In September 2022, Infotex was named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s G-Cloud 13 framework the latest iteration of the G-Cloud Framework of 2012. As an agreement between service providers and the government, the catalogue makes Infotex’s cloud-based hosting, software and support services available to public service customers.
Infotex team members Debbie, Jono and Alex have been working hard at completing the application since March 2022, and, after much head scratching with 100’s of questions to answer, are thrilled to have completed Infotex’s very first G-Cloud application and been awarded the contract.
What is G-Cloud 13?
Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2021/22, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.8 billion – supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.
G-Cloud 13 is a framework of approved supplier services where organisations can make purchases via the Digital Marketplace without having to go through a lengthy procurement or tender process every time. This framework is the primary service for the UK public sector, and is available for central government (the primary buyers), charities, education, health, local authority, blue light (police, fire, ambulance, search and rescue), devolved administrations and British overseas territories.
What does this mean for Infotex?
The G-Cloud Framework went live on 14th December 2022. Once the “New Opportunities” feature goes live early this year, Debbie, our Head of Sales, will receive emails with available public sector opportunities that she will be able to respond to. This is an exciting opportunity for Infotex to be a part of an exceptional framework for public sector organisations purchasing cloud services, and we are delighted to have been awarded the opportunity.
In addition to this framework, we have also recently been confirmed as a supplier on the Digital Outcomes 6 (DOS 6) framework too, further strengthening our offering to the public sector.
Digital security is a necessity in an age where attacks and data exfiltration are commonplace. Hosting and managing hundreds of websites and systems also means handling a lot of valuable information. Keeping that data safe is a responsibility we take very seriously.
Cyber Essentials Plus is a UK Government-backed scheme designed to demonstrate organisations’ resilience against cyber attack. It ensures our systems are up-to-date, secure and fit for purpose, meaning our clients can rest assured that they are working with a business that is confident in its digital security.
The standard Cyber Essentials certification covers these five main areas:
As part of the Plus version of the certification, Infotex underwent an independent external technical audit by URM Consulting, to ensure that necessary technical controls are in place for the security of our systems. A random sample of staff were selected to be audited – making sure their work environment is up to date and secured. Our in-house infrastructure team periodically review all devices, to ensure they are all configured correctly. By passing, we are proving our internal processes, policies and security controls are in line with National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) standards
Having previously completed Cyber Essentials Plus, the biggest change for this year is that all cloud services admin accounts offering multi-factor authentication must now have that enabled. In fact Infotex have gone one further and enabled it on all cloud services where that is feasible. Alongside this, minimum password length has been increased for any accounts, something reflecting the increasingly hostile online environment where password cracking tech continues to improve. We have also now disabled that stalwart browser of the last two decades Internet Explorer on all our Windows devices to bring that chapter of the web to a close.
Much like a car MOT, Cyber Essentials Plus is the minimum that we work to. We go above and beyond this with regular reminders and training, both face-to-face and virtual being provided to all Infotex staff to keep security in mind with both our practices, device configurations and website development processes to make sure we are doing all we can to maintain our ongoing cyber security knowing that forms a part of our clients also.
If you are looking at your businesses cyber security then undertaking Cyber Essentials Plus is something that we’d thoroughly recommend. It is a way to focus the company on the aspects which will give you the greatest security benefit against the attacks which are ongoing in the real world as the NCSC evolves the standard every year based upon the attack data that they witness in the real world.
Like many businesses, Infotex has embraced working from home in modern times. The pandemic taught us to adapt and learn, and we learned that there are benefits of providing staff with flexibility and improved internal communication and collaboration.
We continue to adapt and learn, and we now operate a hybrid of homes and offices. Some of the teams meet regularly to work together, whilst the majority of us work from our homes as the default. Plenty of hats and scarves needed at the moment, but no gloves seen yet.
Four times a year the whole company comes together for 2 days of work and play. These gatherings are built on a tradition over the past 15 years of the annual Christmas party plus something in the summer, usually outdoors and involving boats. We now have four company gatherings a year, the dates planned a year in advance.
