Workington Office Opening

When I first heard David Allen & Co were opening a new office in Workington it was great news for me.

I first started working for the firm back in February 2002 when I lived in Carlisle. Things changed when I met my partner Claire. She lived and worked in Workington so we decided we would move there and I took another job with a different firm of accountants in Workington.

When I heard about the chance to work for David again, I decided it was too good an opportunity to miss, so I came back at the beginning of the year just in time to help get the new office set up.

It has been great seeing through the whole process and getting involved in all kinds of things like moving furniture and a bit of painting and decorating. The office had been vacant for a little while so one of the first jobs was to get my marigolds out and give the place a right good clean. I am sure that wasn’t on my job description and isn’t really a blokes job anyway is it?!!

I wasn’t alone of course in getting the place all ready. There was a team of us at different times getting things sorted. Fiona Thompson and Sarah Farquhar are also part of the Workington office team and were in there getting everything ready.

Fiona is coming back to work on 3 March having been on maternity leave. Her son Charlie keeps her busy at home, but she is looking forward to getting back to work for a bit of adult conversation (Not sure she will get that from me)! Fiona lives at Bigrigg so being at Workington will be much closer to home for her and she is really keen to build up the Workington office. Sarah Farquhar lives at Cleator so the journey to and from work will be easier for her too and there are other staff who will be at the office at various different times including David who has many clients already who are based in West Cumbria.

I love it here and know I have made the right move to come back. We are still part of the David Allen & Co team, but it is exciting to be involved in the next stage of the firm’s expansion.

Marc Green

Carlisle United Sportsman's Dinner

David Allen & Co had a table at the Carlisle United Sportsman’s Dinner at the Shepherds Inn Carlisle on Sunday 1 February and ten of us including myself went.

The evening started at 7.15 pm where we were asked to take our seats for our 6 course meal which consisted of Soup, Fish Course, which Tim and I got second helpings of, Roast Beef and all the trimmings, a selection of puddings, Cheese and Biscuits followed by Coffee. This set us up nicely for the evening’s entertainment as we were all stuffed by the time the coffees came round.

After our meal there was a raffle with a wide range of prizes like an all expenses day out at Carlisle Races then there was an auction where the top price of £800 was bid for a Kenny Dalglish signed European Cup winner shirt. Melissa thought she had put a bid in when she got an itchy ear.

We were entertained by two guest speakers. First up was the ex England International and Arsenal striker Paul Merson. He entertained us with his stories of life as a Premiership footballer and also his personal stories of Drug and Drink addiction as well as Gambling Problems. It was really interesting stuff as he explained that at one point he was betting £150,000 on a single football match! He later went onto explain how he and Gazza used to live together in Middlesbrough and how when he retired he just took his entire pension out and gambled it away. However he is now back on track and works as a pundit on Sky Sports.

Next up was a comedian from Manchester called Austin Knight. David had got us a table right at the front of the room in the firing line of the comedian but apart from a few comments we got away ok without to much embarrassment. This guy was really funny but a lot of his jokes I wouldn’t be able to repeat here! The evening finished around 11.45 with us all ready for our beds.

A good evening was had by all

Jack Clegg