Thorndon Stride 2010

We are delighted to announce that we will be the overall sponsor of this year’s Thorndon Stride event in aid of Cancer Research UK.

The event takes place on Sunday 10 October and involves an 8km walk around Thorndon Country Park starting at 11am (registration for walkers an hour earlier).

Last year the event attracted around 600 walkers from the local community and beyond, raising an impressive £25,000 in support of Cancer Research UK and their work into researching and beating breast cancer.

We would be delighted if you could join us in supporting this worthy charity by accompanying us on the route and taking in the beautiful Essex woodland. Our Managing Partner, David Chapman, will be leading the firm’s contingent of partners and staff on the day. Friends and family are also welcome to attend.

If you would like to register in advance (it’s cheaper than on the day!) and enter yourself or even a team then all you need do is visit: www.cancerresearchuk.org/breastcancer/events/ThorndonStride/.

We hope you can be there to support this worthy cause.

Race for Business

Jane Winfield, John Southan, Lesley Adler and Rachel Brown took part in the Race for Business in Chelmsford on 30 June 2010. Over 180 businesses took part in the race.

The Wortley Byers runners completed the 5km course in good times, despite it being one of the hottest days of the year so far. A good time was had by all and the runners concluded the evening with a well deserved trip to the pub!

Personal Best for Jane!

Jane Winfield, Partner and Head of Property completed the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 25 April in a personal best time of 3:48:47.

The marathon was Jane’s third marathon in a year and she was delighted to shave over two minutes off her previous personal best time achieved at the Abingdon Marathon in October 2009.

"The conditions were muggy and there were so many people running that from the outset I thought there was no chance of being able to get a good time. I switched my music on, found gaps to dodge in between people and just kept on running" says Jane. "It wasn’t until I got to mile 17 that I realised that I was on track for a time similar to that I had got at Abingdon so I pressed on for

those last gruelling 9 miles. It got really warm and the last three miles were a real killer but I was delighted to get over the finish line with a better time than previously if at all possible."

Jane confirms that London is a "brilliant" marathon to run because the atmosphere is "electric" and says she found it very humbling to run with so many other people running for very personal and worthwhile causes.

"Very sadly, one of my fellow runners, running for Helen Rollason Cancer Charity, was unable to run the marathon because she became very ill a couple of weeks before it. Devastatingly, we learned two days after the marathon that she had, sadly passed away. The 2010 London marathon is therefore dedicated to Laura and her friends and family and Helen Rollason Cancer Charity who I know offered her massive support in the lead up to the marathon and during her tragic illness."

Jane has entered the ballot for the Virgin London Marathon 2011 and is considering other marathons for later this year.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk

On what certainly felt like the hottest day of the year so far 11 set out from the firm to conquer the 25 miles and total 5200 ft climb that comprises Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.

Miz Choudhury, John Southan, Sarah Stanyer, Andrew Plumb and Lawrence Beach vanquished all three peaks and completed the walk within the 12 hours time limit arriving back at the start with sore feet, sunburn and more than a little tired. With Wendy Beach and Andy Dashwood-Begg reaching the summit of two of the Peaks and Ros Plumb, Les Adler, Andrew Moore and Marion Searles overcoming 10 miles of scrabbling up and over rocks, picking their way through bogs (more about that later), navigating the styles, cattle grids and livestock over seemingly endless moorland to meet the support team at the picturesque Ribblehead Viaduct for a well deserved rest and bite to eat.


….and so back to the bog. It didn’t take Andrew Moore too long to dry out but our thanks go to two complete strangers who offered their walking poles and pulled him out of a bog. Les insists he would have come to the rescue had be been able to stop laughing for long enough.

California Bike Tour

Andy, Nick, Rick and Patrick successfully completed their cycling tour from San Francisco to San Diego, raising in exces of their £5,000 target for the Cardiomyopathy Association (www.cardiomyopathy.org). Starting from the Golden Gate Bridge they made their way down Route 1 along the Pacific Coast of America, passing along the golf courses of the Monterey Peninsula, the cliffs of Big Sur, the vineyards of Santa Barbara and the beaches of Orange County on their way towards the Mexican border. In total (and with surprisingly few wrong turns) they cycled approximately 650 miles unsupported.


Thankfully the only real problems encountered were a severe case of sunburn and the odd puncture, as well as being stranded for a night in the one horse town of Guadalupe with no accomodation. The project as a whole has been very challenging but a complete success and the four are (slowly) turning their minds to future trips. Any further support is greatly welcome and donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/nickandandy/.

Grand National Sweepstake 2010

Congratulations to the lucky Lorraine Taylor who picked the

winning horse Don’t Push it, in our Grand National sweepstake! In total Wortley Byers managed to raise £80.00 for the street kids in Burma, who are the firm’s designated charity of the year. Many thanks to everyone who contributed towards this worthwhile cause.

Brentwood Half Marathon

Jane Winfield, Nick Traill, John Southan, Rachel Brown and Les Adler were out in action in the spring sunshine at Brentwood Half Marathon on Sunday 21 March. Some personal bests were achieved with Jane achieving a time of 1:42:31, Rachel 1:44:51, Nick 2:27:30, John 2:28:16 (Rachel’s and John’s first half marathon and an excellent achievement!) and Les 2:51:34

(for Les it was his 130th half marathon!). A great day was had by all and the weather was just about perfect. Luckily, all the runners managed to make it into the office the next day with no major aches and pains!

