Corporate Events Plus

What are the symptoms of a stroke?

The occurrence of stroke can usually be identified by the onset of the following symptoms:

• F – face. Part of the person’s face starts to droop, making it difficult for them to smile.
• A – arms. The person is unable to fully lift their arms.
• S – speech. The person has difficulties with speech, which becomes slurred.
• T – time. It is time to call 999. A person displaying these symptoms must immediately be taken to an emergency department for treatment.

A person experiencing a stroke might also have a sudden headache, confusion, dizziness, problems with communicating or problems with their vision.

How does a stroke lead to brain injury?

The brain relies on a rich supply of oxygen to keep brain cells working; this is supplied by an intricate network of blood vessels that pump oxygen-rich blood around the brain. When this blood flow is disrupted by either a blood clot or a burst blood vessel, the brain cells are starved of oxygen and they begin to die. This results in brain injury.

What is a transient ischaemic attach (TIA)?

These are mini strokes that can occur in the brain. A TIA occurs when there is a temporary disruption to the blood supply to the brain due to a blocked blood vessel. The symptoms of a TIA are the same as a stroke, but they only last for a few minutes or hours. However, medical attention should always be sought as soon as these symptoms are recognised, as they can be an indication of a stroke occurring. Even if the symptoms of a TIA improve or disappear by the time an ambulance arrives, it may still be necessary to carry out a medical assessment, as TIAs indicate a risk of experiencing a stroke in the future.

What are the causes of stroke?

Sometimes the disruption to the blood supply to the brain can be due to natural causes, such as weakening of blood vessels over time or a genetic condition that increases the risk of experiencing a stroke.

However, there are some factors that can increase the risk of experiencing a stroke; these include:

• Smoking
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Being overweight
• Not exercising enough
• Eating too much food

There are some blood-related medical conditions that also increase the risk of having a stroke. These include:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Atrial fibrillation
• High cholestrol

Receiving appropriate treatment for any medical condition can reduce the chance of experiencing a stroke.

Headway – the brain injury association is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Charity no. 1025852) and the Office of the Scottish Regulator (Charity no. SC 039992). Headway is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 2346893.

It is possible to make a donation to this charity if you would like to do as we have done.

https://www.headway.org.uk/

An exhibition build in Barcelona at a computing software event called VM World and a new laptop launch for a technology company in Berlin.

Fun to work with lasers again to create some excitement and atmosphere in the conference room, it reminded me of the last time I was working on an event with lasers in Germany it was for the launch of the Vauxhall Vectra in the late 80’s . Then of course we did not use video with PowerPoint we used multi 35mm slide projection rigs with overlapping screens and computer controlled dissolve to create moving images.

Prize this month for the supplier with the best crew welfare roadbox is Gahrens+Battermann AV Suppliers in Berlin – the quality of the first aid, fire fighting and welfare kit for on site was superb.

We have committed to the NEBOSH National General Certificate for Health and Safety. Back to the class room to stay current in our work. The course is running from January to April next year and at the end we hope to be up to date and offering greater value on site for our customers with the qualification.

A busy time ahead as we prepare to go to Barcelona to build an exhibition booth and then onto Berlin for more conference, product launch and exhibition builds.

Brexit is causing some pain arranging European transport documentation with the alteration of leave dates – I wish the government could rally together and move forward for the good of the country, this indecision is not helping business.

Sibos the exhibition held in London at ExCel is a global networking event for the financial services industry and we have been working to manage the installation of the Mercedes Benz formula 1 car as an exhibition booth attractor to increase footfall on the booth.

We have positioned the car on 2 steel spigots at an angle to enable the delegates at the show to be able to take a photo of themselves with the car – and include the corporate messages.

Ok – there is no excuse for a lack of business input for August.

Usually we would be working on pre event management and would be on site in a dusty exhibition hall on the Gamescom projects in August. A family holiday involving 12 folks with busy diaries dictated a choice between work and family.

Family time is precious and a moment in time is one thing it is not possible to go back and alter after a rehearsal !

So it was off to Cyprus with family and a trip to the Isle of Man to watch some motorbike racing.

Batteries now fully recharged we are already into some pre event management work for our next project at SIBOS a world gathering of financial services companies in London.

Time off was fun while it lasted though – must do it again :)

Ok, so not a great topic but given the extreme heat we have been having recently if you are working inside or outside it is a good idea to have a look at the colour of your wee to see how hydrated you are.

