Saturday 7th March 2009 - Hart Young Musician of the Year 2009

Bates NVH were once again the sponsors of the Hart Young Musician Award at the Church on the Heath at Elvetham, a bi-annual event organized by Hart District Council jointly with the Hart Rotary Club. Originally conceived by Councillor Susan Band and led by her with the able assistance of representatives of Hart Rotary, the event has become for our young musicians an opportunity to display their enormous talent in the public arena, and what a contest it has become. The Adjudicators, led by the redoubtable Frank Fowler, a former Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, and joined by Jamie Walton, one of the United Kingdom's leading young cellists, Alistair Telfer, the present Cantor at Westminster Cathedral, and Jonathan Rennert, the leading organist and conductor, described the quality of the performances as "truly astonishing".

It is a mark of the distinction of the competition that all previous winners have gone on to high levels of achievement in the music world, whether in terms of performance or scholarship.

Ian and Ester MacDonald, ably assisted by Geoff and Rita Gibbons, presented the prizes, to the prizewinners.

And the Young Musician of the Year 2009? A truly amazing performance by young harpist Oliver White, one of the youngest performers, won the top accolade of the Adjudicators.

Hart Young Musician of the Year web site

Monday 3rd November 2008 - Acquisition of Brunel

The Partners of Bates NVH announce with great pleasure that they have acquired the online conveyancing practice Brunel . Senior partner Ian MacDonald says that the acquisition will enable the practice to expand its services in the property sector with on-line clients having the opportunity to carry out their business wholly electronically. Whereas Duncan Samuel the present senior partner of Brunel is retiring in order to spend more time developing the online conveyancing service "Convex Online", fellow partner Jackie Joseph will join Bates as a partner with five other staff. Jackie trained with Bates and it will be a welcome return for her.

Ian and Gwyneth look forward to working with Duncan to expand the Convex service and in particular offering some of the other Bates services including online wills and other virtual legal services.

With effect from the date of the takeover, the London and Leigh-on-Sea offices of Bates NVH will practise under the name Bates Brunel. The title of the Hampshire based offices will remain the same.