Handelsbanken Charity Bowl

Two teams from Wortley Byers joined 62 other teams from a variety of local businesses at the 2010 Handelsbanken Charity Bowl in Chelmsford. A grand total of £4,000 was raised on the night for Farleigh Hospice and Little Havens Children's Hospice and a great time was had by all from Wortley Byers whose various bowling skills were reflected in a broad range of scores. Litigation Partner, Michael Callaghan, headed up the Wortley Byers scoreboard just ahead of Property Solicitor, John Southan with Corporate Partner, Nick Trail, Property Partner, Jane Winfield and Litigation Solicitors, Sarah Stanyer and Rachel Brown completing the teams.

Aaron Cane

The Partners are delighted that Aaron Cane has accepted an invitation to join the partnership of Wortley Byers LLP on 1 January 2011.

Aaron qualified as a solicitor in 2005 and joined Wortley Byers the following year. He was made an Associate of the firm in January 2009. Aaron specialises in all areas of commercial property work ranging from development projects, investment acquisitions and disposals and landlord and tenant work. He also heads the Licensing Unit.

Commenting on the appointment Managing Partner David Chapman said "We all congratulate Aaron. He is a real asset to the firm and a valuable addition to the partnership. We wish Aaron the very best for his future with us."

STEP on up!

Solicitor Andrew Spearman has passed the latest round of exams to obtain full membership of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Andrew has one more exam to complete in May 2010. Andrew's colleague, associate Poh Shan Chong, is also set to become a full member of STEP in 2010. Membership of STEP is widely regarded as the gold standard qualification for practitioners in the wills, trusts, probate and estates field.

Wine Tasting

A good night was had by all on Friday 4th December when the Litigation Department here at Wortley Byers held a 'Festive Tasting of French Wines'.

Neil Hornsby of Drinks of France came to the offices to share his knowledge of French vino with a selection of the department's professional contacts as thanks for their hard work in 2009.

The festive evening got off to a sparkling start and after a taste of a selection of white and red wines from a variety of French regions, the evening ended with a fortified pudding wine for those with a sweeter tooth.

With the wine flowing, the guests enjoyed a selection of fine French cheeses, pates and bread, together with petit fours to help 'soak up' the French ambiance and history.

Children In Need

Eyes down! Bingo was the name of the game for this years Children in Need charity event here at Wortley Byers. Tickets were sold in advance of the event with prizes for one line, two lines and a full house on two games held at lunch time.


Warren Hawkings and Linda Plant dazzled in their sequins and loud waistcoats as they took the roles of Cyril and Doris, bingo callers in the board room bingo hall. With their 'two fat ladies' and 'blind twenty' number calling they had the room in stitches. The lucky winners were Donna Harrington, Anne Ellisss, Brian Spencer and Andrew Dashwood-Begg all walking away with prizes including chocolates, wine and spirits, kindly donated by the Partners of Wortley Byers.

All in all the bingo, Pudsey lottery and dress down day donations amassed to a fantastic £215 for the Charity. A massive thank you to everyone who helped make the day a success.

HSBC Quiz

Our team consisting of Sue Dowman, Mike Callaghan, Andy Moore, Andy Spearman, Andy Dashwood-Begg and John Southan (also known as The Andrew Sisters) attended the HSBC Quiz on 17 November 2009 at the Ivy Hill Hotel and came a very credible joint second with Bird Luckin and narrowly missed taking first place by one point. We will be brushing up on our general knowledge skills between now and next November to ensure that we take the winner's cup next time.

Thanks to all those that took part and most importantly, HSBC raised a lot of money for their chosen charities, Farleigh Hospice and Teenager Cancer Trust.

Brighton 10k Run

Corporate Commercial Partner Nick Traill ran the Brighton 10K, which his daughter Jenny also ran, on 15 November. The course ran along the Brighton sea front, which make for a pleasant location; and the event was very well attended. Fortunately the gales and heavy rain of the day before had mostly subsided by the time the race started.

Nick has previously run the Brentwood Half Marathon in 2008 and in 2009 (on that occasion with his other daughter Louise who also ran the 2009 London Marathon); and Nick plans to run the Brentwood Half Marathon again in 2010.

Jane Completes Abingdon Marathon in Under 4 Hours

Jane Winfield, Partner and Head of Property completed her second marathon this year in a time of 3 hours 50 minutes knocking 59 minutes off the time she ran in the London Marathon in April.

"Luckily this time I had no injuries and I followed a fairly rigorous training regime pretty much to the letter so I knew that unless something went horribly wrong technically I should be able to do it" said a delighted Jane. "On the day the conditions were great for running and I managed to maintain 8 ½ minute miles fairly consistently so that I was at mile 21 at just under 3 hours. As with all

marathons, those last few miles were really really hard but crossing that finishing line seeing the time at 3:50 is something I will never forget!"

Jane has a confirmed ballot place in the Virgin London Marathon 2010 and although she doesn't have a "charity" place Jane has said that she would rather put in all the training over the winter months for a good cause so is hoping to raise funds for charity. Further details will follow.