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02-Feb-2010 2009 Distinction Awards
The following students, who completed their ESTON Training courses during 2009, have been awarded a “Diploma with Distinction”.....
23-Nov-2009 E-waste and electronic equipment recycling
As electronic technology advances, the sophisticated components that go into each device use different kinds of materials, some of which have only come into mass-production within our lifetimes, and many of which are non-biodegradable. Yet, something like....
24-Dec-2008 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
ESTON Training wishes all of its students a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been a busy year and we all deserve some well-earned time off!....
08-Jun-2008 Letter of the Week (to the Tax Man) – Student TR
Dear Mr Taxman, I am not one of your recalcitrant customers; in fact I'm not at all sure that I am actually a customer. Has one of those social charter thingamajigs reached your neck of the woods yet? I hope so. Otherwise I've let your people....

02-Feb-2010 2009 Distinction Awards
The following students, who completed their ESTON Training courses during 2009, have been awarded a “Diploma with Distinction”. A distinction is awarded to students who achieve an average of 80% or higher on their coursework: Michael Valentine - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) Claire Folland - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) Ellie McBirnie - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) Dick Beets - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) Adam Wakenshaw - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) Gavin Dickerson - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) Jana Timinger - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) Philip Reeves - Technical/Commercial Authorship (EDL2D) We congratulate these students and applaud their hard work and dedication.	Top

23-Nov-2009 E-waste and electronic equipment recycling
As electronic technology advances, the sophisticated components that go into each device use different kinds of materials, some of which have only come into mass-production within our lifetimes, and many of which are non-biodegradable. Yet, something like computer recycling doesn’t cross the minds of those disposing of them nearly enough, considering the times in which we live. As electronic components such as TVs, computers and other “e-waste” are disposed of, they collect in landfills where they will lie for the rest of our planet’s existence. Little known to most people is that every single piece of plastic that’s ever been manufactured is still here with us on earth, hopelessly trapped in landfills or other disposal sites, where they will continue to have an impact on our environment. At this point in our species’ existence, e-waste recycling is more important than ever. E-waste recycling is a step we must take in order to preserve our planet and our environmental and atmospheric quality of life. More importantly, as technology advances, more and more non-biodegradable material makes its way into landfills every day. In many cases, these materials can be recycled and reused. When it comes to electronics, recycling may not appeal as an option immediately, but it should always be considered. Recycling electronic components helps everyone and everything, not just the humans who dominate the planet. Electronics recycling saves resources, because new metals don’t need to be mined. It maintains the absence of hazardous materials in our ecosystem, such as lead. It makes available valuable space in landfills and disposal facilities and keeps them free of harmful elements that do long-term damage to our planet. Televisions, DVD players, VCRs, stereos, fax machines, copiers and computers are commonly disposed of improperly, although they can be refurbished for further use. Computer recycling keeps silicon circuit boards out of landfills and puts them back in consumers’ hands, which creates less of a need for manufactured materials that will not biodegrade. Television recycling keeps harmful and virulent materials, such as lead, from seeping into the ground and irreversibly damaging the ecosystem.	Top

24-Dec-2008 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
ESTON Training wishes all of its students a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been a busy year and we all deserve some well-earned time off! The Nantwich office will be closed on Christmas day and Boxing day. However, the office and telephone will be manned from Monday the 29th of December until 4.30 pm on Wednesday the 31st of December. We are all back on Monday the 5th of January, 2009 – hopefully refreshed and eager to start the new year.	Top

