We Are Randox | James Crilly’s adventures in Zambia
This week our WeAreRandox feature is a story from James Crilly, one of our QC Marketing Executives. Before James came to work in Randox he travelled to Misisi as part of Project Zambia. James took some time out to reflect on his Zambian adventure and tell us a little bit about what he got up to.
“Back when I attended St Mary’s Grammar school in Belfast I applied to take part in Project Zambia. It’s a Belfast based registered charity that first started up in 2002 by Dr Donaldson from St Marys CBGS Belfast. The aim of project Zambia is to help support and empower host communities to develop solutions to their problems and difficulties.
“Dr Donaldson had been my RE teacher and had always entertained during lessons with videos, pictures and old stories of Zambia. So when I finally reached Upper Sixth and had the opportunity to apply to take part in Project Zambia I jumped at it. We were told at the time that those with the best AS results would be given first priority. The next day at assembly they called out the names of the 13 students who had been chosen and thankfully I made the cut. We teamed up with thirteen other students from St Dominic’s Girls’ School and started to prepare for our journey together that Easter.
“As part of the process we each had to raise £1500 that would go towards our flights, hostels, food and equipment. One of the first ideas I had was to complete a 10K run at Shaw’s bridge. However on the day of the run there was snow! I decided I would go ahead with the fundraiser despite the weather and turned the 10K run into a 10K walk. I organised church talks in my local parish where I spoke to the local community about Project Zambia. There was a lot of interest and I managed to raise £2500 which I put straight into my ‘Zambia Funds’ piggybank. One lady who came up to me after the mass donated £500 which was amazing. I also did a 24 hour fast and my old primary school ‘Holy Trinity’ hosted a non-uniform day which raised £450.
“I remember being surprised when we touched down in Zambia airport to see how developed it was. When you think about Zambia the first thing that comes to mind is poverty but the airport was quite surprising. It wasn’t like Heathrow airport but there were a couple of shops, you could get a coffee and they had different terminals. It was worlds apart from where we were going to be.
“When we arrived in Lusaka, Zambia one of the first places we went was called Misisi. This was a slum that could be found right along a railway track. Misisi has been identified as one of the five worst slums in Sub-Saharan Africa so it isn’t hard to imagine the horrific scenes we encountered here. I can honestly say it’s probably one of the worst places I have ever seen with sewage, rubbish and urine everywhere. But right in the middle of it is a little school called St Catherine’s which housed all the children from the Misisi area. The school was literally just a couple of small buildings and right around the buildings was a stone wall with a huge cast iron gate. When we asked why such a rundown area would go to such measures we were told it was built to stop men from getting in and kidnapping the children for prostitution.
“Finding this out really shocked us and we decided to help the school appear more child friendly and welcoming for the children. We painted all the classrooms, hung up numbers pictures and those who were artistic drew images of Disney characters on the classroom walls. We also built a toilet because if the children needed to go to the bathroom they had to go out the back and into a small brick shelter that had a small little bucket. Once they had finished they had to throw the content in the bucket down a hole which ran out into the compound adding to the horrific smell and unsanitary conditions.
“Another place that we visited was ‘The Home of Hope’ which was just outside Misisi and was made up of two large metal containers and run by a priest called Brother Isaac. It housed boys who were anything between 6 months old to 18 years old and there were about 40 children in total there. There was one classroom and one bedroom which had six bunk beds in it. You got about two children to each bunk and the rest had to sleep on the floor. As you can imagine there was rivalry between the children to see who got to sleep in the bunk beds and usually the older children over-ruled the younger children.
“While there we helped put the finishing touches to the roof of the school they were building and cleaned up the surrounding area. It was overrun with weeds and high grass which wasn’t really safe for the children. We wanted them to be able to play safely on the grounds and if they fell and hurt themselves they wouldn’t have access to any medical supplies. I was here for about four days and really got the opportunity to interact with all the kids. They were interested in sports and loved playing football with us. So one afternoon we went into the nearest shopping centre and bought them basketball hoops, footballs, football nets, basketball nets board games, chalks and pencils which they loved.
