Beechwood Shopping Centre

BALLOON GRAB PRIZEWINNERS CELEBRATE

Eighteen-year-old Sandra Hall was one of the first contestants in the Beechwood balloon grab competition at the weekend but walked away with an iPod Shuffle.

Four other major prizes of £50 vouchers to spend in Debenhams, Game On, Rise and the Disney store were given away every hour in the competition to grab balloons with Beechwood Bear stickers in the 'cash grabber'.

Scores of competitors of all ages went into the 'grabber' to see if they could win and as well as Sandra the other main prizewinners winners were Maddie Way-Reynolds, Charlotte Mersden, Paul Mason and Scott Clifford.

The five top prizewinners are pictured below.

Donations at the event raised £33.45 which will be given to Star College, Beechwood's chosen charity for 2010.

PLEASE SCROLL down to the next story for more details and more pictures

CROWDS FLOCK TO CASH GRAB COMPETITION

Children and adults took up the Beechwood challenge to grab balloons with Beechwood Bear stickers in a free competition to win five major prizes.

All the children who took part won sweets or chose a gift from the table and everyone had the chance to win a £50 shopping voucher every hour.

The top prizes were an iPod shuffle and four £50 vouchers to be spent in the shopping centre.

The competition ran from 11am until 4pm and there was rarely a break in the proceedings as shoppers were keen to have a go, even just for the fun.

The competition was completely free but many contestants kindly made donations to Beechwood's chosen charity – Star College. The amount donated will be announced later.

The centre mascot Beechwood Bear also made an appearance, much to the delight of young shoppers and their parents.

Please watch out for names and pictures of the main prizewinners later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COTSWOLD CHOIR DATE FOR BEECHWOOD

Beechwood Shopping Centre is to host the Cotswold Male Voice Choir in aid of Classic FM’s charity Music Makers, which funds music education and therapy projects for disadvantaged children and adults.

The free afternoon concert in early October is part of their national 1-2-3 Sing! campaign which Classic FM says will be the biggest celebration of singing the UK has ever seen.

At least 30 members of the Cotswold Male Voice Choir will be singing a broad repertoire including male voice choir favourites, classic and operatic, big show numbers and popular music.

Beechwood centre manager Owen Acland, said: “The choir contacted us after receiving an invitation from Classic FM because they knew we hosted other events.

“It is a win-win situation. They will be entertaining our customers for free and will hopefully raise a substantial sum for the Music Makers charity.”

Choir chairman Steve Allsup, said: “We also see it as a recruitment opportunity. No matter what any man thinks of his singing ability, I recommend they take the first step by coming along to a choir rehearsal, even if it is just to listen.

“I kept putting it off for six months before I joined. That was nine years ago and I haven’t looked back since.

“It’s fun, very relaxing and a terrific atmosphere. Apart from the health benefits to our singers, I always leave our Wednesday rehearsals at Dean Close School feeling uplifted.”

The Choir has a total membership of 43 with a six strong back-up staff including musical director Martin Dear.

Whether you are interested in singing or just want to listen, visit Beechwood Shopping Centre on Saturday, October 2.

They will be singing from 12 noon for two or three hours.

For more information about the Cotswold Male Voice Choir visit www.cotswoldmvc.org or phone 01242 511139.

GAME ON CHALLENGE SUCCESS

More than 200 enthusiasts took part in the Beechwood/Game On week-long competition to win a Nintendo Wii.

The eventual winner walked away with a Wii console and a copy of the Mariokart game and Game On also handed out second, third and fourth place prizes as a reward for those who spent time and returned for the exciting final but narrowly missed out.

The runner-up received a £20 Game On voucher and the third and fourth placed competitors each received £10 vouchers.

Names of the winners and more pictures will be uploaded shortly.

Game On’s Darren Greening said he was delighted with the success of the competition and thanked all those who entered.

He said many of the competitors who took part in the contest in Beechwood’s centre circle also spent time visiting the Game On store on the balcony level.

Gimme Gizmo moves in

Gimme Gizmo has moved into Beechwood and pictured right are staff members Danielle de Massimi and Laura Marson who is part of the set-up team.

 

 

 

 

£250 PRIZE FOR DESERVING DAD

Winner of the Beechwood Father’s Day competition was John Martin who was entered by his wife Becky on behalf of their one-year-old, Breeze.

The competition was for a £250 gift from one of the Beechwood shops and entrants were asked to say why their dad deserved it and the family is pictured right receiving their prize from centre manager Owen Acland

Breeze's entry form read: ‘‘My daddy needs new cooking pots and pans to cook our dinner please’’.

Dad deserves it because: ‘‘My daddy has to be a carer for my two big brothers as they are both severely autistic, plus my biggest brother is diabetic too. My mummy and daddy work very hard and my daddy cooks all our meals to make sure my brothers and me stay healthy but his pans are all old. He is a trained chef and likes to cook my brothers special meals nicely. Please give him new cooking stuff. Thank you.

BOYS GO THROUGH THE PAIN BARRIER

Beechwood centre manager Owen Acland and six members of his staff put on a brave face and went through the pain barrier by having their legs waxed on Friday hoping to raise something approaching £800 in aid of charity.