08-Jun-2008 Letter of the Week (to the Tax Man) – Student TR
Dear Mr Taxman, I am not one of your recalcitrant customers; in fact I'm not at all sure that I am actually a customer. Has one of those social charter thingamajigs reached your neck of the woods yet? I hope so. Otherwise I've let your people's friendly telephone manner lull me into a false sense of security. Anyway, whether I am a customer or your obedient servant, I want it placed on record that I'm happy to pay my fair share of income tax; whatever that might be. However, let me put the strength of this emotion (i.e. happiness) into perspective for you. On the Richter scale, it doesn't quite register. A couple of months ago, I received a tax rebate in my salary cheque. It came to three hundred pounds and some change. Thank you. My son, Jim (pronounced Jam), got boots at one hundred and thirty-nine pounds, ninety-nine pence. Not Boots the Chemist, or special boots that you might need in order to walk on the moon; just ordinary boots - so I'm told. The missus needed a skirt and top, as they all do at regular intervals. However, a British top was no good because... well, because it was no good; so Marks & Spencers had to send all the way to Thailand in order to obtain the only top that would match the skirt already purchased. With the change, I bought a book on Stress Management. Last month (I've been busy) I received a letter telling me that I owe you guys four hundred and ninety-five pounds in unpaid tax. Naturally, I rang your office to find out if one of your operatives had made a mistake (God forbid). And, you'll be glad to know she hadn't (can't remember her name - but you would have been proud of the way she handled me, from a Tax Inspector's point of view). Isn't it just the limit? I mean, if you drop a piece of bread and dripping (I nearly said a king prawn and avocado fritter - until I realised who I was writing to) onto the floor, it always lands greasy side down. In this instance, I've spent the very welcome rebate, and before I get to the chapter in my Stress Management book on how to handle income tax demands (from an emotional point of view) I've been stricken by a strapping, startling "Schedule E". And, to cap it all, I'm told that my file has been passed on to your debt collecting section (and the intonation here, if I'm not mistaken, is that these DCS guys eat social chapters for breakfast). So, where does all this leave me? I'll tell you where - and it's not in the pound-seats. I've sold my laptop and my wife's collections of unusual matchboxes and hand-fashioned pin-cushions. And, with the odds and sods that were lying around the garage (I drew the line at my treasured picture of our queen in working blue (unsigned) and my rare collection of contemporary flint-less lighters) I've cobbled together the five hundred quid you guys say I owe you. So, do I just send you a cheque - or, have I to wait for another schedule? I must apologise if I sound confused. You see, I was out of the country for many years before I joined my present company back in the UK. And, I was a P.A.Y.E. tax payer for ten years before I left England to struggle on without me. I remember those days (before I left) with fondness (well, we do as we get older). For instance, in those pre-computer days, when records were maintained by hand, P.A.Y.E. used to mean Pay as You Earn and you didn't get a tax return to fill in every year. I've only been back five years, and I've got a personal tax file that's thicker than a navvy's piece, filled with assorted assessments, several schedules and far from few forms. What's going on? I've only got one source of income. You obviously have never worked for “XXX”, or you would realise that we're all too knackered by the end of the day to put in a shift at ASDA stacking shelves. I don't know of any way to avoid paying tax and if I did I'm of a generation that would be too scared to try (and I've never been a cowboy-plumber, a plumber or a cowboy). Can you help me? I realise that you guys are only trying to do your jobs just like me and that the extra tax I've had to pay is associated with my company car (which, by the way, is five years old in a couple of weeks and is valued by our transport manager at £1 200). Is my company not obliged to tell you guys what I'm earning, etc.? Why is it that each year I get an additional tax demand and latterly a tax rebate followed swiftly by a bigger demand? Your lady reminded me only the other day that I'm responsible. I know I'm responsible - I hold down a job with “XXX” (that's not easy and it's not for long 'cos me and mine are being out-sourced) I've got a big mortgage (more in fact than my house is worth) and I've managed to bring up two kids (and all of us are still alive and relatively friendly (no pun intended)). Now that's responsible. As for being responsible for telling you guys every detail concerning my earnings etc., are there no perks associated with being a P.A.Y.E. person? Or (and, Mr. Taxman, before I finish this sentence I wish to point out that I intimate no slight to either yourself or any member of your staff, past or present, male or female, rich or poor, Protestant or Catholic, Liverpool or Everton, etc., etc.) are the perks reserved for the wealthy and famous, non-P.A.Y.E. tax payers (including cowboys, cowboy-plumbers, plumbers and the like) who, according to the Sun (found it in the office - don't get it or any other paper myself) don't pay enough tax between them to keep No.10's pantry stocked with cocoa? I have completed another tax return (enclosed); for this year. I pray that I have completed it correctly and have not missed an opportunity to save myself and family a few bob. I await your response vis-à-vis the five hundred pounds owed and hope that the Universal Architect will continue to bless you and yours. Yours sincerely,	Top