Our most recent gathering was last week, based on the traditional Infotex parties, but nuanced to reflect the reality that we no longer have a large HQ office to host the activities. So Katie found a house with 13 bedrooms to rent in Ipswich, which became our home for 48 hours. Just spending this time together, as friends and colleagues, was all the more valuable because we are not now all in the same building every day.
For much of the time, people just carried on with their work, but also everyone took the opportunity to have meetings on specific matters, so useful conversations were had, as a group. Being in the centre of Ipswich, we were minutes away from a wonderful pub (The Lord Nelson, in keeping with our nautical traditions) which kept the house guests well fuelled throughout their stay.
On the main day, we held our first awards ceremony – complete with prizes – followed by the now legendary (in our world) Christmas Quiz, which is created and curated by our very own Kris Parker.
In our business update session, we took time to talk about the year behind us, and our hopes for the year ahead. Like so many around us, it feels like it has been a year of two halves, with the optimism at the beginning quickly coming into contact with the reality of the Ukraine war, in collision with our own domestic politics so that the autumn started off with spirits low.
However, fuelled by awards, quiz wins, food and drink, warmth and companionship, we are ending the year optimistic once again, further boosted by a spate of new orders from some long-term clients and the successful completing of some challenging technical projects.
And once again, I have been reminded of how lucky I am to work with such a great team. Capable and competent in their work, talented in their modesty and quietly doing things which make me proud (when I hear about them!).
Time soon for a well earned break…..
Despite originating in the USA, Black Friday has been a staple of the UK shopping calendar for around 10 years. It was first introduced to the UK by Amazon in 2010, with the site regularly crashing due to high traffic levels. Asda then dared to introduce the first ‘in-store’ Black Friday sales in 2013 with offers of up to 70% off.
The idea spread quickly despite reports of broken bones in the shopping extravaganza. The annual shopping event planted deep roots on this side of the Atlantic, becoming a staple in the UK and global calendar.
To say a lot has changed since Black Friday’s introduction would be an extraordinary understatement. Even if we didn’t mention the obvious global pandemic, the cost of the living crisis and decreasing size of the UK economy, UK consumer shopping habits have changed dramatically.
Black Friday 2022 is now over, and despite the doom and gloom of strikes and energy bills, the stats are painting a more positive picture than initially predicted. With our ecommerce and digital eye, we wanted to share a few of our observations with you.
Let’s start with the overall online stats
Long gone are the days when friends became enemies on the aisles of Currys when there appeared to be only one breadmaker (Other electric goods are available… maybe), and it had a 70% OFF red sticker. The sale has been moving ‘online’, with more customers shopping every year from the comfort of their living rooms.
Despite the end of the pandemic and a return to a more normal life, consumers continue to favour online. Footfall was up compared to 2021 but failed to surpass pre-pandemic numbers.
As the popularity of Black Friday has grown and shopping habits are moving online, businesses have had to adapt. With more significant investments into ecommerce and fulfilment, the offers have significantly decreased, making the offers more in line with other calendar sales (e.g. end of season or Boxing Day).
The average discount for orders placed in 2022 was between 12%-15%, far removed from the initial sales offers first introduced in the early 2010s. The reduced offer has meant businesses can extend the sales window, with many sales now lasting most of November.
There is no avoiding the elephant in the room in the UK, with the cost of living crisis. While the figures are not as bleak as initially feared, there is no denying that shoppers are becoming more careful with their purchasing decisions. Mainstream publications have been offering guides to the best deals available to help with shopping.
I myself had a ‘no impulse shopping’ rule. All Christmas presents were chosen in advance, online guides were read as to where the best sale would be, and Black Friday itself consisted of knowing exactly where to get the best deal for my 4-5 purchases.
Good ecommerce businesses were, however, prepared for this, with increased newsletters and email communications to ensure their customers were engaged using tools such as countdown timers and abandoned checkout notifications. On the whole, this has worked, with clickthrough rates seeing an average uplift of around 200% from emails and messages.
Every year we see more and more customers preferring to shop on their phones, and this year was no different, with 55% of all orders made on mobile. It is also expected that upto 89% of visits were from mobile devices.
