Ellis IP Ltd

12/01/2022

We've rowed a boat in the sea a few times. We keep catching crabs – yes, that is a nautical expression, and no, it is not intentional. Neither does it involve real-life crabs*.

Having experienced just a little of the blistered hands involved, we are astonished by the exploits of Five in a Row, a team of five perfectly normal** men who are nearing the end of an astronomical 3,000-mile, five-week row unsupported across the Atlantic in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

We were the first sponsors of the team, and it's been nice to think of our company logo bobbing across that mighty ocean, with no especial effort from us 😂

The Five In A Row team – Ian Baird, Duncan Hughes, Ross McKinney, Fraser Potter and Clive Rooney – have been making great strides (strokes?) and are currently sitting second in a field (sea?) of 35 boats. They are due to arrive in Antigua on Sunday, and we can only imagine how pleased they'll be to stretch their legs on dry land.

The rest of the community back home have been following their progress with glee and excitement on the YB Races app. (You can find out about the other rowers, too, including those hardy souls rowing solo 😲.)

This Saturday, North Berwick Rowing Club will be holding a rowing relay on land in solidarity with their pals, and to help raise money for Five In A Row's chosen charity, Reverse Rett.

Frankly, we think these guys deserve every penny that is donated. We've seen their videos on Instagram (.row) and the exhaustion is etched into their faces and voices.

We wish them all the very, very best in these final days of the challenge, and hope they return home enormously proud of their achievement.

You can donate to Reverse Rett on behalf of Five In A Row via justgiving.com/fundraising/ross-mckinney6

* Find out what catching crabs really means here phrases.org.uk/meanings/to-catch-a-crab.html
** One has been rowing for only four years and one had never rowed at all before training for this event!



https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/atlantic-rowing-challenge-ellis0ip/?trackingId=2RAXcx%2BcCv%2BzoDkwOiXGig%3D%3D

12/12/2021

The race is on!

The Five in a Row team, sponsored by Ellis IP, have set off on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

This is the beginning of a 3000-mile row, which should take about five or six weeks 😲, during which time they will alternately row two hours and sleep two hours, 24 hours a day.

They're doing this to raise funds for Reverse Rett, a charity dedicated to changing the lives of children and adults with Rett Syndrome. Team member Ross McKinney's daughter Eliza lives with the illness, so this is a very personal challenge.

Download the YB Races app to follow their progress; and please consider donating to Five in a Row and Reverse Rett at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ross-mckinney6?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=ross-mckinney6&utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_term=783b2c358b2347f191ebc0e041b83589&fbclid=IwAR2iAmWqb_N69DXNNL5ayyuiBH2HQeruend9dazN3e7ZOgWC-zLzPyQ8wmU

Find out more about the team at https://www.fiveinarow.co.uk

Help Ross McKinney raise money to support Reverse Rett

05/11/2021

The "World's Toughest Rowing Race" begins in early December – and Ellis IP's logo will be on one competing team's boat.

The brave men of Five In A Row are taking part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, and have seen their boat already whisked away to the start line in La Gomera.

When the men join it and set off on their cross-Atlantic adventure, they will be expected to then row in two-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, for over a month.

As they explain on their website, they will be "rowing unsupported, carrying all of our food and supplies on board, and face up to 40ft waves, sleep deprivation and using a bucket as a toilet."

The crew are rowing to raise money for Reverse Rett – and Ellis IP is proud to support and sponsor them. We wish Ian Baird, Duncan Hughes, Ross McKinney, Fraser Potter and Clive Rooney the very best of luck.

22/04/2021

Is everyone fed up with caterpillar cakes by now?!

Here at Ellis IP, we've seen lots of complaints that M&S is picking on Aldi. "There are plenty of other stores with caterpillar cakes!" they cry. "Forget Cuthbert - what about Cecil, Curly, Clyde, Wiggles, Morris and Co-op's unimaginatively named 'Curious'?"

Well, we at Ellis IP HQ have a theory. And it's not so much to do with potential confusion - after all, when you're in Aldi, you know it's an Aldi Cuthbert cake you're buying, not an M&S Cecil one.

We think it might be more of a wholesale testing of Aldi's business model. The German family-owned discount supermarket chain is renowned for sailing very close to the wind when it comes to copying competitors' products. Nutoka chocolate spread and Iron Brew anyone?

