The Coppid Beech Hotel, in Partnership with Liberty Europe, is one of the first hotels in the country to install wireless broadband for use by its customers throughout its facilities.

This high speed Internet connection is 10 times faster than wired broadband and works through 24 antennae located in the hotel.

All guests have to do is buy a voucher from reception (£12.99 for 24 hours or £5.99 for one hour) and key a password into their laptop to access the Internet throughout the hotel without the need for plugs and telephone wires.This means that a business guest can go from his/her room to the lobby for a meeting and then to one of the conference rooms and be able to log on at all times.

If you fancy being scared out of your wits – while enjoying an excellent meal or fun weekend away – then enquire at the Coppid
Beech Hotel or The Swan at Streatley to find out how you can celebrate Halloween this year.

The Coppid Beech Hotel has a wicked weekend of thrills and spills organised to entertain the family. From 31 October to 2 November, a family of four can enjoy a weekend which includes:

• two nights’ accommodation;
• a dinner in Rowans restaurant;
• a family pass into LEGOLAND to witness their spectacular fireworkdisplay; and
• a spooky-themed fancy dress buffet and games.

Your scary stay will be rounded off with a leisurely Sunday breakfast while your little horrors are taken off your hands to go trick or treating.

Or, if a frightening feast at The Swan at Streatley’s award-winning Cygnetures restaurant is more to your taste, call 01491 878800 to book a table. All diners will be entered into a prize draw to win a dinner for two.

For only £29.50 (or half price for children) you can enjoy a three-course Fright Night dinner followed by traditional Halloween games and a disco where there will be a spine-chilling dress code of red and black for all those attending the event.

All our centres are planning to entertain you with an array of special festivities during the Christmas period so make a date with us now.All enquires to your local centre – see back page for details.

For our ski centres the future is PERMA-SNOW™ ski carpeting. PERMASNOW ™ is the ultimate dry ski slope surface that provides a continuous skiing carpet that is soft to feel, cushioned and safe.The experts say that it feels like snow, looks like snow and skis like snow.The product will be featured at the Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Show for the very first time and is the future for dry ski slopes internationally.Why not visit our stand when
there and let us have your own views? The ski carpet is manufactured by our own subsidiary,Techmat 2000 Ltd, and will be available to order after its launch on the Bracknell ski slope in late November 2003. It is set to revolutionise the dry ski slope industry throughout the world.

Not only will our ski centres feature on our stand at the Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Show, they will also feature in our Children in Need Appeal. Octagon Toyota will be visiting each of the John Nike Leisuresport ski centres as the Toyota Prius travels from one centre to another to raise funds for Children in Need.You will find more details on page 5 about the Nike Group’s involvement in this campaign – please give generously to this worthy cause.

N-ice one! That is what the opinion is of the Bracknell Bees ice hockey supporters as they follow the team in their new league.The Bees have started well and there is great entertainment for our fans this season, not only for ice hockey followers but for the Tigers basketball followers as well. The teams have new players and have to find their way but, on early indications, I have high hopes for both squads and wish them well.

I am sure you will find some interesting features in this issue of Connections – all our companies look forward to welcoming you this winter as a customer. We can entertain you, provide for you or simply serve you – anything from a can of coke to a car – why not visit us?

May I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

John Nike OBE Chairman