An interesting, but not completely surprising, revelation was that Shopify saw an increase of 24% in sales generated by social commerce globally across their platform.
Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are now mature, and following investment during the pandemic has several excellent ecommerce tools. Making it easier to adopt a more transactional-based social media strategy.
While many will argue Black Friday is not as significant as in previous years because it isn’t causing a widespread shopping frenzy, I would say it is not declining but maturing. The ‘winners’ of Black Friday will no longer be those offering considerable bargains but sophisticated customer experiences that engage with and reward their audiences.
Looking at the data over the last 10 years, you will see a steady increase in mobile traffic over desktop. This is not going to stop. Look at your website through your customer’s eyes on their mobile and look for ways to improve it. More and more, we are building sites for mobile users first here at Infotex.
Make sure that you are talking to your customers. This can be as simple as offering your long-term customers exclusive deals or early access. Another quick win would be installing instant chat on your website to allow customers to easily get hold of you while on the website.
Don’t just use social media to build your brand. Use it to promote your sales in advance. By sharing previews of exclusive deals, countdown timers, and other engaging content, you can build anticipation and drive traffic to your site.
Sell directly via social media platforms with Instagram. You can put your product right in front of your target audience.
If you want to talk about improving your website for Black Friday 2023, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Each year for the last 8 years Account Manager Kris has hosted a quiz on the day of our Christmas party.
Part myth, part legend, they are discussed in dark corners in hushed tones. Tones such as “that was far too hard”, “we should have got a half-point for Lithuania”, and “where on earth did he get a gold sequin jacket from?” (answer: China, and it’s too small for him so it can’t be buttoned.)
As it is the season of giving we’re sharing this year’s quiz for you all to enjoy:
Allied Health Professionals Suffolk CIC (AHPS), a social enterprise, provide high-quality, accessible NHS healthcare at the point of need to patients in and around Suffolk. The wealth of information on their website allows patients to help themselves using the self-help guides or alternatively, visit AHPS’ self-referral platform should they need face-to-face expert care.
When AHPS approached us to redesign their website, they were looking for not only a new design but a much improved user experience to enable patients to quickly find the information they need, all whilst navigating the complexity of healthcare terminology!
As well as being a point of reference for patients, the website also provides clinician’s and health care workers with valuable resources, so it was important that the site continued to be an asset for them without impacting the experience for patients.
The new website launched in November 2022 and the much improved self-help section has a comprehensive library of tools; including exercises, videos and downloadable factsheets to allow patients to support their own journey back to optimal health.
This has been an exciting project to undertake and we are pleased to say our priority of enabling patient self-care has been further advanced. We know our website will continue to be a valued resource for our whole healthcare system with the ongoing support of Infotex.
Jo Vertigan, AHPS
We continue to work closely with AHPS, supporting them in the ongoing maintenance of their website and self referral platform and we’re looking forward to working with them on some new ideas in 2023 and beyond.
Visit the website to take a look for yourself.
For the majority of the time, the Infotex team are working from home. We asked some of our team what their setup looks like, and what tools they have at their desks to help them get on with work more productively.
When I started working from home, working at the kitchen table did not work for me at all. Working at a single screen in a non-professional space was unlikely to be productive so now I have a small home office set up in the box room. I have a shelf above my desk for my laptop and screen. It is also the dressing room, so the views are limited… but I make sure to take good breaks at lunch and walk the dog.
I am fortunate that my children have grown up and flown the nest so I have set up my office in one of our spare rooms. I have a stand for my laptop, a special chair for my back, and a homemade footstool because being short I can’t touch the floor! I do not have any particular gadgets for my desk but I do take an extra-strength vitamin D tablet every morning. From my office window, I am able to see the blackwater estuary in the distance.
I work in my home office which also doubles as a bedroom. I started out with a portable table and never really liked it so over Christmas 2020 I spent a day making a custom desk – it’s one of the best things I’ve done. Being custom the height is just right and it is relatively sturdy with no wasted space. Best of all the monitors are raised giving additional space and the right height. When I was in the office I had persistent neck pain but since the change I haven’t noticed it. Next step is to varnish the desk top, which should be over the Christmas break this year.