“Another memory I have of being there was attending the funeral of the son of Peter Tembo, co-founder of Project Zambia. There were 100s and 100s of Zambian people there and only about 20 of us from the school. They called us ‘Mazungus’ which means white person. It might seem strange to say it was a privilege to attend the funeral but this was very much unheard of in Zambia. White people didn’t get asked to come along to local funerals which shows the high regard that they had for Project Zambia and its volunteers. The white people who live in Zambia live behind guarded 15 foot high walls and razor sharp barbed wire. They have golf courses and swimming pools and live in a completely different world from the local Zambian people. The locals would have never have seen the light of day in their territory. You would know who had money and who didn’t even among the Zambians by whether or not they had hair. A lot of people had shaved heads due to head lice and had no shoes and dirty rags on their back.
“One of the last places I went to was Kabwata Orphanage which was run by two nuns. Here there were about 70 children who had either been abandoned by their family or had none. We did a bit of DIY work which involved putting up bunkbeds, chests of drawers and paintings. Here I had the pleasure of meeting one little guy called Mosses who came to Kabwata Orphanage when he was only one years old. He had been abandoned and left on the roadside in a moses basket and that’s how he got his name. He’s now sixteen and doing really well in school. He has high aspirations for the future and possibly could be become a teacher which is a career that is looked upon highly in Zambia.
“On Easter Saturday before we left we stayed in a hostel and about half a mile away, there was a large church. One day we decided to go and check it out and as we were walking up to it you could hear music and people singing. Once we turned the corner of the church I saw a sea of thousands of Zambians: there were men beating on drums and women dressed in their Sunday best, waving palms and dancing and singing, creating waves of colour below me. It was sight I will never forget. These people had literally nothing but yet were so happy and welcoming to us. We got to join in on the celebration which was amazing and I would honestly go back tomorrow if I got the chance.
“My little brother Owen is going over on 27th June for ten days so I decided to help him out by doing a bun sale in Randox. I was up till midnight the night before baking and we raised £243.89 which was great. He’s also going to be doing a 10K run at Black Mountain and a non-uniform day in his old primary school. I had saved about £200 from when I went to Zambia because I knew one day he would go himself. I kept it in a little red container and my mum hid it in her room so no-one could get to it. He said he might shave his head but that depends on how well the rest of the fundraising goes! I’ll make sure to keep you updated on that one.”
For more information about fundraising at Randox please contact randoxpr@randox.com
We Are Randox | Randox Runners raise money for The Alzheimer’s Society in the Belfast City Marathon
Yesterday we had two Randox teams compete in the Belfast City Marathon, in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Suzanne Smillie, Fintan Geoghegan, Ciaran Orchin, Ashleigh McKinstry and Rebecca Molloy made up The Incredible Immunoglobins team. They finished in a fantastic time of 4:23:45, in 1074th position.
Katie Lawther, Maeve McAllister, Michael Thompson, Chloe Carlin and Mark Spence ran as The Marvellous Monoclonals and finished in an impressive 4:02:28, which put them into 560th position.
We are delighted to announce that so far both teams have collectively raised a fabulous £566.64 for The Alzheimer’s Society, with donations continuing to flood in!
A huge congratulations to both teams for taking on this amazing challenge and for raising so much money for such a worthwhile cause.
Upon completing the marathon, Team Captain of the Marvellous Monoclonals, Katie Lawther told us;
“The race was fantastic, the hot weather made it tough going but it was much better than rain! The atmosphere was electric in the whole city with the streets lined with people cheering every runner on.
“During the first 3 legs the two teams ran together, and then within the last two legs my team clinched the victory! On the day though we were just glad everyone finished and ran so well, it felt like everyone had won so that was an amazing feeling. There were also a few other people running for Alzheimer’s Society which was great to see.
“After the race we all met at the finish line to collect our medals, and then we all headed to eat lunch in Stranmillis along the river which was really lovely. An amazing part of my day was seeing Laura Graham coming over the finish line, she is the first Northern Irish winner in 18 years!”
The Incredible Immunoglobulins Team Captain, Suzanne Smillie, commented;
“None of us can believe how lucky we were with the weather – though there are a few burnt scientists around the Firfields site today, myself included!
“The race went very well (aside from a little changeover confusion at the start of Leg 4 for The Incredible Immunoglobulins – Fintan and I could not find each other which lead to a separation between the two teams who, until that point, were neck and neck). The Marvellous Monoclonals won the battle completing the 26.2 mile course in just over four hours.
