Human

Name :  Pc Dave Bisson
Age : 52
Occupation : Police Officer
Favourite food : Thai
Pet Hate : Queuing and traffic jams
Happiest when : Relaxing on the beach with a cold beer in my hand

Animal

Name: Turbo
Age : 7
Occupation : Police Dog
Favourite food : Anything
Pet hate : Being left in the van whilst ‘dad’ works with Jack
Happiest when: I’ve been awarded my toy kong for doing something well

“I have been a Police Officer for nearly 17 years; 13 of which I have been a dog handler.

My journey with Turbo began in April 2013 when, after successfully working my first dog Thor for 7 years, I returned to the dog training school at Surrey Police headquarters in Guildford to begin another 13 weeks of training with my new dog.

Being the only non-local handler, I had arrived on the Sunday night prior to the course beginning on the Monday, so I had an opportunity to see the 5 dogs that had been allocated to the course before any of the other handlers arrived.

When I saw Turbo, I immediately hoped that he was going to be mine. He was slightly bigger than the other dogs, and when he ran up to the kennel bars and began to bark loudly at me, there was something about him that I really liked. The next morning, I was very pleased to learn that he had been assigned to me and would become by new K9 crime fighting partner.

Turbo proved to be quite a slow learner at the beginning and was falling behind the other dogs in one particular exercise. Halfway through week 4, the trainer said that they were considering withdrawing Turbo from the course, meaning that I would have to be assigned another dog and be significantly set back.

At the end of that week, we travelled to Hendon to collect another dog. We loaded her onto the van along with Turbo and the other dogs, and went out for another day of training.

Whether or not Turbo sensed his days might be numbered, he did something that day that made the trainer think twice about removing him from the course, and asked me if I would be prepared to work both dogs for the time being, until he was certain which dog to progress with.

I had started to forge such a strong bond with Turbo, that I did not want to give up on him without a fight. For the next 3 weeks, I worked both dogs; doubling up on all my duties with exercising them, feeding them and cleaning out their kennels.

By the end of week 7, it had all paid off and the trainer was satisfied that Turbo would be able to go on to complete the course.

I was very proud and somewhat relieved that, on 26^th June 2013, Turbo and I passed the course and received our certificates from The Chief Officer for Surrey Police.

Turbo adapted very easily to his new life in Jersey and immediately took to coming into work with me. In February 2016, Turbo was joined at home by my new drugs, cash and firearms detection dog; a 12 month old English Springer Spaniel, named Jack.

There’s no such thing as a typical day for a Police Officer and the same goes for being a Police dog handler. I’m attached to a team and am expected to carry out the same duties as my colleagues, which can be anything from recording and investigating crimes, searching for missing people, carrying out speed campaigns and community engagements – to name but a few.

Whenever I am on duty, Turbo and Jack are on duty and they both come to work in my specially adapted Police dog van. If a job comes in that requires either Turbo’s or Jack’s special skills, albeit searching for someone, clearing a building, searching for property, searching a car or house for drugs, or even deploying alongside our Firearms team, then we are ready.

To be a dog handler, you have to love having a dog in your life. You must have the space to accommodate them, be extremely patient and, above all, be able to accept the highs and lows from your experiences; both in training and from live situations. The role is a 7 – 8 year commitment.

For a dog to be a successful Police dog, it needs to be strong willed, aggressive but controlled, fit and agile and to believe that other than his ‘dad’, he is the baddest, meanest dog on the planet, so that it fears no one or any situation.

Turbo loves to work and train and I believe he truly loves being a Police dog. He has proven himself so much during his service, that I’m sure when he retires in 12 months time, he will find the transition from working dog to pet dog very strange.

Our perfect day off together would be a lovely sunny day. We would take our usual leisurely walk through the open fields near to our home. Turbo and Jack would chase each other all over the place, wearing themselves out. We would return home and, after we’ve all had breakfast, we would just chill out in the garden. I’d be reading, the dogs would be playing or just relaxing in the sun. Any time the dogs are out of their kennels is always a good time for them.”  

Frank and Orville Wright invented the world’s first successful airplane. Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett invented the world’s largest personal computer vendor. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as PhD students whilst studying at Stanford University, invented Google.