After 3 months of working at my kitchen table, I needed more space and longed to not have to pack everything away each evening. I am now in what used to be my children’s playroom, it is quite small but works perfectly.
My monitors are on adjustable arms to give me as much desk space as possible. As well as a lamp directly above my desk I have a light therapy lamp for the winter time which does help with the lack of daylight.
I have been working from home since before it was cool, so I have spent a lot of time and effort getting my setup just right. My main hobby at the moment is video game development, so I spend a lot more time behind my desk than the average person.
Here is a breakdown of what I use:
From my home office window I can see the tops of some bushes and trees with a rambling rose growing over it which looks lovely when it is in bloom. For a change of scenery, I’ll occasionally work in the living room or conservatory.
Lighting is important to me – I don’t use anything special, just a 100W equivalent LED bulb so that there are no shadows in the room.
I’ve built a monitor stand out of some old kitchen units to support my two monitors to get them to the correct height. I’ve raised my desk to a suitable height using bricks as an adjustable desk is excessively expensive! I have a decent adjustable chair (but I do partially regret not getting a proper osteopath approved one) and a foot-stool built from more old kitchen unit pieces! Why didn’t you buy one: They are expensive and I like upcycling spare items.
Being a one-screen worker, and not nearly precious enough about my back, I like moving around and working from my laptop with cable headphones in whichever library, café, or kitchen will have me! Because of my work I have few meetings and so can afford to be in more bustling, noisy places, or in silent zones of a library, and find I really thrive off the changes in scenery.
On days when I work from home I have a desk that belongs more to the house plants that live there than it does to me, but they make space for me when they have to…
This is a topic which started over 10 years ago and is led by the USA’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and is shared with the European Cyber Security Month (ESCM).
While the topic may seem ethereal and mired in complicated titles, the principle behind it is very simple and one which every business should take time this month to consider if you haven’t already.
October is a month when many businesses start to focus on the busy period ahead and getting the basics in place before that rush could save you valuable time later on so here are some thoughts and actionable tips.
Cyber Security starts with the simplest of things, which hopefully everyone reading this knows and implements already:
Infotex have gone through the accreditation process, and while we had a good security understanding beforehand this has helped focus everyone’s attention on the issue.
Phishing is when a fraudulent email is sent to you asking you to take some action believing the email originated from someone else you know. This is one of the biggest threats to any organisation today with almost a quarter of breaches in the Verizon Data Breach Report 2022 started via a phishing attack.
It is believed that around 3% of all phishing emails successfully entice their viewer to click the link. The emails are often very convincing using a combination of familiarity, based on information colleagues have posted about themselves online (sometimes unwittingly), and also a sense of urgency. It is always worth taking that moment to check because clicking a fraudulent link could be the start of a chain of events you’ll never forget.
Phishing doesn’t just happen via email. Text messages and phone calls are also becoming more common targets for phishing attackers as awareness of email phishing rises.
Ransomware is designed to prevent you from getting access to the files on your computer by encrypting them. You are then invited to pay a ransom to unlock the files.
It is generally recommended not to pay ransoms as you can’t be sure that the attacker will fulfil their side of the deal. You’re also funding organised crime and encouraging future attacks. It is better to invest in good protection and well-protected, external backups that are not directly connected to any device. Ensuring your computing devices and programs are up-to-date and have good antivirus software installed costs very little but offers a lot of protection, also maintain a good policy on keeping the operating system and software patches up to date, such as Windows Updates, finally if you run as a limited user rather than an administrator that often reduces the damage an attacker can inflict.
Within Cyber Security the term “capture the flag” is an exercise whereby one team set out to obtain some item of data held by another team within the business. If they are able to obtain it then both teams stop, learn how it happened and agree on steps that can be taken to ensure that a genuine attacker could not do so, thus increasing the overall security of the organisation.
