BEAT

From russia with loveto legally import empty printed boxes for repacking, but gladly look the other way to those generous competitors who wish to declare their accessories as potatoes. Let’s not forget one of my favourites, the lovely certification process where some very specific and costly certificates are needed to confirm that in fact the product listed does not in fact need certification.

The retail landscape is as volatile as they come. Several previously strong retailers have fallen under the wave of bankruptcies and poor cash flow. All the global brands are fighting for their slice in Mvideo, Eldorado, and MediaMarkt as these folks actually pay their bills.

Retailers want to learn from us and are giving us freedom to do things the Belkin way. If only doing business here could be more efficient. With all the new ideas we bring, we need too many meetings to really get the needle to move. It gets further complicated by having to sit in traffic 2 hours each way for a 1 hour meeting.

Private comrades! I still can’t believe one year has passed since I was asked to come to Russia for Belkin. What better work and personal challenge than to come to Russia at the start of an economic crisis and beautiful snowy winter, right? Little did I know this meant a tough business climate to come of minus 50% declines in retail sales and outdoor climate of minus 20 degrees during the day and black snow.

I have had the good fortune of doing business all over the world, but working in Russia is one of those once in a lifetime experiences you just don’t pass up. Rebuilding and localising the Belkin ‘franchise model’ in Russia has made for a great learning experience and been one interesting ride.

Where else can you find distributors commanding 100% mark-ups and more control of the channel because they can manage the Olympic sport of importing and providing countywide distribution. Where the borders make it impossible

ISSUE 3 December 2009

• FromRussiawithLove• TheBelkinTruckDrivers

&TransportDepartment• ChristmasaroundEMEA•ChristmasRecipes• PersonProfile:

ManfredTiefenbacher• ProductProfile:

Comfort Mouse range• MemoBoard• BelkinHollands’HalloweenParty• SummerPhotoCompetition•SpeedShopping•Lunch&Learn-Dutchlessons• Venustravels• OpeningoftheGameRoom-

DutchOffice•PicnicinthePark2009-UK•BelkinSponsorstheyearly BBVAMarathoninMadrid

•TheBUPAGreatNorthRun•Whodidtheseyoungstersgrow

up to be?Plus more…

IN thIs IssuE

Product ProfILE Comfort Mouse Range

sPEcIaLs

Halloween PartyFriday 30th October5pm - 9pm

Costumes required!

Place: Canteen

DearTeam,

It’sthattimeofyearagainandit’salwaysgoodtoreflectonourachievements and challenges in and out of the work place. It’salsoveryexcitingtothinkaboutthe prospects of the new year. From a work perspective we experienced one of our most challenging years in our history. We were faced with an unprecedented economic climate, deep introspection on how we manage many parts of our business, as well as having to say good bye to some of our colleagues. Despite this all we still managed to deliver a year and improve our work environment. We should all be veryproud.Thenewyearisuponus and as always the challenges we have ahead will further develop ourcharacterandvalues.However,before the new year is the holiday seasonandthisisthetimetoreflecton all of what we have experienced goodorbad.Thisisalsothetimeto devote to our family, friends and relaxation. I look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

NIMas corNEr

Let’s not forget those lovely, but costly work meals out - no dinner, no vodka, no trust, no deal.

No story about Moscow life would be complete without mentioning the traffic. There are 20 million residents in Moscow, I wish I could say how many own cars because it feels like everyone has one. The metro alone moves some 7 million people each day. But people here love using their cars, and with petrol costing around 0,30€ cents per litre, you can start to see what ‘fuels’ the legendary congestion. I don’t even want to think about the number of hours I sit in traffic.

I am so thankful for my Tunebase X as I can at least enjoy an episode or two of Top Chef or Mad Men while I inch along the motorway staring at the sea of stopped car taillights and headlights. Now if only I can get a blue siren for my roof so I can slice through the traffic oligarch style.

Continued on Page 10

thE BELKIN trucK drIvErs & traNsPort dEPartMENt

BELKIN hoLLaNd - haLLowEEN PartyWhat a night!