Having a great partner in business can multiply the amount of ideas, intelligence, background and experience to draw upon. Batman and Robin, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers—even superheroes band together to compensate for each other’s weaknesses, so that individually they can focus on utilizing their strengths. That’s what great partners do.

When it comes to business, some argue that having a partner can be a recipe for disaster. But, what about when having that partner makes you far greater than you could ever be as a one-man-band? We met two sets of business partners, in two entirely different industries, to find out how they draw on each others strengths to help elevate their businesses.

JADE & CHERISH

Stylish Party Co. is a party business run by sisters, Jade and Cherish. With a love for colour, fun and parties, the pair share a passion in creating memorable and colourful special events, that celebrate people’s special days in their lives. Managing both an online party shop and their decor installation service, we met the duo to find out how working together has elevated their business success.

What first possessed you to join forces and start a business together?

Jade: After hosting lots of parties for friends and family, I soon realised that there was a gap in the market for a party shop which featured only cool, contemporary brands, especially in Jersey.

Cherish: I had worked in the events industry for 6 years and realised there was a need for good quality partyware on the island. Jade and I had dreamt of working together for a long time, and with a shared interest in all things decor, we decided it was time to join forces on a party adventure.

How do your talents differ?

Jade: Being a mother, I see things in a different light to Cherish, especially when it comes to children’s parties. There needs to be a balance between pretty and practical for these type of events, so in my role as the buyer, this is what I look for. I also take on all of the social media side of the business, as Cherish is not the best when it comes to social media!

Cherish: Having run my own company, Style to Cherish, for a few years, I’ve learnt many lessons that together we can avoid. With that, I also have the existing knowledge of venues and suppliers in Jersey and how installs can differ in each venue. Jade is great at social media and the client facing side of the business, so I’m normally working away in the background. I also built our e-commerce site alongside Quints of Jersey, so I take on this side of things too.

How has combining your talents helped your business grow? 

Jade: With Cherish’s creative eye and high work ethic, along with both of us being utter perfectionists, I feel we make a great team.

Cherish: We both look at things very differently, so it’s great to have a balance in between. We value each other’s strengths and we acknowledge our weaknesses; together that works for us.

What do you love most about working together?

Jade: It’s amazing to be able to share your hobbies, interests and passions with someone and turn them into a business, especially when it’s your sister and best friend.

Cherish: We work from our studio and get to hang out together every day, whilst making our dreams a reality. I feel very blessed to share these experiences with my sister and empowered that I get to work alongside a strong female like Jade. We have always shared a very strong relationship, so it’s incredible to share this adventure with her.

www.stylishpartyco.com

TAYMOUR & NICOLA

Taymour amd Nicola are a husband and wife team whose business, simply put, is wellness; both physical and emotional. Based in St Helier, they combine their skill sets and experience to create a bespoke service for their clients. Their goal is to help them overcome challenges that could be preventing them from living their lives to the full and, by working holistically, offer them a practical way forward.

What first possessed you to join forces and start a business together?

Nicola: It felt very much like the a natural progression. Even though my work focuses on the body, a lot of my clients end up talking about their lives and the things that are causing them stress. These stresses were very evident in their physical body, which I can help with, however, the root cause is something that is Taymour’s area of expertise.

Taymour: To me, there’s an undeniable link between the mind & body. If one suffers, so will the other. IBS, headaches, stiff neck, backache and so much more can be easily linked to the difficulties that the mind goes through on a daily basis.

How do your talents differ?

Nicola: I look at the physical body and holding patterns. I observe how a person carries themselves and listen to the language they use when describing their aches and pains.  Subconsciously, our bodies react to all the things that happen to us during the day, which then set up holding patterns and restrictions that cause pain, discomfort and limit mobility.

Taymour: My approach is very much about thought patterns, belief systems, past experiences and where clients want to go in respect to their life directions and goals. In that process, I aim to find root causes that prevent them from moving forward and address them using the many tools and techniques I use.  

How has combining your talents helped your business grow?

Nicola: We are essentially two sides of the same coin. You can’t truly have optimal body health if your emotional state isn’t healthy and vice versa. Through my work, I’ve experienced many clients who have an emotional release whilst receiving bodywork, so I wanted to be able to offer them a more complete service.