You don’t need formal “red & blue teams” to do this, even the smallest of businesses can benefit from trying this, perhaps start by seeing whether one staff member can find the login password (or passphrase) for another member of staff’s computer. is it on a post-it attached to their monitor, is it the name of their child / cat / favourite holiday destination? Do they leave their PC logged in while they take their lunch break allowing anyone to walk up-to and use the PC in their absence?
The aim of Capture The Flag is not to belittle anyone but rather for everyone to learn from the experience and collectively improve your defences.
These are just a few of our thoughts, there’s much more advice available online as well as events in both the virtual and physical world but now you’ve read this article do ask yourself whether even that advice is genuine or is someone trying to get information out of you?
On Sunday 9th October 2022 an Infotex team completed The Suffolk Whole Hog – a gruelling 5 miles (8km) run through multiple muddy and wet obstacles. This time the team was raising money for BIG KID Foundation which strives to see no young person lose their life or potential to youth violence.
We have combined our fundraising efforts with a team of runners who were tackling the London Royal Parks Half Marathon and so far have raised over £12,000.
On the start line were Ant Agar, Chloe Agar, Katie Robinson, Matt Adlem and Will Ridd from Infotex. A special thanks goes to Will for stepping in with just 2 weeks’ notice after James Fulford suffered an injury. The numbers were swelled by friends and partners Kevin Bolton, Shaun Bailey and Theo Glashier.
Taking place in the picturesque surroundings of Wantisden Valley, there was an early morning nip in the air following overnight lows of 4°c. However, by start time the sun was out and the mercury was just breaking through double figures.
A group warm-up was led by the enthusiastic Whole Hog staff and followed seamlessly into the start of the race, with the team’s pristine white t-shirts disappearing into the distance. Thanks to Suffolk company EcoTeePrints.com for all the help with our amazing shirts – they definitely made our team easy to spot.
Thereafter followed 5 miles of off-road running, which involves a nice early soaking from a firehose to get the blood chilled and obstacles that wouldn’t look out of place in a SAS selection course.
The ones the team talked about most after the event described a lot of in-the-water, under-the-water, in-the-tunnel experiences, enhanced with an infusion of mud, so that it seemed to be coming out their pores when they returned. Some of the mud, we understand, was more-than-mud, the clue being surrounding fields of free-range pork in production.
One section late in the course saw competitors scrambling through a tangle of elastic ropes while being showered by freezing water, then up a hill to rapidly slip down into a deep, dark and murky pool to go under and over a series of beams.
As they got out of the water the foul stench of the following obstacle was met by equally foul language as they realised they had to go under a low cargo-net through some mixture of thick sticky mud and other unidentified farm-yard deposits.
The run into the finish culminated in a steep rope climb up a 10ft stack of hay bales, before a staggered descent down the other side. Then a welcome rinse under a hose, which the organisers had thoughtfully provided.
Matt and Shaun came home first and second from our team and, despite being sent temporarily the wrong way by marshals, beat last year’s time by some distance (52:54 / 56:10). These fantastic times put them in 4th and 6th overall for the entire event!
Theo beat the hour mark with a 59:59 (9th overall), and Kevin not far behind in 1:00:16 (11th overall).
Our Production Manager Katie clocked 1:04:36 which made her 4th fastest female on the day!
Father / daughter combo Ant and Chloe crossed the line together, followed not long after by Will – all finished in under 1 hour 20 minutes and in the top 105 competitors out of 659.
If you wish to find out more about why we’re supporting BIGKID this year please view our “A Whole Hog and Half a Marathon for BIGKID” article.
To find out more about the charity itself visit www.bigkidfoundation.org
Finally, and most importantly, to support the efforts of our team (and our friends who ran the Royal Parks Marathon) you can still donate here.
To those of you who supported us for the Whole Hog last year – Thank You! The money you helped raise for Home Start will have a lasting impact: it has enabled the equivalent of more than 52 isolated families joining life-changing support groups, 113 families accessing one-on-one support, or 227 families receiving emergency supplies.
Your generosity made it all worth while, so we are at it again; preparing to get muddy in a smelly way, sweaty, and (as we now know) pretty bruised, but all with a purpose.
