It’s a blessing for the Mashes at a Microbrewery in Bishop Auckland, at the official opening of the Black Paw brewery by the Bishop of Durham.

In a short ceremony to open the Black Paw Brewery in Bishop Auckland, The Right Revd Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham gave a short address of welcome and comment on the fact that this was only the ninth Micro Brewery he had been to, the previous eight had all been on the same day many years ago on a trip to Basel in Switzerland whilst he worked in the Oil Industry.  

The Bishop was given a short tour of the Bishop Auckland brewery and shown how beer is made from the raw ingredients, through the mash tun, ageing and final barrel filling.

Bishop Justin said: “It's a delight to support local businesses in any way that I can; it particularly nice that this one is one my doorstep. In our current  troubling economic climate it really encouraging to see small businesses starting up and making a go of it. There is so much that small businesses can do to get our economy going both locally and nationally and I welcome this opportunity to support them.”

Brewery Owner Phil Whitfield started the business in mid 2011 when he decided that it was time to quit his then day job in the NHS to give his dream of being a micro-brewer a spin. He said:” I might have seemed like a risky move to start a small business in an economic downturn, but I just felt that I didn’t want to get to retirement age and look back and think what if? He added: “If this country is going to get out of this economic plight that it finds itself in, we will need more small businesses like this to lead the charge; as it is these businesses that form the backbone of our economy. “Bishop Auckland has a really strong local business ethic and I am pleased to be part of it.”

Local CAMRA committee member for mid-Durham Gerry Vickers said: “The Black Paw brewery makes very good, very consistent beer and it is good to see microbreweries being formed and this is an example of one done very well.

The Rt Rev Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, today (Wednesday May 16) delivered his House of Lords Maiden Speech in which he praised the North East’s sense of innovation but appealed for more to be done to boost business confidence and for the region to be given more support in areas such as construction and skills. His comments include references to ‘the Gracious Speech,’ which is the speech delivered to Parliament by the Queen on behalf of the Government, and the ‘Budget Red Book‘, which contains Government budgetary proposals.
He said: “The North East was a centre of regeneration and human flourishing in the Dark Ages, a light across northern Europe of learning and the re-founding of knowledge. It has been, over the centuries, one of the centres of the economic life of this country and if it has one significant problem today it is that people begin too many sentences with, “the trouble with the North East”, when, in fact, it is not a problem to be solved but one of the great assets of the country.

“It is an area of innovation and exporting, the only region with a balance of trade surplus. In recent months we have seen the growth of the car plant at Nissan, which with the latest investment announced a few weeks back will employ 6,000 people. Last year Hitachi announced a train assembly plant within a few miles of where Stephenson built the Rocket. A few weeks back steel production began again on Teesside at the SSI plant, where it had stopped last year, finding jobs again for up to 1,500 people. But all this takes place against the grim economic background which the Gracious Speech recognises and which was the context of the Budget Red Book.”

He said that action was needed to encourage companies which had funds to invest, adding: “It is being hoarded not because it is needed imminently to repay debt but out of lack of confidence. Both the Gracious Speech and the Budget Red Book emphasise the importance of exports and investment, but the major constraints in the North East are not imagination or determination to achieve those ends, but confidence and skills. Already with even the very marginal recovery in export led manufacturing of the last two years, skill shortages are emerging in engineering. Skills are taught not in classrooms alone but by the motivation of job observation and work experience combined with technical teaching and vocational learning. “I have the privilege of being patron of the Northern Echo’s ‘Jobs Campaign ‘, which aims to create and find a thousand apprenticeships and internships over the next 12 months in the Darlington Region for exactly this reason. Confidence is not something that comes from words alone, but from signs of action that enable others to feel that if they don’t get moving they will get behind.”

Calling for more investment in construction, in areas such as renovations of listed buildings, he said: “Here, and in areas of the public service, there are what President Obama calls ‘shovel ready projects’, which could be brought rapidly into reality if a certain amount of money were allocated to projects where contracts could be started within six months. Cranes build confidence as well as buildings.

He said: “ This morning I was talking to the Chief Executive of the Northeast Chamber of Commerce and was delighted to learn of a regional company in the Subsea sector manufacturing remotely operated vehicles who created 500 jobs over the last 5 years.”

In the preparation notes for today’s maiden speech [attached] Bishop Justin further commented: “Some weeks ago I attended a ceremony in Newton Aycliffe where the owner of EBAC, a major manufacturer of water coolers and other office equipment, gave his company to a Trust, which will be to the benefit of the community and its staff to ensure its continued existence. That company is worth approximately £30 Million, exhibiting the kind of flourishing of community that comes from confidence.” Summing up his maiden speech he concluded: “Such flourishing is the most effective answer to the differentials in life expectancy, to the issues of family life, to the numbers of people dependant on food banks, to the issues of mental health and of human well-being that are faced across our region. The Gracious Speech focuses much on the need for renewed growth and vitality in our economy. They will not come through exhortation alone but must come through action and leadership.”

Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, today (April 10th) commented on the excellent news of Nissans announcement of further expansion plans to produce its new hatchback at its Sunderland plant expressing his delight and support for this important milestone in the regeneration of the North East economy.  

In his statement Bishop Justin said: "I was very pleased to learn of this great piece of news this morning, this is a very positive affirmation of the skills and abilities of the people and economy of the North East to compete on a world stage and to be truly World Class. 

The Right Revd. Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham confirmed today (March 29th) that he will be the Patron of the North East Call to Action on Global Poverty and Climate Change (NE-CAP).

 Speaking about the announcement Bishop Justin said: " I am delighted to have been asked to continue to support this worthy initiative as was the case with the previous Bishop of Durham The Right Revd Tom Wright. 

“This is really important to me. It had taken all our lives to find each other and to have the ring blessed again by the Bishop will mean a lot. It means it will carry all those promises that Dave made on our wedding day.”

As part of the work that we have been doing in the US and India over the last few months we are looking for a mobile technology software development Associate based in the UK.

Emerging Technologies in the mobile and cloud based technology spaces, will dramatically change the way businesses engage with their customers ... we plan to exploiting these technologies to the full.

Well finally it would seem that we have signs of spring in the North East of England. The daffodils are spring up and the heating has finally been turned from full blast to occasional use.

At this time of year we can all see things in a more positive light. Indeed we even start to think that there is an end in sight for this economic doldrums that we are all still experiencing. So why not take this new feeling of positivity and turn it to good use in your own business, and give your business strategy a bit of a spring polish?

When was the last time you visited your business plans and targets? We all know that it critical that we have goals and plans but sometimes the we just seem to be to busy getting on with our daily activities to polish up those strategic plans.