BEATBEAT

thE BELKIN trucK drIvErs & traNsPort dEPartMENt

ISSUE 3 December 2009 storIEs

BacKGrouNdBelkin started its own fleet of delivery trucks in 2004. There are now 9 units (cabs), 1 unit (cab) with trailer + drag and 16 trailers.

todays tEaM

ryaN MErrIcK At Belkin for 3 years European Transport

Planning Manager

wENdy tayLor At Belkin for 1 year Admin Transport Clerk

thE drIvErs

tIM BLow At Belkin for 5 years Drives: KX56 CWO

Scania 620

KEvIN harrIs At Belkin for 5 years Drives: KX05 DXT

Scania 420

staNLEy NIchoLLs At Belkin for 5 years Drives: KX06 EDP

Scania 420

chrIs BouGhtoN At Belkin for 5 years Drives: KX55 DXK

Scania 500

MartIN LyoN At Belkin for 4 years Drives: KX55 VMV

Mercedes Actros 440

toNy MILLwaIN At Belkin for 3 years Drives: KX56 CWP

Scania 500

KEIth rawLINGs At Belkin for 2 years Drives: KX05 HHE

Scania 420

vINcE PayNE At Belkin for 2 years Drives: KX05 HHD

Scania 420 Wagon & Drag

darrEN McGEE At Belkin for 1 year Drives: KP54 CVH

Scania 420

GrahaM GoadBy At Belkin for 1 year Drives: KX05 DXR

Scania 420

ISSUE 3 December 2009storIEs

thE BELKIN trucK drIvErs & traNsPort dEPartMENt

INsIdE thE caBsThe drivers cabs all have different specs inside them. They have to be a home away from home, as all the drivers sleep overnight in their cabs when on long delivery runs.At the back of all the cabs is the sleeping area and there’s a CD player for a little night music !

thE dIstaNcEs drIvENDuring mainland europe delivery runs, a driver is usually away all week. A driver on UK deliveries can be expected to be out and back in the same day.

In a typical weeks work a driver can expect to cover many miles. All journeys are subject to tachograph rules. This means a max speed of 55 mph.

Currently the fleet delivers to destinations in the UK, Germany, Belgium, Holland, France and Spain.

We are starting to deliver to other countries and have recently visited Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic with other countries on the list to cover.

They hold 26 standard pallets or 33 euro loaded pallets. The wagon and drag trailer holds 30 standard pallets / 37 euro loaded pallets.There are several trailer designs. The distinctive graphics of the trailers make the vehicles stand out on the motorways and highways of europe.

They provide free publicity, day and night, spreading the name and the presence of Belkin across Europe and the UK. The design and artwork for all the trailers and cabs was produced by David Bloor who worked at the UK office as part of the EMEA graphics team from Dec 2003 to Dec 2008.

thE traILErs

BacK hauLING GoodsRather than have empty trailers on the return journeys the team back hauls goods for other companies.In September 2009 they back hauled a revenue of £43,935 across 43 return loads which is their best figure of the year.The back haul goods have included the following:Beer, computer parts, breakfast cereal, part baked bread, wine, nappies, honey, DIY tools, slot machines, dental supplies, christmas decorations, carpet tiles and clothing for TK maxx.

by: Andrew Albrecht & Ryan Merrick

ISSUE 3 December 2009 storIEs

chrIstMas arouNd EMEa

It feels as if Christmas comes earlier and earlier every year: decorated Christmas trees in shopping areas, as well as light chains and decorations on the main streets from early November. Kids of all ages write their ‘letter to Jesus’ (listing what they want to get this year) and giving it to their parents. This makes all the monsters smartest kids in the world. Many people already buy their presents in October to avoid the overcrowded shopping centres, then also buy leftovers the night before (December 23rd).

december 24th - The last chocolate from the advent calendar has been eaten. They Listen to carols or watch the fairytales on TV. The morning is for decorating the Christmas tree and to taste all the cookies mummy baked, then look forward to the night. Only those will see the golden pig who don’t eat meat for lunch. This gives the cook more time for dinner preparation because the traditional karp soup, fried karp and the potato salad takes time to make. All the decorations and lights are up, small tables are full of cookies, dried fruits and nuts; and the Insense sticks burn - as we return from our walk. As soon as we see the first star the Christmas dinner starts. After dinner something rings, the candles are lit and all the presents appear. We sing 2 or 3 carols and enjoy the presents for the rest of the evening.

chrIstMas IN thE czEch rEPuBLIc Apart from all the regular preparation

(Christmas tree, cleaning the house, buying presents etc.) in Poland on the December 24th, Christmas eve, the dinner is most important event. It starts when the first star appears in the sky, but if you cannot see any stars (clouded..) then around 6-7pm.

The most important thing is sharing “oplatek” (see above) - this is a very thin white wafer that is the main and most important item on the Christmas table. We all come to the table, stand up and say some prayers - once we are finished with that we take a wafer. everybody takes a piece, and then goes to another person, breaks a little piece from their wafer, letting them break a piece from their own wafer, and say wishes to themselves for the coming year. You go round the table until you are finished with everybody. Nowadays we only have a white version for the table, but some time ago, 20 years lets say, you also had a pinkish and blue version - to share with the animals. This was when most people in the country kept animals (farmers) for eg. cows, pigs, chickens etc., so you shared it with them to stay in peace for the coming year. Legend says that animals were allowed this one evening in the whole year to speak the human language.