This year we have chosen to join forces with our friends running in “Sam’s Team” in the hope we can attract greater support for BIGKID Foundation, who are a smaller charity facing huge challenges as they work tirelessly to meet demand. Trust us when we tell you that if you are going to give some money to charity, this one deserves your backing. And so does the Infotex team, who after a complacent start (we’ve done it once before, how hard can it be?) are now feeling the fear… training is well underway, but it’s not as easy as we thought.
Training updates from the team are only slightly concerning…
Chloe: Last year I was excited because I didn’t know what was coming, but this time I am more apprehensive because I know what’s going to hit me… the strong smell of pigs and a mass of mud to the face.
Running has been really difficult this year (I like to blame that on the heat), but I’ve taken up squash and bouldering to try and build some strength for all those obstacles, so maybe I won’t be last again…
Ant: I’m feeling my age! It’s all very well trying to deny it, but aging is a real thing that happens to all of us – as I am learning …
Katie: It’s been harder to find time to train this year (or I’ve found more excuses) but I’ve stepped it up in the past few weeks and the Autumn weather is very welcome after such a hot summer!
Our team members might have a way to go before feeling ready on the 9th of October, but sore legs are ever accompanied by a sense of hope and inspiration that maybe we can raise even more money this year.
We’re running in solidarity with a group running the London Royal Parks half-marathon on the same day and have joined forces with them to double up our support for the BIGKID Foundation.
We’ve already had one team member have to pull out following an injury whilst on honeymoon (don’t ask)! Here’s the evidence ….
Happily, our new apprentice Will Ridd has stepped in at the last minute to fill his space. When we last caught up with Will, he was expressing doubts, but we have promised him he is in for the experience of a lifetime. I’m not entirely sure that made him feel any better.
changing the world one kid at a time
While still in sixth form in 2000, Shaninga Marasha began a mentoring programme for students at risk of exclusion and on their final warning. After a few years, the mentoring grew into a bigger programme of youth engagement that Shaninga and friends implemented through touring music events. Realising the potential of their grass-roots action and working in schools, they formed a charity in 2006 based around running workshops and activities to improve life skills for young people. Now they run Community Engagement, Mentoring and Leadership Programmes for countless young people in London. Read more about The BIGKID Foundation’s story here.
Many of the young people that BIGKID work with are gang affiliated and have been excluded from school. Your donation (and we encourage donations of any size big or small) could make all the difference in helping a young person build confidence, stay in school, get qualifications, and build a better life. For £25 a month you can sponsor a young person – giving them a mentor, invaluable support and encouragement, and helping to change their life immeasurably.
To donate please click HERE. Thank you so much to everyone who chooses to donate, every donation really does count, any amount.
It’s that time of year again. Not Halloween, nor Christmas. The Suffolk Whole Hog run takes place on Sunday 9th October. Training needs to start immediately, if it hasn’t already. We are a bit amazed at how quickly it has come round again.
Last year we entered an Infotex team of 8, all of whom managed to complete the course, some in a competitive spirit, to raise more than £2,500 for Home Start, who provide families with much needed support in times of urgent need.
This year we have expanded our team and our ambition. We have joined forces with friends in London to support a London based charity – BIGKID Foundation, and I thought I’d share a bit about how we got here….
Some years ago, our local sailing club at Aldeburgh hosted its first week hosting a group of BIGKIDs to teach them to sail. Sometimes I think that we are all just children really, but these “big kids” are specifically years 9-13 students from schools in London, whose circumstances have combined to make life harder than it should be, with the consequential risks to their chances to do well in life.
Through volunteering at the local sailing club, a few of us in Suffolk learned about the fantastic work that BIGKID does, to offer these youngsters a community in which they can find opportunity, friendship, kindness and support, outside of home or school. Basically it is access to good people who can inspire and build confidence in those around them to feel able to fulfil their potential, and to discover their ability to help others to do the same.