Taymour: My approach has always been a wholistic one. I generally try to discover what my clients want to achieve and help identify what’s holding them back. Through that, I make suggestions on improving attitude, lifestyle choices, self-care and overall approach to their weekly routines. In most cases, clients have contained and stored so much stress in their muscle tissues, that Nicola helps release and filter. I suppose we are both stress whisperers who address both the mind and body.

What do you love most about working together?

Nicola: We are both passionate about what we do and it really takes the stress out of a working relationship, knowing that you are totally in sync with your partner. We are both striving for the same outcome and the fact I can share the good stuff (and the bad stuff) with someone who genuinely has my best interests at heart, with no hidden agenda, makes my work all the more enjoyable.

Taymour: Our genuine desire to help clients feel better and live more balanced lives. We’re definitely NOT linear in our thinking, so consequently we keep an open mind. No two people are the same. We offer a very bespoke service.  

www.coachtaymour.com

When we launched our Places publication eight years ago, we did so in a market we knew would soon transition to digital-first. Despite the fact that we publish a range of print titles, we love digital. We therefore built a property website alongside, places.je

Last year we completely overhauled the platform and built a new portal from the ground up for property hunting, engaging all the agents and enabling them to do things with places they couldn’t do with UK products that weren’t quite fit for purpose or local attempts that were slow or had limited features. We’re property fans, so it was a labour of love.

Thankfully it was all worth it and the new places.je property platform is now the best solution for house-hunters on the island. With open viewings, historic property information and listings enhanced by agents, all on a platform designed for all devices at top speed, we know it’s better than the rest. Although statistics can sometimes be nonsense, we know the 17,333 users we had in January means we’re doin’ it right. Daft Punk would be proud. But that left us in a dilemma over what to do with our Places print title.

Gallery has always been viewed as a ‘young’ media. Ironic considering we’re coming up for 15 years old. I’d call us an adolescent, which sort of fits well. We try and cover a range of creative content for life and style but with a reasonably fresh tone of voice; happy to leave the nimby news to the JEP or other media. We don’t really want to be part of the establishment, and we’re still happy something out as bullshit, but without a political agenda. This year we’re re-affirming that targeting, getting back to the art and lifestyle content that first drove us to start publishing.

Meanwhile, Places in print had always been simply property, but we knew there was a market for a more mature and targeted distribution; a market covered not well covered by other titles. Our new Places’ Islander title for 2019 is designed to cover that market. With direct door-to-door distribution to the parishes of St Ouen, St John, St Mary, Trinity and St Martin (and all out of town business), it’s the wellies to Gallery’s loafers and heels, the country walk to our night out in town; our country cousin.

We’ll not be building a Trump wall between the two, you’ll still be able to get Gallery islandwide and Places will still sit alongside our distro network of 300 stands, but it’s just about building print and digital title that are best in class. Even if we get sent out occasionally.

We got an official press release today that we’ve been waiting on for some time; the announcement that the saviour of Jersey truth and justice could be set to return to the island very soon. A Bergerac reboot is now in Development with Paramount Network International.

It’s been discussed for decades since Jim Bergerac maintained law and order on our island in the 1980s. Now Artists Studios, backed by Endemol Shine UK, and Westward Studios are developing a reboot of the classic police drama for Paramount Network International, as a potential future commission for its network of channels outside of the U.S.

The Lead Producer on the development is Artists Studio’s Emmy award-winning Gub Neal, known for hits such as Prime Suspect, Cracker and The Fall. Co-production partner Westward Studios are based in Jersey.

The original series of Bergerac proved so popular it ran for nine series between the 80s and 90s, as well as spawning several holiday specials. We’re hoping that a new show could be brilliant for our tourism and put Jersey back on the screen for the world to see!

Jill Offman, Executive Vice President Paramount Network said “We have several exciting dramas in development, one of which is the classic favourite Bergerac. Our hope is that we will be able to commission Bergerac as a full series for Paramount Network International.”

Brian Constantine, CEO of Westward Studios and Executive Producer said “I’m excited at the prospect that Bergerac may be returning to our screens once again. It’s a much-loved drama and a real boost for Jersey, my home, where Bergerac has become part of the island’s identity.”

Gub Neal, Executive Producer, Artists Studios adds “We’ve been trying to bring back Bergerac for some time and I’m very glad that we have the next generation of such an iconic show in development. Updated for the present day, it will deal with contemporary stories-of-the-week that run alongside a strong serial spine.”