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How to clean your marquee

The obvious answer is whenever it needs it so maybe a better question would be how often should you expect to clean a marquee.

A marquee is far more likely to get dirty when being erected/dismantled rather than when it is actually up. If you’re careful when erecting and especially when dismantling the marquee then you can usually get away with a thorough clean only once or twice a season.

There are however a few exceptions:

The dirtiest marquee I have ever had was one that was erected under some trees. When it rained all of the dust and grime was washed off the leaves down on to our lovely marquee. If you’ve got to put a marquee up under trees expect to clean it immediately afterwards.

Rain-skirts by their very nature will always get muddy in the rain, these should be given a wipe over on pretty much every job.

Traffic-film – eventually PVC can have a grey layer build up which is especially difficult to remove. It takes a long time for this to happen (a year or two normally) but at this stage it needs a thorough clean using a chemical. The material also needs irritating (gone over with a brush or similar) to get this off. Once thoroughly cleaned the PVC should be as good as new.

Tree sap is a nightmare to remove.

There are also some things that will never come out:

Petrol/Diesel can stain PVC. This will never come out so avoid them at all costs.

Ingrained mould – this affects many marquees especially those that are stored when still wet. PVC is made of many layers, if a marquee is put away wet or if cheap PVC is used then water can get inside the layers and create mould which will never come out. Incidentally this is one of the reasons we use better quality 500gsm PVC than available elsewhere, it takes far longer for the layers to break down in better quality PVC.

Some garden chemicals can stain – I was shown a marquee recently that had green stains around the rain skirt which seemed to have come from a chemical added to the lawn.

Better quality PVC always helps, we use a lacquer coated PVC as it is easier to clean and lasts longer than the cheap alternatives. Contact us for more Marquee hire advice 

Two out three organisations recognise the crucial role that cloud computing plays in the role of their digital transformation. Engaging with cloud computing support is a guaranteed way of decreasing business costs, increasing productivity and out-performing against competitors who are part of the 1/3^rd of organisations who are still not yet using the cloud as an integral part of their IT infrastructure. Cloud computing has revolutionised the face of IT across the globe with its versatility and 24/7 accessibility, enabling organisations of all size, to enjoy the cost saving benefits of 100% online access. If, like 2/3rds of organisations, you want to take your business on a digital transformation journey and embrace the future of technology, Knowall IT Support Soho is the managed business partner, which is equipped to facilitate that transition.

Cloud computing has been in use almost since the beginning of the history of computers themselves. In the early 2000’s, as the internet developed from travel blogs, brochures and chat rooms into the social and technological giant, global network of communications that it is today as a result of the creation of the internet. Since that time, what first began with the image of a world wide web has developed into what is now referred to the cloud. What is the cloud really? It’s the image that has been given to society to help them to conceptualise the way in which we are able to gain access to hardware and software that is not physically in front of us.

Simply put, cloud computing is to IT what Uber is to the transportation industry. You need a ride from A to B but you don’t have your own vehicle. You contact Uber and set up someone to collect you and drop you off where you need to be, and you pay the association transportation fee. Similarly, with cloud computing, you pay a fee for the IT infrastructure that you need, when you need it for as long as you need it. It gets your business from A to B, without you having to purchase the whole vehicle. Its available to you at any time, on-demand, without worrying about maintenance, up-keep, running costs or upgrades. Just like Uber, the infrastructure / vehicle is provided to you at the fraction of the cost and you simply pay for what you need, when you need it. While each organisation will experience the benefits differently, the benefits will be experienced immediately as a direct result of having access to the latest servers, applications or operating systems without the mammoth financial commitment on the hardware and software which is required to provide quality IT support.

Knowall IT Support Paddington is an award-winning IT service provider with the capacity to provide your business with high quality cloud and voice services, ensuring access to high performance computing and communications at the fraction of the cost. For the organisation who has not yet invested in this leading edge technology, contact Knowall IT Support Kensington for assistance with building your fully customizable, scalable, bespoke IT environment uniquely suited to elevate your business into the future.

In 2020, businesses were forced into looking at alternative ways to continue providing their services during circumstances that can be described as unprecedented and unforeseen, to say the least. Forced to change their outlook, the globe saw a massive increase in remote working stats. As face-to-face became unacceptable, cloud-based hosting providers proved to be a vital part of the solution. Cloud computing partners Knowall IT London enabled companies to continue to operate, enabling online and hybrid working options.

