Sometimes in life it pays to take a chance and ride your luck a little, or so I’ve found things to be over the years. Nothing ventured, nothing gained is a cliché that many of us would have heard countless times in our lives, one of those sayings that annoy some and spur on others. I am of the latter camp; I think that life needs to be grabbed by the horns and made the most of, so I take things like this as a challenge.

Not being one to let grass grow under my feet, when we first opened our branch in Bexleyheath, I immediately set about making contacts amongst the business community and civic dignitaries in our new neighbourhood, spreading the word about how good our services were and seeking ways to help out our local community. Helping others is at the heart of all that we do here at Udens, so that was one of my first and foremost priorities, to look at new ways to put something back into our local areas.

Fast forward a few months, and it was now approaching Christmas, and Bexleyheath was gearing up for the festivities and to the annual switching on of the Christmas lights. I had been invited along as part of the local business community, and as we are always doing what we can to make things better for others, I liaised with the planning team to arrange for some of the horses that normally pull our beautiful carriages to take part in the Christmas procession, and for the mayor to be transported in one of our spotless limousines.

Going on a full charm offensive, I spent a fair amount of time chatting with the mayor and he invited me to come up on the stage for the main event of the evening, the switching on of the lights. This was no small thing for me, as the celebrity guest that year was none other than Steve McFadden, who admirably plays the Eastenders tough guy Phil Mitchell. Even I was a bit taken aback at being in the company of soap opera royalty, but it was a most enjoyable evening, and it all came about by me being a bit of a cheeky chappy, much like one of the Eastenders characters!

The teams from the Bexleyheath Business Improvement District and Town Centre Management are incredibly hardworking and do an excellent job making things better for both the businesses and residents of Bexleyheath, and I would really encourage you to support your local businesses when you can, as our town centres can only thrive with our help.

Wishing you all the best as ever,

Matthew.