“I would like to say a big thank you for everybody’s support at Randox, and for your donations. It is very much appreciated.”
If you would still like to donate to our Marathon Runner’s Just Giving page you can do so by clicking on the link below:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TheMarvellousMonoclonalsandTheIncredibleImmunoglobulins
Thank you for your generosity.
We Are Randox | The Marvellous Monoclonals and The Incredible Immunoglobulins go head-to-head in the Belfast City Marathon in aid of the Alzheimerās Society
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Liverpool and Everton.
Sport has produced some of history’s greatest rivalries.
But none of them will compare to Monday 1st May 2017 when Randox rivals The Marvellous Monoclonals, and The Incredible Immunoglobins go head-to-head during the much-anticipated, 42km-long Belfast City Marathon, to raise funds for The Alzheimer’s Society.
We chatted to the two team captains ahead of the big race to hear what they think about their chances of victory.
Suzanne Smillie, Team Captain, The Incredible Immunoglobins
What made you decide to pull together a team to run The Belfast Marathon?
Suzanne: We all work in the Biotechnology department but across three separate teams – Monoclonal Development, Monoclonal Production and the Polyclonal team. So although we all work in the same division of the company we don’t all necessarily know each other. So I thought teaming up to do the Belfast Marathon together would be good way to get to know each other, to put some faces to names and to do a bit of team building.
Who’s in your team?
Suzanne: In my team I have myself, Fintan Geoghegan, Ciaran Orchin, Ashleigh McKinstry and Rebecca Molloy.
How did you decide which leg of the race each runner is going to do?
Suzanne: It was a bit of a negotiation really, just trying to figure out who wanted to do what! I have actually run in the Belfast Marathon relay event before so I was happy to let those who hadn’t done it before pick first.
What training have you been doing in preparation for the race?
Suzanne: We each started at different stages and have each had a different experience during our training. Rebecca in my team had never run before at all but has really taken an interest in the past month. I think she has a pretty addictive personality – she told me that she is now running 3 times a week with her boyfriend! She must be enjoying it because she told me that she thinks she’s going to keep it up even after we complete the marathon.
Do any of you have any previous running or marathon experience?
Suzanne: Some of the boys do a bit of running in their spare time, and Ciaran is really sporty. He plays GAA and is definitely the most athletic out of all of us. Chloe on Katie’s team also plays a lot of hockey.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge you will be faced with on Monday?
Suzanne: There’s rain and potential snow forecast for Monday! Rebecca says she’d rather have a bit of refreshing rain than too much heat but I’m just worried about having the wind beating against my face! From running the marathon before I know that it’s really difficult to run against the wind.
Who is your team’s fastest runner?
Suzanne: Ciaran will be the fastest!
Who is the most competitive runner?
Suzanne: Without a doubt Fintan is the most competitive runner. He’s running against Michael in the other team and they are good friends, working in the same lab, so they’ll be quite competitive running directly against each other.
Ashleigh and Mark will also be quite competitive when they run against each other in the last leg, the glory leg. On Facebook Ashleigh wrote “Eat my dust!” to him!
Has there been anyone not pulling their weight and needs to up their training over the weekend?
Suzanne: I’m going to up my fundraising game over the weekend by hosting a fundraiser on Sunday night with my choir!
What makes you think you’re going to win?
Suzanne: We’re a shorter team so we’re more aerodynamic.
Have you been keeping track of the other team’s training regimes and progress?
Suzanne: Rebecca has been nominated as my official team spy and I have sent her out in her car to follow the other team when they’re running.
I myself have a very particular set of skills. I’m a champion Facebook creeper and have been following the other team’s updates and statuses to make sure they aren’t sneaking in a cheeky set of press-ups in the tearoom on their lunch breaks.
Any hiccups along the way?
Suzanne: Ciaran had a hamstring injury and Maeve got a clicky hip but thankfully nobody has suffered anything too serious!
What are you most looking forward to about the race?
Suzanne: Having done the marathon before I know that being there is just the most incredible experience. The feeling of being part of something bigger than you is a wonderful feeling and it’s truly special to be one of the thousands of people who come together to do something for other people less fortunate than us.