Through the sailing connection, the occasional day volunteering to help left me profoundly impressed by the people I met. The students were all incredibly impressive, with a zest for life and ambitions stimulated by the BIGKID approach – its amazing staff and also the sheer pleasure and excitement of forming the kind close friendships borne of a competitive yet supportive community. Talking to the staff, they tell me with pride about the new BIGKID headquarters in Brixton, where young people from all across London go daily after school to take part in all sorts of activities. They tell me how BIGKID is able to go into schools that are experiencing difficulties with specific groups of disruptive students – identified as at risk of getting drawn into criminal gangs, drug dealing or worse – and turn these kids around by showing them how to become young leaders, role models for their peers.
This year, we are running simultaneously with a group of BIGKID friends running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London at the same time as our Suffolk Whole Hog. This is a group which my daughter Chloe and I would be running in, if we had not already committed to Whole Hog, so we decided to join forces instead for a bigger impact. We will be deepening our relationship with an organisation connected to us, by supporting them financially (yes – we will be writing to you), in a manner which I know they will approve of. My secret ambition is that they will send a team of BIGKIDs to the Suffolk Whole Hog next year, for the sheer joy of it!
BIGKID is a small charity that does tremendously important work with very little, and they really do deserve as much support as we can all give.
You can donate at: www.peoplesfundraising.com
Thank you so much to everyone who chooses to donate, your support means everything.
At Infotex we have a very talented team who have a wide range of interests outside of work.
While I spend my work hours mainly staring at lines of code on a screen understanding how to make our systems fast yet reliable, outside of work I can often be found tinkering on physical things and have had a passion for model and miniature railways for many years and, like so many, find steam to be intriguing but had never taken it any further.
However, in 2017 with my long-suffering now-wife’s encouragement, decided to change all that and build our very own miniature fully working steam engine. Never one to do things half-heartedly instead of building the more common quarter-size steam tractor we decided to build a half-size road-going Foden steam lorry.
The plan was that parts would arrive each month just needing finishing, painting and assembly over 2-3 years – how hard could this be!
With the boxes soon piling up, we realised one garage wasn’t going to be sufficient so called in some family favours to store more parts boxes and had also built a much-needed shed / workshop by Autumn 2019.
At this point the project didn’t really resemble anything lorry-like, being effectively a set of steel rails laid upside down across props with various parts pointing at the sky.
As it happened, with COVID-19 lockdowns I had a lot more time on my hands during 2020 & 2021 meaning that while many were tending their gardens or counting their toilet roll stocks I could mostly be found in the shed beavering away.
Joking aside I do believe that having such a project has a significant positive impact on one’s mental health during those dark times by giving a purpose to life and something to focus on and look forward to when so many other aspects of normality were closed off for us all.
In August 2020 in a brief period of time when some friends with muscles were allowed out of their houses, we turned the chassis up the right way and started to attach wheels. The process of turning this heavy, yet so far from being complete, construction did bring home that this was going to be quite a large model when complete!
Working away almost every weekend for the next 18 months turned this into a 12’ long, 4’ wide, 5’+ tall model steam lorry weighing in at around 1.2 tons!
Having finally worked out how to move this behemoth, come May 2022 (almost 5 years after starting), water was finally put into it (and poured out of many places), eventually we reached a point where it was safe to light a fire which showed up much more serious problems with a faulty water injector and bent main shaft, the latter requiring stripping back down much of the mechanics.
By August 2022 replacements were fitted, everything rebuilt and its equivalent of an MOT passed!
While still some way off completion visually, the engine has now concluded its first event without major issue and the smiles it put on many faces, young and old, as well as my own, through the obligatory layer of oil, makes so much of the effort worthwhile. I do now have a list of “snags” to fix, hopefully the main build and road registration will be completed for Summer 2023.
It’s interesting to compare the process of building this with that of my day job with websites & servers.
At times there’s a lot of very un-glamourous work and it can feel like every step forward is coupled with 2 steps back with each and every stage of the project taking 10x longer than expected but if everyone grits their teeth and works through it eventually you’ll have something satisfying and functional that puts smiles on faces.
What’s the next project…..
Discover how our team can help you on your journey.
Talk to us today