THANKS to Dee Roberts, below, director of Merseyside demolition company Oldham Bros, for sending us the following notice which she spotted in the window of a coal store.

It may give some heart to any business people depressed at the thought of a recession. It reads: “We have been established for over 100 years and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever since.

“We have made money and lost money, suffered rationing, government control and bad payers. We have been cussed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed and swindled.

“The only reason we stay in business is to see what happens next.”

DRAMATIC events over in Runcorn at The Heath Business and Technical Park.

Site owner SOG is to begin work this week on the first phase of its multi-million pound expansion plan. The first phase will see two 9,500 sq ft office blocks built on the site. SOG has already secured a tenant for one of the buildings – Progressive Solutions, already occupying space elsewhere at the park.

According to SOG’s press release, Progressive has to move to accommodate its expansion, as it is apparently “literally bursting out” of the 4,000 sq ft space it occupies.

Sounds quite unpleasant – we hope they don’t make a mess.

MORE strange goings-on just across the River Mersey from Runcorn, in Widnes. Fittingly, in the home of the Vikings, Halton Chamber of Commerce & Enterprise’s annual dinner was organised around an, er, . . . Arabian Nights theme.

More than 120 members and guests swapped their dinner jackets and ball gowns for kaftans for the event comprising belly dancers and camel races, which featured, we are told, two Bactrian and two dromedary camels.

And well done to Denise Hudson, wife of chamber vice-chairman Eric, who chose the winning camels from the final two races. She clearly knows a quality hump when she sees one.