Regardless of the weather we’ll know that we’re doing something for the benefit of others and that’s a great feeling.
Anyone you think might be a sore loser?
Suzanne: Fintan! We’re all in agreement on that one. Possibly Ashleigh as well if Mark beats her during the last leg.
Any forfeits for the losing team?
Suzanne: Rebecca had a good idea that we could get the other team to calibrate our pipettes for a month if we win. Or that they have to take out our clinical waste for us.
But eventually we landed on them making us our lunch every day for a month.
Katie Lawther, Team Captain, The Marvellous Monoclonals
How did you pick who was going to be in your team?
Katie: It was a totally random draw! We put names in a hat and just made sure that the teams were equally weighted with two men and three women in each.
Who’s in your team?
Katie: There’s Maeve McAllister, Michael Thompson, Chloe Carlin, Mark Spence and myself.
How did you decide which leg of the race each runner is going to do?
Katie: Some people knew which leg they wanted to run and others didn’t mind. In my team specifically, Maeve had taken part in the relay before and had run the first leg, so she wanted to do it again because she had enjoyed it the last time. She enjoys being at the starting line!
How did you decide which charity to run for?
Katie: I asked everyone if they had any particular charities they were passionate about, because I’m very passionate about The Alzheimer’s Society myself. My Granny, who helped to raise me alongside my mum, was diagnosed with it when I was younger and so I ended up helping to care for her with my mum and sister.
When I told people that I’d like us to run in aid of The Alzheimer’s Society it turned out that other people had personal experiences with it too. Maeve’s friend’s father passed away from Alzheimer’s when was he quite young and so she likes to fundraise for it when she can.
I think everyone has been affected by it in some form or another so we were all in agreement that it was the charity to go for.
We’re also actively involved in research and development into Alzheimer’s disease here in the Randox Biotechnology team so it just felt like the perfect fit.
What training have you been doing in preparation for the race?
Katie: We’ve each trained according to our own needs and schedules. Michael in my team has been training for months because he wouldn’t be a natural runner yet he has one of the longest legs of the race. Personally I’ve been swimming a couple of times a week to improve my fitness.
Do you think your teamwork in the lab will help you work as a team during the marathon?
Katie: Maeve and I are best friends in work so I’m really going to enjoy the moment Maeve passes the baton over to me. When I see her coming I’m going to be cheering her on!
Do any of you have any previous running or marathon experience?
Katie: Ciaran is the sportiest out of all of us but unfortunately he’s on the other team! I imagine he will be Suzanne’s secret weapon…
Who is your team’s fastest runner?
Katie: Definitely Maeve! She’s going to do it for the girls.
Who is the most competitive runner?
Katie: In my team Mark is pretty competitive, and certainly has been with regards to fundraising. He’s on Facebook every single night promoting our team and bringing in the donations. He wants to have raised the most money!
Has there been anyone not pulling their weight and therefore needs to up their training over the weekend?
Katie: Maeve and I are going to have one final push on our training over the weekend. Between the two of us we make up the Organising Committee for the teams and so we’ve spent quite a lot of time fussing and arranging rather than training!
What makes you think you’re going to win?
Katie: Suzanne seems to think our team is taller than hers and we are therefore less aerodynamic. Personally it’s the first time I’ve ever been called tall so I’ll take it!
Our long giraffe-like limbs will help us win.
Any sabotage going on?
Katie: Ciaran brought in a 5KG bag of M&Ms a few days ago and strategically left them on the desk I share with Maeve. He’s been trying to fatten us up!
Maeve naively thought that he was trying to give us a nice energy boost but I saw the sabotage for what it really was.
What are you most looking forward to about the race?
Katie: I know I speak on behalf of everyone in my team when I say that we’re all looking forward to meeting up at the finishing line, watching Mark and Ashleigh finish the final leg, cheering them on and finishing the marathon together as a team.
I’m also looking forward to seeing our fundraising total after all the hard work we’ve done. We’ll do an official handover to the Alzheimer’s Society with the help of the Randox Internal Communications team.
It will be such a special moment handing over our well-earned funds to such a worthwhile cause.
Any forfeits for the losing team?
Katie: We want to do a lab swap like when Monica and Rachel swap apartments with Joey and Chandler!
