For the love of blog - episode 21
Right folks, I am back, and I am currently sat in a rather nice little wooden cabin in the middle of the gorgeous South Downs National Park after having a long weekend away with the family. The hubby is currently driving up to Tamworth ready to deliver an EFAW tomorrow morning, the kids are staying with their big brother, and I am all on my lonesome with our very lazy Labrador, Dennis. It is so quiet I could quite happily stay here forever, but alas I have to go home tomorrow, do this thing called “work” and then pack ready for our proper holiday and then drive all the way back down to Hampshire later in the week. But before I can do any of that, I have got to finish another episode of this blog. Why do I put myself and my 4.5 readers through this? I guess we will never know, so here goes…….
A little piece of heaven
Firstly, we have now finished our new training room, and it looks so good. The wall between the training part of the room and the storeroom has now been painted. We now have a wonderful display of our observation kits along with an assortment of colours of medical rucksacks and a fully kitted FREC 3 response bag, all available to purchase both in person and via our website www.castlefordtrainingsolutions.co.uk. We have even purchased a card machine, which means our customers can pay for these items as well as any additional courses they may wish to attend in the future. There is now no excuse if you forget your wallet/purse, but we believe this will benefit our customers.
We have also been creating a Fire Safety & Fire Marshal course with the help of Gary, an ex-fireman with a wealth of experience who will deliver this course on our behalf. The course is designed to help develop a greater understanding of the hazards and risks associated with fire within the workplace. Along with how to control a fire should one start and identify and understand the role of a nominated fire warden within the workplace. Although we do not deliver many fire safety courses at the present time, hopefully this one will suit most companies, as it is a 3.5-hour course. Details regarding this and all our other courses are available on our website.
We have continued to do event medical work over the last few months, although it has slowed down over the course of August due to festivals. We did help at an agricultural show in East Yorkshire, which was an excellent day. The best part was the four-hour dog show, which took place opposite the medical tent we were manning. It was an excellent excuse to check out all the dogs and plot which breed of dog would fit in well with our crazy household. Needless to say, the list was quite long, and Shaun decided he had suddenly become deaf in his old age. Do not worry, I will keep working my magic on him, although one more may not be enough – I mean, you do not want them to get lonely and odd numbers are never good in my opinion!! As I am typing this blog, Dennis is snoring loudly by my feet. Dogs are just the best, and the world would be a worse place without them.
Our FREC3 (First Response Emergency Care – level 3), FREC3 Requalification and FREC4 courses continue to be extremely popular. The FREC4 course is a big step up from FREC3, as well as a requirement to complete three workbooks. We cannot believe our first FREC4 course started mid-December 2025; time flies when you are having fun. Having said that, we have had our first student who has passed their FREC4 and is just awaiting their certificate. Well done to them, and to the remaining students, keep sending in your workbook submissions for marking, and you too could have your very own certificate.
Right, I think that is me done for now. I feel like I am back at school doing my homework late on a Sunday night and watching TV at the same time – always leaving it to the last minute. Some things never change. Who knows, I might get a gold star as well, oh to be back at school, but then again maybe not.
See ya
Jen