As more and more companies turned to cloud-based options, cyber-criminals saw this as an opportunity for increased cyber-attacks. Here are some stats from the past year, 2020, to give you and idea of why you need to get business ready.

• 61% of companies suffered a ransomware attack with an average downtime of 6 days downtime – reportedly double the down time from 2019
• Email threats rose to 64%
• 79% of organisation’s experienced a cyber threat of some kind

*Mimecast

Those who were already cybercrime-savvy already realised that is a vulnerable position to be in. Realising that cyber-criminals were on the rampage and those who looked into taking extra precautions to ensure their businesses did not become one of those sinister statistics, benefitted.

Cyber activity is not something that anyone should take for granted anyone who believes that their business is too small to be attacked by malware, spyware and or cyber phishing attacks must urgently revisit their stance. If you have no protection, you will be affected one way or another.

If you are someone has already increased your protection and is utilizing all the options at your disposal, now is not the time to become complacent as cyber-criminals up their game to find their way into your business. It is vital to ensure that your employees are on the same page as you. Part of protecting the personal information of your employees, your business suppliers, contractors and the like, is ensuring that all staff are made aware of the implications of a cyber invasion and that they understand the terminology and methods, such as phishing and scams, associated with this fairly new area of criminal activity.

It is possible, with Phishing Awareness Training, to ensure that you business is secure from the human error which is required for cyber-criminals to succeed in infiltrating your business, preventing the possible catastrophic loss of earning and generally bringing a stop to your operations, as fast as Covid did! Hackers and scammers utilising phishing techniques, rely on the fact that humans are naïve and can be easily persuaded into unwittingly clicking on a link that could bring your entire network to its knees.

Knowall IT offers your business Phishing Awareness Training where a live phishing simulation is affected on your network, allowing you to know for sure if your staff are ready for an attack when the real thing occurs… and it will. Being proactive in identifying employees who may place your business at risk keeps you one-step ahead of the hackers.

Are you starting a new business which requires full time, expert IT support for your business? Do you need an IT partner who you can rely on, providing you with cloud-based services which are guaranteed to always be available, no matter the time of day or where in the world you happen to be? Is the success of your new business dependant on your telecoms and information technology resources as the backbone of your business? Are you looking for a service provider who is both professional and adaptable to your specific business requirements, who offers quality over quantity, at prices that your fledgling business can appreciate? Knowall IT in Central London can tick every box on your business wish list.

Knowall IT are proactive in keeping up with the ever changing IT industry and one step ahead of cyber security and potential security threats.

The threat of cyber-attacks continues to grow globally and the methods employed by hackers are becoming more sophisticated. We advise all of our clients to consider extra measures to mitigate the risk of IT systems being compromised.

Run a real life phishing simulation within your company to spot the staff that might need better guidance, equipping your staff with the right knowledge and tools to spot phishing scams quickly. Chat to us about Phishing Training and how we can assist your company stay safe.

Knowall IT can support any business, small, medium, large and SMME’s in any industry with services that are designed to dove-tail with all big tech providers including Microsoft Office 365, Google and Sales Force. With specialities include a long list of highly relevant services, such as cloud computing, hosting solutions, unified communications, managed services, web marketing & SEO, sage hosting, application hosting, IT support and cloud computing.

Contact us by clicking here 

Marquees in summertime … what could be a more romantic venue for the perfect outdoor celebration, from baby showers to wedding, anniversaries to work functions, there is nothing that quite matches the allure of a marquee venue. Moving into the Autumn the marquee hiring for sale business may well become a little slower, especially in the UK. But as Winter comes, there are many ways for marquees to remain the quintessential destination venue for celebrations. With a few clever additions and adjustments to your basic DIY Marquee and how you use it, business could bloom well into the colder months of the year.

DIY Marquees UK providers of marquees and accessories, which are designed especially to withstand the harsher seasons. With a variety of all year round, 4 season marquees available, there is definitely a marquee for all seasons. From traditional, romantic style marquees to green commercial marquees, Deluxe and Demi marquees, DIY Marquees boasts a spectacular array of features to fail-proof your marquee while ensuring the longevity of the marquee lives up to any UK Winter.

