Fighting Strokes was set up by Kate Allatt, a Yorkshire-based marketing professional and mum of three who suffered a sudden stroke last year that left her trapped in her body, unable to move anything but her eyes.

Prior to the stroke Kate had been a fit and healthy 39-year-old, whose enjoyments included running for miles around her Sheffield home. A slight headache was the only warning prior to the onset of the stroke, and soon Kate was in hospital, with doctors giving her a 50% chance of survival and warning that she would probably never walk again.

But Kate disagreed – in fact she has since stated that this prognosis filled her with fury. Using a letter chart, she was able to blink her eyes to communicate the message, ‘I will walk again’.

Over the months that followed, she set herself challenges, often concentrating all her will on one part of her body at a time until she was able to move it, even just a twitch.

Now, not only is she walking again but in February of this year – a year to the day since she suffered her stroke – she donned her kit again and set off into Ecclesall Woods for her first run.

Kate has written a book about her experiences, which is due for release around 23rd May 2011. Next week she is on the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2 (it will be on Monday 11th at 12:30pm for those who want to tune in), and she is a finalist for the Extraordinary Personal Endeavour Award in the Extraordinary Women Awards 2011, which will be held on Tuesday May 10th.

For more information on Fighting Strokes, visit Kate’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/beatinglockedinsyndrome

That’s a line which, at this point on the cyber timeline, we are all very familiar with. Now try this one on for size:

“Consider the environment before you communicate electronically rather than via paper.”

A bit less catchy, granted, and it probably leaves you scratching your head, so ingrained is the notion that paper is inherently ‘bad’ for the environment.

Of course, the directive at the beginning of this piece is completely valid, and the attempt here is not to undermine it. Rather, the idea is to dispel some of the myths that condemn paper as being categorically evil, environmentally speaking, and that consequently place electronics as the flawless darlings of the communications world.

Think about this: paper is made from a renewable resource, and is fully recyclable. Compare that to laptops, PCs, printers and servers. Ok, so you’ll discard a lot more paper than hardware on a weekly or monthly basis, but the fact is that 20-50 million tonnes of electronic products are discarded every year, and much of this waste is not recyclable. In contrast, recent reports state that, in Europe, 71% of paper used is later recycled.

Another very surprising statistic has to do with the energy involved in producing paper. It is often assumed – and I hold my own hands up here – that it takes vast amounts of energy to produce paper. The reality is that the 500kWh of electricity required to produce 200kg of paper (the average amount that each of us use in a year) is the equivalent of powering one computer continuously for five months, or burning a 60w light bulb continuously for one year. On the other hand, sending one email with a 400k attachment to twenty people uses energy equivalent to that of burning a 100w light bulb for thirty minutes.

Of course, paper has other benefits that electronic means will never be able to match: it is versatile, practical and offers aesthetic features that a computer screen just doesn’t have. According to Royal Mail, “our mood will improve by up to 29% if exposed to a positive tactile feeling” – so it’s good for the soul as well!

So while it’s still important to consider the environment before you print, hopefully the facts above will show that using paper and printed materials isn’t quite as shameful as we thought.

Oh, and while we’re at it – at Riasca all of our paper is FSC certified, and we offer a huge range of eco-friendly products on our website, www.riasca.co.uk. Plus, we can provide you with recycling bins and related products, and offer advice on how to make your office eco-friendly.

The data above is taken from www.twosides.info.

Two Sides was created in 2008 with members from the Graphic Communications Supply Chain, creating a forum for the industry to work together and share experiences; improving standards and practices; maximising customer confidence in our products. There are approaching 100 members at the present time.

Visit the Two Sides website.

Our primary aim, as always, is to be as customer-friendly as possible, so with this in mind the website has been designed to be easy to use, easy to navigate – and easy on the eye. Everything is split into its own category, including sections on our Print Solutions, our new initiatives such as Plant a Tree and Partner Vouchers, customer testimonials, contact details and more. Plus, of course, there’s that all-important link to our full catalogue of over 7,000 items, through which you can order your paper, stationery and office supplies as usual via phone, fax, email or online.

New to the site is a built-in Twitter and Facebook feed, which features our own news and latest special offers, as well as Retweets of snippets from other people that we think you may find interesting or insightful, particularly those focused on the Huddersfield and Kirklees area. There’s also an integrated Blog section (which, keeping in the spirit of being orderly, is also split into handy categories) – so you need never miss out on the Riasca goings-on, musings or special offers again.

Got any feedback on the new site? We’d love to hear it. Contact us on 01484 463343 or email sales@riasca.co.uk. Alternatively, do it the 21st century way by joining our followers on Twitter or ‘liking’ us on Facebook, and send us your thoughts via Tweet or wall post!

Our latest project is called Plant a Tree. The concept is simple: for every order placed by Kirklees schools and colleges that is above a minimum amount, Riasca will give you a living tree to plant. When you consider that, over its first 40-50 years, one tree will offset about a ton of carbon, you can see the value of this initiative. Of course, planting a tree has added bonuses such as providing habitats for wildlife, and sprucing up the school in general. In fact, several local schools are already benefitting from the scheme, including Dalton Junior School and Rawthorpe Junior School, so it’s fair to say that it’s been a success so far.

In addition to Plant a Tree, there are lots of other ways that a partnership with Riasca can lead to good things, environmentally speaking. For instance, we can provide you with bins to sort out your school’s waste in a way that is most conducive to recycling and efficient disposal. Plus, because we are based in and focus our operations on Kirklees, we are never far away. This means that we don’t need to rack up hundreds of road miles to get to you (not to mention you get your products faster!). To put this into perspective, if your school is based 5 miles away from us, and an average of 12 miles away from our competitors (which is the case for Ashbrow Infant and Nursery School, for example), you could save roughly 200 road miles per year by opting to use us. It’s amazing how quickly it adds up!

www.carbonfootprint.com offers lots of other interesting facts and ideas about offsetting carbon and tree planting, and if you’d like more information on any of our environmental initiatives, just give us a call on 01484 463343 and we’d be happy to help.

Since 2006, postage prices have been based on size as well as weight, but there still seems to be a lot of mystery surrounding how to send post in the most cost-effective way possible. A look at the Royal Mail website reveals numerous instructions, specifications and limitations, and it can get confusing.

The specific item you are sending will partly determine the type of envelope you use, but the basic rule of thumb is that, where possible, you should aim for C5 (162 x 229mm) envelopes or smaller. Items of this size are considered ‘letters’, and therefore fall into the lowest price bracket for postage by Royal Mail’s standards, provided they weigh 100g or less (any more than this and your item will no longer be considered a ‘letter’, but rather a ‘large letter’ or ‘packet’).

So, for instance, if you’re sending something of A5 size, or sheets of A4 that can be folded in half, opt for a C5 envelope before going for the larger C4 size, as this will qualify as a ‘letter’ and therefore keep the cost down, again provided that the total weight is 100g or less.

If you would like further advice on the most economical envelope type for your needs, feel free to call us now on 01484 463343 or email us at sales@riasca.co.uk. We also have information explaining differences between envelopes and closure types on our website, www.riasca.co.uk.