Nobody seems to have been brave enough to call it to a halt yet, though. Scottish brewery and pub chain BrewDog famously entered into a Twitter spat with the supermarket after shoppers drew similarities between Aldi’s Anti-Establishment Beer and BrewDog’s Punk IPA, and ended up making the Ald IPA brand exclusively for the shop.

But M&S has gone old school and turned to its IP lawyers to test the waters on protecting its reputation.

Aldi, which is bigger and richer than the British brand, then played a blinder and said on its social media channels that it would donate cash from sales of Cuthbert to cancer charities. Oo, smart move.

Will M&S still see them in court? Can Aldi handle the truth?!

Maybe caterpillar cakes will be making headlines for some time to come...

04/01/2021

The Five In A Row crew, who will be rowing across the Atlantic later this year to raise money for Reverse Rett, would be delighted to get more sponsorship and donations. To find out more, visit http://www.fiveinarow.co.uk/support/

FOUR North Berwick men are preparing to embark on the challenge of a lifetime and row across the Atlantic Ocean next December for charity.

07/10/2020

On 4 August this year, a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate in Beirut, Lebanon, exploded, killing at least 200 people, injuring 6,500 and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless.

Lebanon’s economy was already on the brink of collapse and suffering further through the strain of the coronavirus lockdown.

Charity Islamic Relief, founded and based in London, immediately set to supporting those who had lost their homes, providing drinking water and food.

They also helped to clear the streets, and provided money and food parcels.

The explosion caused $15billion in property damage; Islamic Relief pledged $5 million in emergency funding to support the recovery.

Ellis IP donated what it could to help the charity meet its target and help to rebuild the city in some small way.

Director Michael Ellis said: “When we heard about the devastating explosion in the port district of Lebanon in August, a Syrian friend living in Beirut gave me a first-hand account of hearing the blast.

“That another friend in Cyprus reported hearing the blast gave a sense of the scale of the explosion.

“This destructive blast came at a time when, like many other countries, Lebanon is struggling with Covid-19. But Lebanon has already had a period of political turmoil and economic difficulties.

“A country with a population (6.8 million) of little more than Scotland, it shelters more than 1.5 million refugees, mostly from neighbouring Syria – the scale of that in a small country is mind-boggling.

“The Beirut I’ve heard about (I’ve never been) is a buzzing, multicultural, entrepreneurial city. Its people are suffering so badly with crisis upon crisis.

“It felt really important to be able to make even a small contribution, so we contributed to Islamic Relief’s Lebanon Emergency Appeal.

“Its focus has been on providing immediate humanitarian relief, food and water to those in need in Beirut and helping clean up the city after the explosion, before helping with initial rebuilding.”

To donate to the emergency appeal fund, go to islamic-relief.org.uk/lebanon-emergency

25/09/2020

Ellis IP patent attorney Adam also chose the British Lung Foundation as a charity for our team to support.

He said: "I chose this charity to support research into bronchiectasis, a disease which a close family member fought throughout their life."

The British Lung Foundation has been researching lung conditions for 30 years. It works to improve care and to prevent, treat and cure lung diseases.

The charity also provides a helpline, support groups, web community and easy-to-understand information for those with lung conditions.

Not only that, it also aims to prevent lung disease by campaigning for positive change in the UK's lung health.

The charity is raising awareness about lung disease and the things that cause it, and provides information on how to look after your lungs.

To find out more and donate, visit www.blf.org.uk

🎈

23/09/2020

Five In A Row are a team of five men from North Berwick, East Lothian, who are planning to row across the Atlantic next year, racing other crews in the 2021 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

The team – Ian Baird, Duncan Hughes, Ross McKinney, Fraser Potter and Clive Rooney – are taking part in what is described as "the world’s toughest rowing race”, and will be rowing unsupported, carrying all food and supplies on board, facing 20ft waves and sleep deprivation, and using a bucket as a toilet.

If this seems like an incredible challenge, it gets even more amazing -- one team member has been rowing for only four years and another has never rowed before!

So, why are these guys taking on the challenge? To raise money for a charity that is very close to the heart of one team member in particular.

Ross's daughter Eliza, 9, was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome at the age of three, when her normal developments as a toddler came to a halt.

Rett Syndrome is a post-natal neurological disorder, a rare, debilitating and degenerative condition which most often affects little girls around the age of 12-18 months.