While it is common sense that some weather conditions simply mean that you cannot erect your marquee for fear of life and limb, DIY trusts that this same common sense will prevent clients from risking the integrity of these quality products. Floods, tycoons and other displays of Mother Nature’s greatness should never be taken lightly. However, a good solid rain fall never stopped a DIY marquee from standing tall and true which is mostly down to the superior quality of the products and materials which are used when creating our extensive range of marquees.

Why settle for 500gsm Rip-stop Duracoretex PVC when we can offer a 650gsm Rip-stop Duracoretex PVC Roofs and side panels for marquees with a roof top less than 90sqm. An excellent example of what we have on offer is the Deluxe Demi range which is excellent value for money and quality, for those who want the strongest, most durable and most impressive marquees. This specific is designed for easy use when standing against buildings or toilets. Wind-stop Velcro seals the panels securely preventing the cold from penetrating into the marquee, especially at night or late afternoon events where the weather may have turned. The core of our DIY marquees is a frame of steel pipe work preferred because of the superior strength of this material when compared to other popular materials used for marquee framework. Ground bars anchor the marquee with cross-bracing eaves providing that additional security against any Winter weather.

DIY Marquee experts can also offer you advice on how to set up your marquees in order to buffer against the weather and increase the innate strength of the marquee. We have a fabulous DIY Marquee Planner that conveniently helps you plan the sizes and layout of your marquee. Our Marquee Buyers Guide gives advice on everything you need to consider when buying a marquee.

Heating options to guard against the Winter chill and various lightening options, DIY Marquee professionals are happy to advise you on the best way to heat your marquee as well as the worst (and most dangerous) ways which must be avoided at all costs, so to ensure that safety always comes first. DIY Marquees now sells Indirect Marquee Heaters.

Marquees are super versatile and beneficial in many ways which is why DIY Marquees are very proud of their wide range of marquees. Perhaps not everyone feels as passionately about marquees as they do, but the truth is that they absolutely love their marquees and will not stop creating beautiful marquee solutions to suit each and every possible scenario. And because they are so immensely proud of their collections, DIY has taken every proactive step possible to enable you to enjoy the marquees just as much as we do, through our fully-packed website. With a vast range of party tents for sale through to commercial marquees for sale, there is a marquee to suit all needs and more. All it takes is one look and you will know exactly what owning a marquee is all about and just how to go about getting started with your choice.

The DIY Party tent range cannot be beaten for its excellent value for money. These marquees are ideal as temporary structures and the size range varies from a seated capacity of four to eight people, up to a seated capacity of between thirty and eighty people which means no matter the size of your event, there is marquee sized just right for you. Party tents can be purchased with many accessories which will change the look and feel of the marquee seamlessly. The use of lighting, roof linings, festoons, and flooring completely revamp a simple marquee into the perfect party venue; zipped doors and cratering partitions allow for containment of areas that need to keep separate or simply to help keep the cold breeze out. Brand your marquee with your marketing or event logo for free advertising so that you stand out beyond the rest and are recognizable for your specific style. Practical additions include tie-downs, strongly recommended for anchoring the marquees down on soft surfaces, carry bags and boxes, ideal for storing and transporting, and repair kits which are all valuable and convenient.

Ensure your data is secure at all costs! In the digital age, your data is currency for those searching for an easy pay day. Valuable personal information is traced and tracked by not only marketers but also for individuals looking to steal your data for the purposes of defrauding you or your company. Not until you have been at the receiving end of a malicious attack by ransomware, does a person come to understand just how imperative it is to keep your data secure.

Ransomware is a cybercrime whereby data is held for ransom after being accessed via computers and mobile devices which are then locked and held hostage until the victim pays the required ransom. As an individual or organisation, you are an easy target to common types of attacks such as phishing. Phishing (pronounced fishing) is when an email is sent to an unsuspecting recipient, urgently requiring them to download a link or click on an attachment, under the guise of being a highly important piece of information for the recipient. Unsuspecting recipients may click without realizing that they are about to unleash a silent threat into their computers and any network that they happen to be a part of. Phishing can be perpetuated in that the ransomware can be forwarded without the knowledge of the original recipient and before you know it, your entire social and professional community has received a similar link, rendering them vulnerable to the same threat that you have just unknowingly fallen victim to.