Any celebration plans for when the race is over?
Katie: We’re all going to go to Cutter’s Wharf for a celebratory meal together. We’re all very much looking forward to it.
Our two marathon teams will join 17,500 runners taking part in the race on Bank Holiday Monday and will together be raising funds for the very worthy Alzheimer’s society, the only UK charity investing in research into dementia care, cause, cure and prevention.
In 2015/16, for every £1 received by The Alzheimer’s Society, 89p was directly spent on improving the lives of people with dementia. The other 11p goes towards generating future income.
We’re very proud that our marathon runners are taking on this incredible challenge in the name of such an amazing charity and wish them all the very best.
It doesn’t matter who finishes first in the race, you are all winners in our eyes! Good luck!
To donate to our Marathon Teams’ fundraising efforts please click the link below to visit their Just Giving Fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TheMarvellousMonoclonalsandTheIncredibleImmunoglobulins
For more information about fundraising at Randox please contact randoxpr@randox.com
Ready, Set, Go: Randox Teoranta sponsors WAAR three years in a row
On Saturday 25th February, Ireland’s most famous adventurer, Jason Black, launched this year’s WAAR event, which is being sponsored for the third time by Randox Teoranta. The Wild Atlantic Adventure Race which takes place in the Banks, Mullaghdearg, Donegal, raises much needed funds for the ongoing developments at CLG Naomh Mhuire.
World renowned adventurer, Jason Black commented;
“The Wild Atlantic Adventure Race is a brilliant event – an incredible physical challenge in a stunning location. I’m delighted to be involved, and encourage people to become active and set themselves goals. Whether it be climbing Mount Everest or powering through the WAAR, there’s a personal satisfaction that you get from sport that is so unique. That people not just from Ireland but overseas take part as well says all you need to know about the quality of this adventure race.”
With an anticipated 500 plus competitors hoping to take part this year on the 13th May, the race will include a 42.5k cycle, a 2K hike, and a 1K kayak. Adding an extra challenge, this year’s run has been increased by 2.5K to 10K offering contenders a day packed full of activities.
Ciaran Richardson, Head of R&D at Randox Teoranta in Dungloe, who is looking forward to supporting the event for a third time said;
“We are delighted to sponsor the WAAR for a third consecutive year. The whole Donegal community looks forward to it and it’s a significant event promoting the importance of health, fitness and wellbeing. As a global diagnostics company we aim to revolutionise healthcare and WAAR gives us the perfect opportunity to spread our message of preventive health. We are looking forward to the event which is set to be a great success and hopefully we’ll be cheering on some of our own employees at the starting line again this year. “
WAAR committee member, Gavin Ó Dónaill, thanked Randox for their support and commented;
“We are thrilled that Randox Teoranta have been named the 2017 sponsors of WAAR. Without their sponsorship the event would not be possible. This year is set to be the biggest and best yet with an anticipated 500 plus competitors taking part. We have extended the distance of the run to 10K so there will be an added pressure to reach the finish line. We have also introduced a shorter sprint 39K Category to allow more newcomers to participate in WAAR.
At the launch we will also be interviewing local members of the community who have in recent years become more involved in fitness and exercise through walking, running and cycling and have now registered to take part in the event. This represents the true spirit of WAAR.”
Saturday’s event will also include a new element in the form of a nutritional workshop by husband and wife, Jenna Maltese and Tom Coleman, the founders of My Nutrition Ireland who will offer simple effective food guidance to all attendees on the day.
For more information about the WAAR please contact Randox PR on 028 9445 1016 or email RandoxPR@randox.com
Randox Health to sponsor the two feature contests at The Showcase
Randox is pleased to announce that Randox Health will sponsor two £50,000 handicap chases at The Showcase on Saturday, October 22 – the Randox Health Handicap Steeple Chase (3.30pm) over two miles and the Randox Handicap Steeple Chase (1.50pm) over three miles and a furlong.
Earlier this year, Randox Health signed a five-year agreement to become title sponsors of the Randox Health Grand National at Aintree from 2017 and was also unveiled as the official healthcare partner of The Jockey Club, joining an esteemed and growing list of Group Partners. By embarking on this Group-wide partnership the Jockey Club is striving to raise Randox Health’s message of preventive health and wellbeing amongst its members, and to the wider racing audience of all Jockey Club Racecourses.
