Last night, Ian and I took a group of long serving members of staff and their partners out to supper. We had a lovely evening and it was great to be able to celebrate their many years of devotion to IDS as well and to say thank you to those who have supported them during this time.

They had a staggering 200 years of service to our customers between4 them!  If you the add the 66 years Ian and I have also jointly devoted to the company it is a pretty amazing record.
Here are some photos of the happy occasion.

Last week I attended, with two of my colleagues, the Catex Summit in London. It was a very interesting and informative day but the highlight was that we were joined by a team from South Devon College who were there to help Toni Kemble and I launch the brand new Direct Commerce qualification. This is a modar distance-learning qualification which leads to a degree validated by the University of Plymouth.

A great deal of interest was shown by many of the attendees and their businesses. Here we are with two of my fellow Catex Board members as well as the team from S Devon College at the Summit.

Kate, Ami and I have spent this weekend at the annual UKA Conference at the amazing Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Hundereds of dance teachers from around the world converged on this incredible (and being restored I am happy to say!) Art Deco building to network, socialise and of course learn new styles and technique of many different dance styles including, this year, Burlesque!

It was great for us to meet new customers as well as catch up with some who have supported us for many years.

We were delighted to be launching a new childrens ballroom dress which we have developed in conjunction with the UKA. This will be compulsary for medal test from October this year. Available to pre-order only at present, they will be available on line as soon as we have stock. Keep checking www.ids.co.uk for details of these dresses and their launch date. They will also be available in our new Diamond Book which is due out in August.