR office as our five-year-olds complete their final day at preschool. A few tears have already been shed and there’s no doubt a few more will follow in a couple of hours time when we do the final ‘pick-up’. You see watching our little boys give […]

Working parents struggle to cope with lack of childcare places

02 Sep 2015

by Simon Alton

Working parents are struggling to cope during the summer holidays according to a national charity, which has warned that the current system is at breaking point. The Family and Childcare Trust found that every single council area in the West Midlands – including Shropshire – did not have enough childcare places during the school holidays for children aged 12 and […]

Shropshire BMX club on track for British championships

26 Aug 2015

by Simon Alton

Talented riders from a Shropshire BMX club are preparing to battle it out in this weekend’s British BMX Championships. Members of Wrekin Riders BMX Race Club as young as four years old have qualified for the British Championships after competing in the Midlands Regional rounds over the last five months. Olly Clarke, four, and Eddie Smallman, six, have both qualified […]

Pushing a peacock in front of the Queen

20 Aug 2015

by Simon Alton

James Owen, 17, of New College in Telford, is on work experience at J&PR and told us this cracking tale of his starring role when the Queen visited Shropshire in 2012. Naturally we suggested he wrote a blog about it… As most students studied in the spring of 2012, working hard for their summer tests, I was called to the principle’s office […]

A student…and a novelist….

18 Aug 2015

by Rhea Alton

James Owen has joined us on work experience this week. He is a student at New College Telford but works on more than just assignments…..here he tells us more: Being a student and being a novelist are more similar than one might first assume. Both require a large amount of time and effort on your part and both have someone […]

Shropshire bucks self-employment trend

07 Aug 2015

by Rhea Alton

I cannot count the number of friends and family who I have told they should set up their own business. Having done it myself, and worked with so many wonderful self-employed business owners in Shropshire, I have seen the successes and the benefits that can come with being self-employed. New figures published by the Office of National Statistics show the […]

Intermediate level reached and I survived!

05 Aug 2015

by Kirsty Smallman

When my personal trainer from Ideal Fitness told me he was starting me on the intermediate level I thought to myself “what? Last week was only the beginner’s level?” Stuart Henderson, based on Stafford Park, had introduced me slowly to the world of Personal Training during the last four weeks due to my recent knee surgery but as the knee […]

For better, for worse, for richer, for… poorer guests! Weddings – the cost to guests.

28 Jul 2015

by Dani Wozencroft

Last week I went to a wedding. This week I am going to a wedding. Next year I know eight couples getting married. I appear to be of ‘that age’ where everyone I know is getting married. Of course, I love them all dearly – friends, family and work colleagues – but it is an awful lot of weddings! I […]

How much exercise does your office do?

23 Jul 2015

by Dani Wozencroft

Do you ever have those conversations in the office when someone says how much exercise they do and it turns into a bit of a motivational session where you all agree to do/you should do more exercise? Or even worse – when someone suggests you should all do some sort of exercise together as a group? Well, that happened at […]

J&PR reports from a 2015 Budget Lunch in Shropshire

09 Jul 2015

by Simon Alton

Movers and shakers from the business community got ringside seats for the 2015 Budget at a special event organised by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Shropshire. The budget lunch took place at The Wroxeter Hotel, near Shrewsbury, on Wednesday (July 8) to coincide with the Chancellor’s Budget speech in Parliament at 12.30pm. J&PR were there to listen to […]