The Randox Health Handicap Steeple Chase and the Randox Handicap Steeple Chase are the richest races over the two days of The Showcase, which gets Cheltenham’s new season underway on Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22.
Popular chaser Balthazar King captured the Randox Handicap Steeple Chase three years on the bounce (2011, 2012, 2013) and was runner-up to Pineau De Re in the 2014 Grand National.
The Randox Health Handicap Steeple Chase, run at two and a half miles up to and including 2014, has provided some valuable pointers to the BetVictor Gold Cup at The Open in November. Johns Spirit captured both races in 2013, as did Shooting Light (2001) and The Outback Way (1999).
Dr. Peter FitzGerald, Founder and Managing Director of Randox Health, is looking forward to The Showcase which marks the beginning of the roll out of Randox Health branding across Jockey Club courses;
“We are thrilled to be able to bring the name of Randox Health to the participants and viewers of the Randox Handicap Steeple Chase and the Randox Health Handicap Steeple Chase. The races mark the beginning of our partnership with the Jockey Club, whose courses are the perfect platform to highlight the benefits of our Randox Health Preventive Health Programmes to the public, and also to bring the other diagnostic capabilities of our healthcare company, including Equine Health and Food Testing, amongst others, to the attention of equestrian enthusiasts. Our health is our most valuable commodity and so we want to keep the horse racing fraternity healthy so they are able to enjoy such fantastic events as The Showcase.”
Carey Buckler, Regional Head of Partnerships, South West Region, Jockey Club Racecourses, said: “I am delighted that Randox Health are to sponsor at Cheltenham during The Showcase.
“Their involvement with The Jockey Club is really exciting and it is great that we are able to work with them across the group ahead of next year’s Randox Health Grand National.”
For further information please contact our Randox Comms Team on 028 9445 1016 or email amy.mcilwaine@randox.com
Grand National sponsor Randox hosts Polo event in Bushmills, Northern Ireland
New Grand National sponsor, Randox hosted a unique event in Bushmills this weekend – an International Polo tournament with teams taking part from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa.
Guests from around the world who made the journey to Northern Ireland for the Polo event were given a warm welcome – they were treated to an intimate performance from world renowned concert pianist Barry Douglas on the evening of Friday 16th September, in the recently acquired Dundarave Estate.
The Randox NI Polo was the first of its kind and over 500 guests made their way to the North Coast town to attend the inaugural event. The day kicked off with the Police Service Northern Ireland pipe band who entertained the crowds before the tournament began. Guests included Pamela Ballantine and the Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mrs. Joan Christie OBE who delivered the match ball of the opening game.
It was a victory for Scotland during the first nail-biting game of the tournament, as they went head to head with the team from Northern Ireland. But it was South Africa who emerged the winners of the 2016 tournament, after beating the team from the Republic of Ireland and scoring more goals than any other team. The weekend’s events ended with a Gala Ball and dinner, followed by a breath-taking firework display which was also enjoyed by members of the Bushmills community.
Randox Founder and Managing Director, Dr. Peter FitzGerald, a keen horseman and horse sports enthusiast, said he is looking forward to the highly anticipated Polo event;
“We’ve been engaged on the Point-to-Point scene in Northern Ireland for many years, close to our Randox headquarters in County Antrim, but up until now have never had the opportunity to also host a Polo tournament in Northern Ireland. We’re delighted to be able to now hold the event in the beautiful scenery of the North Coast and to bring the Randox Health message to our Polo guests. By taking care of your wellbeing you can ensure that you enjoy days out in Northern Ireland – such as the Randox Polo event – to the fullest.”
Earlier this year, it was announced that Randox Health will sponsor the Grand National, in a five year deal which starts in 2017.
At the time of the sponsorship announcement earlier this year, FitzGerald commented;
“We see this partnership as a natural fit, as both organisations invest heavily in the future and we aim to use our partnership to promote a positive lifestyle and to bring enjoyment to millions of people. We care about people’s health and this is the people’s race.”
As the company expands and develops – more than 370 million people across 145 countries now receive medical diagnosis via Randox products – it seems fitting that Randox would move from the local horse sports scene to the world’s greatest race.