The point of ransomware is to access the personal or professional information that is stored on all devices and networks and to lock users out of their own information until a ransom is paid. This type of cyberattack can cost a company an enormous amount of money, not only as a result of the ransom but also as a result of downtime or lack of production. The knock-on effect can be catastrophic. Ransom often presents in the form of Bitcoin (cryptocurrency) which is impossible to trace. As with normal hostage situations, once the ransom has been paid, the victim may receive a code or file which will decrypt the attack and release the data.

If you do not already have a plan to prevent a cyberattack on your business, then you may be the next victim of cyber engineering executed by online criminals.

One of the ways in which you can avoid being the victim is to engage with Knowall IT support west London cloud computing solutions for your organisation. Cloud computing means that you will enjoy the convenience of high-tech hardware as well as have access to the software at merely a portion of the cost of purchasing all of this yourself. Highly secured servers are yours to store your data without the headache of expensive upgrades for hardware and software.

Cloud computing is the way of the future and your company can be part of a shared social community which utilize shared-services from as many locations as required to effectively ensure the smooth running of your business. Always innovative Knowall IT offers an alternative approach with FileMaker Hosting which converts any FileMaker software already in use, safely and securely, to the cloud. Be it from abroad or from many local locations, your access is guaranteed with 24/7 connectivity utilizing your existing FileMaker license and the same look and feel you already enjoy.

Convert your existing FileMaker software to the cloud with hosted FileMaker.

FileMaker hosting gives you the stability of the desktop with the flexibility of the cloud.

• Use your existing FileMaker licence
• Access anywhere, anytime – Always available!
• Looks & feels the same
• FileMaker hosting is safe, secure & easy to convert

Marquee Hire Surrey pride themselves in ensuring that your wedding day will be just perfect knowing how important the day is to you. With over 20 years in the industry and leaders in marquee hiring they have a vast amount of experience combined with expertise makes them a dynamic team always coming up with new ideas and enhancing their skills and product range.

If you are getting married and wishing for that very special fairy tale wedding speak to them for the best advice on wedding marquees hire available.

Some ideas that caught my eye on their site:

Why not have a Chinese hat marquee for a small reception area? Or make the marquee individual with our huge range of coloured roof overlays, linings and swags? Black Starcloth over the dance floor? The possibilities are endless. We can make the marquee as grand or as simple as you like. One of our advisors would be delighted to come and visit you with our portfolio to discuss your requirements.

I have also decided to share an interesting article I found on their website:

HOW DO WE DELIVER A RELIABLE POWER SUPPLY TO THE MARQUEE?

A recent large electrical fire in London, brought the importance of the provision of power for any marquee hire to the forefront of our minds here at JF & Trafalgar Marquee Hire.

The correct provision of power for any event, and outdoor event involving marquee hire is crucial. It is also often an area that is overlooked, and one that is brushed to the side.

Whilst this may be the case, it does not solve the issue of providing the correct supply for the demand in the marquee. Not only can this lead to serious health and safety implications (it’s worth noting that we are members of our industry body MUTA). It could also seriously impact the smooth running of you event. Not to mention, the worst case scenario, plunging it into darkness.

At JF & Trafalgar Marquees we would much rather focus on the event itself and its positive outcome, helping you on your way to deliver an amazing, and unforgettable experience (for all the right reasons). To that end, electrical supply is one of the key factors we discuss and advise our clients on. To ensure your exacting requirements are met, we use qualified and registered (17th edition) electricians for power installations in our marquees. They are consulted from concept to delivery and updated on the life cycle of your event, taking into account any changes that may occur, regardless of how large or small these may be.

On larger functions and events, involving significant cabling and distribution, we often supply an onsite standby electrician in addition to our standard 24hr call out facility. Should you be curious about how we do what we do, an example of such an event, can be seen here (where we supplied, a mains generator, standby and standby electrician, along with all cabling, sockets, and lighting).

The type of power supply we recommend and install, depends on the equipment and requirements from services in and around the marquee. Typically, this takes the form of a mains installation from the house or nearest building; this may be 32amps or up to 63amp three phase. Once the supply is taken from the house/building or generator, it is fed to a temporary distribution board within the marquee or catering/services area and then distributed to all relevant areas of the marquee. This could include catering areas, band, DJ, bars etc.

In addition we also offer a full generator hire service, should it not be possible to access mains electricity. Alternatively a generator can be hired simply as a standby (we supply these with automatic changeover) should the main generator or mains power fail.

