Web Dev Blog » In the News

MBE for Big Bad Bike Ride founder Graham Kennedy

Helen — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:44:44 +0000

Very soon we’ll be launching a new site for fundraiser Graham Kennedy. Graham organises an annual sponsored bike ride to raise money for research into finding a cure for Friedreich’s Ataxia, and this year, in recognition of his fundraising work, he received an MBE in the New Year’s Honours.

Since 1991 the Big Bad Bike Ride has raised almost £600,000 for Ataxia UK, a charity which supports medical research into the causes and possible treatments of Friedreich’s Ataxia. The name ‘ataxia’ means ‘absence of order’, and people with the condition have problems with co-ordination which usually become progressively worse over time.

Graham started his fundraising campaign after his two children were diagnosed with the condition in 1990. His aim is to raise one million pounds for the charity, and, one ambition, he says, “to close York with a massive bike ride, similar to what happens in Cape Town every March when 36,000 take part.”

This year the Big Bad Bike Ride will take place near Pitlochry in the Scottish Highlands, on an undulating circuit of 75 miles. If previous years’ turn-outs are anything to go by, it should see over one hundred riders taking up the challenge.

Graham says the award is “a tribute to all the people who have helped me. Over the years, a lot of people, mainly from the York area, have been involved in the bike rides.”

The Big Bad Bike Ride website will be launched on 15th January 2010.

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Client Awards

Helen — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:41:17 +0000

Jollydays Luxury Camping had a successful year marked by the receipt of the York Press New Business of the Year Award. The award was presented to Jollydays founders Christian and Carolyn Van Outersterp by Ron Godfrey, business editor of the Press, at a ceremony earlier this month.

After a fully booked summer, Jollydays are planning to expand deeper into the woodland, with potential for thirty additional tents equipped with even more luxurious features such as a four poster bed, vintage roll-top baths and flushing toilets.

Another York Press award, the Science and Technology Business of the Year award, saw another of our clients, Applied Web Analytics, as one of two runners up. Applied Web Analytics was launched in March this year by Dan Croxen-John, and the company’s website was given SEO treatment by Semlyen IT.

In yet another award category, Michael Hjort – whose various websites are hosted by Semlyen IT – was a finalist in the Business Personality of the Year. Michael owns Melton’s restaurant and Melton’s Too café bar, and is also director of York Food Festival.

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Our Clients in the Media

Helen — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:38:14 +0000

Several of our clients have made appearances in the national media over the past few weeks – in an article entitled ‘York’s top 10 budget eats‘ in the Guardian, Melton’s Too (whose restaurant sites, and various other endeavours such as York Food Festival, are hosted by Semlyen IT) appeared at the top of list. Also featured in the article was Le Langhe, whose Italian cafe and delicatessen has recently expanded to a full restaurant. Le Langhe’s site was redesigned in order to incorporate information about the restaurant, and a variety of new products have been added to their online Italian food shop.

Jollydays Luxury Camping enjoyed a sudden swell in their number of Facebook fans after a BBC television appearance on Alexander Armstrong’s Very British Holiday. The programme explored a variety of different holiday experiences within the UK as an alternative to overseas travel, highlighting the fact that a British holiday does not necessarily have to mean visiting a traditional seaside tourist trap in the rain. The footage of peaceful woodland and comfortable accommodation drew over one hundred new fans to the Facebook page, and undoubtedly raised public awareness of the concept of ‘glamping’!

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