Most people with Rett Syndrome are unable to speak, walk or use their hands. Breathing problems, feeding tubes, seizures, anxiety, gastrointestinal and orthopaedic issues are common. Research has shown that people with Rett do not have brain damage. They know and understand much more than their bodies allow them to show – but they are locked in, trapped by a body that cannot obey signals from their brain.

Reverse Rett is a charity working to fund the research into and development of a cure for this disease.

It connects people who have been affected by Rett Syndrome with researchers, medical professionals and other families who understand what living with the condition is really like. It also provides practical information and resources to help keep children and adults with Rett Syndrome healthy until treatments and a cure become available.

And Five In A Row are looking for both personal and corporate sponsorship for the huge challenge they're taking on, to raise money for Reverse Rett.

Ellis IP is delighted to be able to support the team, proud of the work they're putting in to meeting the challenge, and happy to be able to donate what it can to research into Rett Syndrome.

Michael Ellis said: "As a former member of the North Berwick Rowing Club (of which these men are members), I was more of the Sunday picnic rowing mentality.

"The strength of character, focus, determination, preparation and teamwork required for this challenge is something I find quite inspirational, using qualities that we have to draw on in our everyday lives, whether challenges at work or family issues, but amplified and focused.

"But the real challenge is faced by crew member Ross. Eliza McKinney has a rare, debilitating and degenerative condition called Rett Syndrome.

"This is a condition that was diagnosed in Eliza as a toddler and resulted in her typical progress being halted and regressing in terms of ability to move, communicate through speech and feed herself.

"The challenges that Eliza faces, and every day, put everything the crew will do into context.

"She is the real source of inspiration.

"So the Five In A Row crew will be seeking to raise funds, through this challenge, for Reverse Rett, a charity which raises funds for scientific research into a cure for Rett Syndrome.

"There seems no better cause to support. Such an important effort to help people like Eliza and their families who face this challenging condition.

"Hopefully, the Five In A Row crew will raise a significant amount of money for Reverse Rett. In being a sponsor for Five In A Row, it will be enjoyable to follow the build-up and the challenge itself and be part of it, albeit distant.

"Mainly, though, we hope that Ellis IP’s sponsorship can help Five In A Row get to the start line and help enable the challenge to happen and them to raise real money for Reverse Rett."

To find out more and meet the crew, go to www.fiveinarow.co.uk

To find out more about Reverse Rett, go to www.reverserett.org.uk.

19/09/2020

The next charity Ellis IP is pleased to support is Children With Cancer UK, chosen by our records and admin manager Alek Dziamecki and his wife, our financial administrator, Kasia.

Alek said: "One of our friends recently lost his son to glioma (a type of brain tumour) – he was only eight years old.

"Doctors gave him three months after diagnosis – he doubled that time.

"I know that charities like Children With Cancer UK helped my friend and his family get through that difficult time."

The Children With Cancer UK charity helps fund research into childhood cancers, in an attempt to increase survival rates; shares the stories of parents and researchers, to raise awareness of childhood cancer and the work of the charity; and, just as importantly, funds welfare projects to provide care and practical support for young cancer patients and their families.

To find out more about the charity and to donate, go to childrenwithcancer.org.uk

16/09/2020

Trainee patent attorney Adam Bennett chose the Recovery Shoebox Project as a recipient of funding by Ellis IP.

The Recovery Shoebox Project was set up in Harrogate by 25-year-old Megan Reid, a paediatric student nurse, as a way to support those suffering with mental health issues.

Megan herself had received mental health treatment for many years, and came up with the idea of the Recovery Shoebox as a way to manage her own conditions.

She realised there would be many other people who might benefit from the concept, so spent her own money and time tailoring boxes for individuals and sending them out.

Each shoebox is a personal box full of sensory items and help, to distract from dark thoughts or the urge to self harm.

To find out more and donate yourself to this amazing cause, visit www.recoveryshoebox.org

09/09/2020

Ellis IP is keen to support and celebrate good causes; it's something the whole team agree is a great thing for the business to do.

So, each staff member recently chose a charity they would like to see benefiting from a donation by the company.

You could call it corporate social responsibility -- we call it trying to make a difference.

We'll be sharing in coming posts which good causes the team have chosen to support, and the amazing work they do...



(Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay)