As the newest addition to the team here at thebestof Bury, I’m having a fantastic time getting to know all of our members.

On my second day here, I attended the Big Bury Spring Expo and was thrown in at the deep end, trying to take in names and faces, hoping I’d be able to remember everyone. I need not have worried, as members are forever popping into the office to say hello and update us on the goings-on of their businesses. It’s fascinating to hear about the strong relationships that business owners in the community have, and how they work with each other on different projects.

Kathryn recently took me out on a road trip around Bury to deliver some certificates and our updated Handy Local Books to a handful of businesses, which was brilliant as it meant I could jog my memory of people’s names from the expo three weeks ago!

We started at BCC Cars, where they had won two certificates for being highly commended in their category and ranking 66th in the top 100 UK businesses. We enjoyed a hot chocolate as we checked out some of the fantastic cars they had on show – and who doesn’t LOVE the smell of new cars? They were very busy so unfortunately didn’t get chance to chat for too long, but I think I might be hankering after a new Citroen DS5 when my trusty old Yaris finally conks out…

Just nipping down the road to Walshaw Motor Bodies, we handed over their certificate for coming highly commended in their category, and met Malcolm, his wife Susan and their 4 year old granddaughter, who was acting as supervisor for the day! It was lovely to see how incorporated into the family local businesses actually are, and you know that when they talk about family values – they really do mean it. It’s certainly something you don’t often get with large corporations.

A quick change of scenery, we drove round the corner to Carriages, a hair and beauty salon at the Stables Country Club, where I was envious of the ladies getting their hair done, and they gave us some review cards for us to enter on the system.

Then it was up towards Tottington, which is and always has been home for me, popping into CJM Physiotherapists who came first in their category to pick up some review cards, before going round to Little Holcombe Nursery to give them their “Highly Commended” certificate which they were absolutely over the moon with!

After a quick chat and introduction, we drove off towards Walmersley Golf Club, which is situated right at the top of a hill, via a narrow, winding road. Once you reach the club, the views are absolutely stunning – a perfect reason for us to hold our summer BBQ there! We just have to hope that the British weather doesn’t let us down.

We then nipped back to the office to pick up some more blank review cards and Handy Local Books, before we got hungry and we stopped for lunch and a catch up with Wendy at Delicious. I’d never been to Delicious at the Fusiliers before, so the café was a nice surprise for me, really well priced and tasty! We each had a Mediterranean melt, which was a toasted sandwich with Italian Meats and Manchego cheese.

Wendy pulled up a chair once we’d finished our lunch and we got to chatting about some new catering work she was taking on, and one of her new hires, Helen, who came over to introduce herself. It’s really nice to be so welcomed into a business, Wendy made sure that we knew what was going on and how we might be able to help promote her business over the next few months.

Finally running into The Clarence to hand them their “Highly Commended” certificate, we returned to the company Smart car, which had been blocked in by a delivery truck! But thanks to Kathryn’s incredible driving and skillful manoeuvres, we squeezed out of the gap with millimetres to spare and headed back to the office.

It was great to see the fantastic rapport Kathryn has built with our members, and how welcoming they were to me. I think having face to face catch ups and meetings is really beneficial for local businesses, because you get to meet the people who are working behind the scenes and truly get a feel for their business and what it means to them, meaning we can do our job knowing that we’ve got their business goals in mind.