Keeping up to date with technology and ensuring your company’s IT systems are up to date is crucial in the smooth running of any company. Demanding working environment irrelevant of the core business demands that technology is always available and effective.

Many companies let their technology become out dated, then find themselves in a position of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds getting systems up to date.

Knowall IT is 100% customer focused and a niche Cloud and Unified Communications provider. Focused on the provision of tailored, secure and hi-performance hosted services to UK based organisations with a global reach. Understanding organisations requirements do vary they build bespoke tailored environments for each of their clients.

Their enterprise private cloud platform is owned and managed by Knowall IT and hosted in secure, ISO 27001 certified, Tier 3 UK data centres, enabling them to guarantee every environment built will be faster, more resilient and more secure than previous systems employed by clients.

Every environment built for their clients is ring fenced from other customers to ensure 100% security. There are many Benefits of Hosting Applications in the Cloud, ask Knowall IT for more information.

Keeping up to date with technology can be overwhelming when its not your core business, however, IT is essential to run your business. Knowall IT manage hundreds of small to medium enterprises, their engineers keep up to date with technology at all times.

Knowall ITs Ad-Hoc IT Support contracts are designed to support either an onsite IT Manager with 2nd and 3rd line engineers or designed for smaller organisations that do not rely on too much IT.

The Ad-Hoc contract, as opposed to paying per incident, gives you preferential rates and the same SLAs as our Full IT Support service.

• 24×7 Telephone & Remote Support
• Emergency Engineers – Onsite within 1 hour
• Onsite Visits for Critical Issues
• 99.9% SLAs
• Monthly Reporting

Remote Support

• 24×7 Telephone & Remote Support
• Professional and Highly Experienced

Site Visits

• Re-Active Onsite Visits For Critical Issues
• Onsite Within an Hour – London Based

Software Support

• General user applications, including Microsoft Suites, Sage, Maximiser, Access Accounts, Solid Works, Photoshop, Entourage, Mac mail, to name but a few
• Microsoft operating systems 2003/2008
• Active Directory | Exchange 2003/2007

Service Level Agreements

• 1 Hour response to any user related issues
• 15 Minute response to any critical issue
• Immediate despatch of engineers for critical issues – onsite within the hour
• 24×7 Support available

Pay as You Go IT Support can be used for one off incidents or on a retainer basis for preferential pricing and service levels.

• Telephone, Remote and email support – from £60 Per Hour
• Onsite Visits from £70 Per Hour

DIY Marquees have the largest range of marquees for sale in the UK, they offer honest and valuable advice for anyone who want to buy a marquee. Their friendly team have years of experience and expertise in the marquee industry, so whether you are wanting to start your own marquee hire business or would like to host corporate events or special occasion event hire such as wedding functions, DIY Marquees will give your the best advice around.

DIY Marquee range of Party tents for sale  can be used for lots of different functions from weddings and formal events to garden parties and BBQ’s, their final appearance is entirely governed by the accessories you buy. For more formal functions you can buy flooring and linings for your party tent marquee or for less formal events you can decorate the party tent yourself using balloons or decorative ribbons. Whilst all marquees may look the same from the outside it is how you design the interior that personalises the party tent marquee.

Erecting marquees on hard standing

Our DIY Marquees like most Commercial Marquees for sale are quality ones that can be erected on hard standing. There is the small issue of how to anchor the marquee down (answer: longer tie downs to a nearby soft surface, bolting or use heavy weights) but otherwise it is easily done.

There is one small issue which you should make your customer aware of and that is what happens when it rains. If a patio normally floods in heavy rain, a marquee won’t stop that occurring. If the hard standing has a slope then water may try to flow through the marquee.

The risks of this happening are usually very slight and whilst it’s worth mentioning to customers it’s not worth going overboard or scaremongering about it. If the forecast is bad there are some solutions:

• Wooden floor throughout – this raises the floor up so the water passes under. The best solution but also by far the most expensive and most work.
• sandbags or similar round the perimeter of the marquee.
• strips of carpet underneath the groundbars – this was suggested to me recently by a marquee hire company and I think it’s an excellent and resourceful idea. Strips of old carpet rolled up and then squashed underneath the groundbars cuts out all but torrential rain from making its way in to the marquee.