But the global healthcare company is remaining true to its roots, continuing to host the Point-to-Point events that have been synonymous with the company for so long. And by bringing the Polo event to Bushmills, and opening its doors to the public, Randox is saying ‘we haven’t forgotten where we come from.’
Randox hosts Polo Weekend 2016 in Scotland
Piano, polo and cardiac risk profiles were part of the mix enjoyed by more than a hundred guests from around the world at the annual Randox Laboratories’ weekend in Scotland.
World-renowned concert pianist Barry Douglas launched the event at Gleneagles Hotel with an intimate recital of his new music, as well as performing O’Carolan’s “Farewell to Music” and Tchaikovsky’s “Autumn Song.” The evening concluded with dinner and a talk from Manufacturing Manager David Martin who presented Randox’s innovative plans for the future which included our new state of the art Science Park.
A range of impressive seminars were held on Saturday morning, many of which were live-streamed for the first time on our social media channels to international followers. Guests were shown ground-breaking studies completed using Randox products, with the potential to truly transform the way healthcare is delivered. Highlights included a talk by Professor Ray Sherwood from Kings College London who studied “Cytokines for Diagnosis of POEMS syndrome and Castleman Disease” and research by Dr Ibrahim Mansoor from the International Medical Centre in Jeddah on “Extended Lipid Profile, Roles of sLDL”.
The polo match ball was hand delivered to Dr Peter FitzGerald by the Red Devils Parachute Regiment who impressed the crowds by jumping from thousands of feet up in the air to land squarely on the field at Errol Park. Some of the world’s best players took part including Sébastien Pailloncy (3-goals) who wore the England jersey. After three games, England were crowned the 2016 winners, South Africa followed closely behind as the runner up while Scotland came in at third place.
As well as the action on the polo field, guests enjoyed browsing a selection of stalls assembled by the Prince’s Trust (Randox official corporate charity) which included businesses such as “Maddy Burrows Illustrations,” “My Fantasy Bouquet” and “The Family Tree”.
The weekend’s events concluded that evening with the Highland Ball and dinner, followed by a breath-taking firework display – which was also enjoyed by members of the Errol community!
Plans are already underway for our next Polo Weekend – held this weekend for the first time at Dundarave House in Bushmills, Northern Ireland.
We Are Randox | Randox Rugby Team Promote Healthy Work-Life Balance at Randox
As a global healthcare diagnostics company, we know a thing or two about health. And we know that taking time out from our busy lives to relax and unwind is important to stay healthy. Whether that’s taking your dog for a walk, meeting up with friends, getting lost in a good book, or playing your favourite sport.
Playing a competitive sport brings a wealth of benefits – it’s the perfect way to socialise and look after your health at the same time! Not only is it good for your physical health, but can go a long way in maintaining your mental wellbeing too.
There is great value in exercise and fresh air. However, it’s an unfortunate fact of life that most 9-5ers just don’t have the opportunity to indulge in this pleasure very often.
Randox, being a company serious about health and wellbeing, like to know we’re giving our employees the best opportunities to be as healthy as they can, and live their lives as fulfilled as possible.
Amongst many sports in which Randox encourages employees to take part, we encourage our employees to regularly take the time to engage in some friendly competition of 5-a-side rugby against each other. The County Antrim countryside, in which our Randox headquarters are located, is the perfect setting for an informal game of rugby – our rugby players can let off some steam and take in the scenery at the same time!
The team was banded together by Randox Founder and Managing Director, Dr. Peter FitzGerald, who occasionally joins in on the games himself! Dr. FitzGerald is a strong advocate of teamwork and camaraderie in the workplace.
Jonathan Acheson, Randox Health Sales Executive, who plays for our Randox Rugby Team, commented;
“At Randox we work hard but we play hard too! Our work can often be very fast-paced and Randox is expanding phenomenally – for example we’re all working towards our 5 year sponsorship of the Randox Health Grand National, beginning in 2017, which is keeping us all very busy. So it’s important that we take time to unwind and recharge our batteries. We’re lucky that we’re able to take advantage of being in such a lovely area of Northern Ireland – right beside Lough Neagh – and so we can get outside after work and have a good run-about!”
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