We all know we should be drinking more water – there is pressure on carrying your own reusable water bottle to also help the environment to save plastic bottle use, but it is worth taking a look, observing the colour and referencing it to this chart.

It could improve your on site performance and avoid a trip to the doctor.

Filming for the BBC

We rented one of my classic cars to STV on behalf of the BBC. The program is for Antiques Road Trip to be on air in November later in the year.

Go pro cameras were fixed to the windscreen and tracking shots were filmed as the car drove by, For GV’s (general views) we attached cameras to the side and bonnet of the car to give different views.

The antiques experts enjoyed the car and I am looking forward to seeing the work on the TV.

It is not the first time we have been involved with using classic cars for filming or promotion work, in 2014 we used the Spitfire for a GQ magazine promo shoot .

My Certificate for the first aid course came through from St Johns Ambulance I am looking forward to not needing it !!

Barcelona, First Aid and a fond farewell

This month has been and gone in a flash

Starting off with a project in Barcelona for a technology company we helped to create multiple breakout rooms with displays and life scene settings, I was glad to hand back the keys to all the breakout rooms, we have been so used to using electronic swipe cards in more modern venues it seemed odd using so many actual keys like a jailer at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya.

Back in the UK I met up with Chris Howard from CH Drawings, Chris has been creating our CAD drawings since the start of Corporate Events Plus some 20 years ago, before then I worked with Chris at previous companies, over 25 years we have been working together.

Initially the plans were drawn up on tracing paper ‘skins’ and then if I wanted copies of the plans to take to site I had to go to a dieline copy house, the smell of ammonia from the paper was never a pleasant experience.

Chris was quick with the pencil and the corrections and moved onto CAD (Computer Aided drawing) when it first came out creating icons and templates as the technology evolved, he has now retired from the industry and has handed his business over to a protégé Richard who we look forward to working with.

Fishing, music, gardening and grandchildren will keep Chris on the go so I am not sure he is going to be idle, I may even miss his moaning on the phone – ‘’ you want it when?’ , ‘no I have not drawn up that venue before’ , ‘who took these dimensions?’ etc etc – , good luck Chris we will miss you for sure.

FIRST AID AT WORK with St John’s Ambulance.

I have passed the Emergency First Aid at work course, very important, worthwhile and now updated. Each time we learn something else as techniques are adjusted for First Aid care. Make the time to go and do the course you could save someone else’s life if not your own !

One learning was about your mobile phone, if you press the home screen you see in the bottom left corner you see the word ‘Emergency’

Press on the word emergency and it will take you through to another screen, you can make an emergency call on the phone even if the phone is locked.

In the bottom left hand corner there is another word in red – Medical ID –

press on this word and if the owner of the phone has filled in their medical details the emergency services can see important information such as blood group and any allergy’s listed.

May has also not been all work but some play

Luckily one of our suppliers JMT Furniture have the contracts for supplying furniture for the Formula 1 and the Moto GP, they invited us to view their furniture during the Barcelona Formula 1 Grand Prix, brilliant. It was great to see Lewis Hamilton in action and his car on the track, particularly as only a couple of months ago we were displaying his show car on an exhibition stand.

2 projects this month in De Hague, the first a software conference for 1,800 in The World Forum with webcasting, live cameras and multiple LED flown and ground supported video screens using the Watchout system followed by a day of multiple breakout sessions.

And an evening gala dinner at The Van Nelle UNESCO World Heritage site in Rotterdam for 1,600 people including live entertainment with multiple video relay screens for camera and slide content.

We stayed in an IBIS hotel in the centre of De Hague, I would recommend staying here if you needed accommodation in the town, the rooms were comfortable and the bar area and staff welcoming, great to be able to share a beer after a day at the coalface.

Flying a formula 1 car !

This months challenging high light was flying Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 show car onto a vertical wall.

The Formula 1 car used as an attractor to increase footfall on an exhibition booth at Mobile World Congress 2019.

Mounting on site metal spigots that were designed in Berlin onto a fixed metal base plate pre installed on the car in England and then slotting the spigots into precision recessed metal brackets onto a Spanish steel supporting wall structure – finishing with the car on an angle having turned the car through 90 degrees in the process.

A true team effort for the rig and the derig ensured there was no damage to the valuable display item.

In fact this was not the only lifting on this project, a container was lifted off a truck and then when loaded a larger crane was used to lift the heavy container of equipment onto another lorry for returning to Las Vagus for another project.