In full view of shoppers, the team laid on the treatment couches in pairs and were ‘waxed and stripped’ by Amy Manser and Leanne Roach, two staff from Cheltenham’s Love the salon to raise money for Beechwood’s 2010 nominated charity National Star College.

The sponsored leg wax was the brainchild of centre manager Owen who persuaded his colleagues to join in the ‘fun’.
The security team of Andy Minns, Mark Driscoll, Ryan Adlam and Chris Danby were also joined by facilities manager Richard Wright, who went one step further by having his back and chest waxed too.

Owen thanked his team for all their efforts and also Love the salon for providing the equipment and the staff to make the event possible and said they would announce the final amount raised when all the sponsorship had been collected.

A number of events are being arranged in the centre this year to raise money for Cheltenham-based National Star College which helps young disabled people discover their potential and prepare for adult life.

SIXTH SHOP FOR ENTREPRENEUR

ENTERPRISING Mounir Maizia has just opened his sixth shop in his adopted town and has spoken about his plans to roll out his expanding business empire throughout the county.

He has launched World News newsagents in Beechwood Shopping Centre – his third shop in the complex.

Mr Maiziar says he is going back to where he started running his own business 12 years ago when he had a small newsagents in the town’s Lower High Street.

Since then he has opened Cafe LaScala coffee shop and Fresh Crust, also in Beechwood, and two other coffee shops and a pastie shop in other parts of town.
Click here for more

Mr Maizia, who has a degree in civil engineering, designs all the shops himself and says he chose the name World News because he wanted to incorporate a globe or world symbol in the title.

Mr Maizia, 41, will initially manage the shop himself and employs 24 staff across his six stores in Cheltenham.

He said that since arriving from Algeria he has developed a passion for the people, culture and architecture of Cheltenham.

“From the first day I arrived 14 years ago I have absolutely loved the place,” said Mr Maizia, who lives in Churchdown with his wife Nicole and 11-year-old son Sammy.

“I always wanted to run my own business. I had a vision to open a chain of shops across the country but I’ve gone nowhere and don’t want to go anywhere else.

“From the day I arrived I had a picture of what I would like to achieve. I still want to open more shops but they will be in Gloucestershire. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

He added: “I first came to London and studied accountancy and then I went to Manchester but I could not succeed there. I don’t know why or what it was. I stayed for four years and had lots of different jobs. When I came to Cheltenham it was completely different.

“I got a job at Costa Coffee ‘when they were a baby’ and had only about 50 shops and I was like a regional manager opening shops for them.

“I gained a lot of experience and decided that if I could open coffee shops for them, I could open one for myself.

“But I couldn’t get a coffee shop at that time so got a shop in Lower High Street and opened a newsagents – which I knew absolutely nothing about.”

Eventually he opened La Scala coffee shop in Beechwood in 2003.

“Because I am Mediterranean, from North Africa, Algeria, I really love coffee and now have my own La Scala brand and have the trade name. It’s my recipe and it’s only sold in my shops, nowhere else.

“I was then asked by the landlord at Beechwood if I would like to take on a unit near the entrance and opened Fresh Crust.

“Beechwood has been very useful and very good for me, and I bought the pasty shop in Regent Street. I also have Caffe Palazzo in Pittville Street and Caffe La Scala in Lower High Street.”

“Even in the recession, which was difficult, we have not really suffered and I’m glad to say we didn’t have to cut any staff numbers.”

NATIONAL STAR COLLEGE IS CHOSEN AS BEECHWOOD'S NOMINATED CHARITY FOR 2010

Beechwood Shopping Centre manager Owen Acland and Cheltenham’s town centre manager Martin Quantock officially opened the revamped student shop at the National Star College.

The new look, larger shop will be run by students themselves, learning vital skills while working in a real life business. The shop, which is open to staff and students at the college, will teach students about retail, cash flow, stock taking and running a business.

Beechwood Shopping Centre has chosen the National Star College as its nominated charity for 2010.

Fundraising from events held at the centre throughout the year will be donated to the Cheltenham-based charity which helps young disabled people discover their potential and prepare for adult life.

Mr Acland, pictured second from left, said he had been keen to been support a local charity since taking up his appointment in January and was delighted to announce the centre’s association with National Star College. “Beechwood has always tried to be part of the local community but we felt that this year we wanted to do even more and we have chosen to support the National Star College because of its tremendous work for young people, both locally and nationally.

“It’s such a worthwhile cause and we hope that the people of Cheltenham will do all they can to support our fundraising efforts throughout the year,” he said.

“Mr Quantock, left, said: “Beechwood is one of Cheltenham’s major shopping destinations and attracts many visitors. This will give wide publicity for the National Star College and hopefully will be reflected in its support of the college. I’m delighted to be part of the opening of Star College’s new shop to kickstart that relationship.”

The shop, which was previously virtually impossible for students in wheelchairs to access, relying on staff to pass things down from the shelves, has had a total redesign. It is now open plan, allowing students to wander around and browse as they would do any shop in town.

Mike Youart, job mentor at the college said: “Whereas before there was a limited offer, with limited space, the shop will now be selling a wider variety of things with Fair Trade produce through a link with Stroud Oxfam.”

For more information about National Star College see www.natstar.ac.uk

Picture courtesy of the Gloucestershire Echo