Then you can sit at the table and eat.

The table is dressed with a white table cloth and underneath the cloth we place threads of hay - this tradition comes from the fact that baby Jesus was born on the pile of hay in a poor shed. You have to set as many plates as there are people sitting at the table, plus one more plate - this is for the unexpected guest. The tradition says you have to open the door for anyone showing up at your door that night, because this could be Jesus - on the night when Jesus was born Maria and Josef were asking people to give them some room and they were sent away and ended up in the shed. If then anybody shows up, you ask them to the table and immediately set another extra plate for another eventual unexpected guest. If story repeats - you add a plate again.

On the table on the Christmas eve must be as many dishes as many there were apostles - 12. That seems a lot, but if you include for instance also bread and compote in this number, it is not so bad to keep up with the tradition.

chrIstMas IN PoLaNd

I think the biggest difference is that we do most of our celebrating on the 25th. Here is a rundown of our usual xmas day:9am - Get woken up by mum, usually have a hangover as I’ve been out with friends the night before, last year was the first time for over ten years I didn’t.10am - Get woken up again by mum, finally decide to go downstairs.10:30am - Opening presents, parents and aunties and uncles having breakfast with bucks fizz, I could swear they always told me drinking in the morning was bad, but its xmas I guess.11am - Finish opening presents, granddad is usually asking what time xmas dinner is going to be ready as he wants it at 12pm, my mum as she does every year says were not until 2 pm.12 pm - Cheesy xmas music starts, I know 2 days of this lies ahead.Please not cliff richard again!1 pm - Everyone’s ready and we’ve tidied up the wrapping paper, dinner preparations have started, although the turkey would have been in overnight and my mum starts soaking the xmas cake in brandy weeks before.2 pm - Keep Nephew and kids amused while dinner prep carries on, parents etc. have moved onto beer, wine etc now. Ring relatives that live further away, wish them a merry xmas.3 pm - Dinners still being done, no doubt the sound of music or chitty chitty bang bang is on but its better than the music continuing.4 pm - Dinner is ready, we sit down and pull crackers etc the hats never fit my head so eventually will get ripped. Everyone exchanges the terrible jokes and swaps the cracker items to get something slightly less naff.5 pm - My one duty of the day, lighting the xmas pudding, I pour far too much brandy on and my stepdad moans, I manage yet again to nearly burn the house down, but not quite.6 pm - Dinner is done, can’t move, too much turkey and stuffing, everyone gradually starts falling asleep in chairs etc while bad xmas tv continues.8 pm - Party games start, everyones moved onto spirits now, usually singstar, DVD quizzes, board games etc etc. My brother as usual is overly competitive.10 pm - Its been a long day, everyone goes to bed fairly early.Its always a great day despite all the quirks.

chrIstMas IN thE uNItEd KINGdoM

by: Libor Tošovský by: Magda Piotrowska by: Martin Worth

ISSUE 3 December 2009storIEs

chrIstMas arouNd EMEa

In France, Christmas is a time for family and for generosity, marked by family reunions, gifts and candy for children, gifts for the poor, Midnight Mass, and le Réveillon.

The celebration of Christmas in France varies by region. Most provinces celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, which is a bank holiday. However, in eastern and northern France, the Christmas season begins on 6 December, la fête de Saint Nicolas (Sint Nicolas day). In some provinces la fête des Rois (Epiphany (la fête des Rois) is usually celebrated the 6th of January, but in other places in France it is celebrated the first Sunday after January 1st) and is one the most important holidays of the Christmas season. In Lyon, 8 December is la Fête de lumières, when Lyonnais pay hommage to the virgin Mary by putting candles in their windows which light up the village.

french christmas traditions

French children put their shoes in front of the fireplace, in the hopes that Père Noël (aka Papa Noël) will fill them with gifts. Candy, fruit, nuts, and small toys will also be hung on the tree overnight. In some regions there’s also Père Fouettard who gives out spankings to bad children (sort of the equivalent of Santa Claus giving coal to the naughty).

In 1962, a law was passed decreeing that all letters written to Santa would be responded to with a postcard. When a class writes a letter, each student gets a response!

chrIstMas IN fraNcE

by: Thibault Goussin

Following the old Roman traditions the Christmas in Slovakia were celebrated from 24th until 27th of December. The preparation for the Christmas meal included the baking of Christmas wafers. In old times, this work was usually coordinated by a teacher, who chose children that would give the wafers out to the families in the village.

Another important part of Christmas was also the preparation of the Christmas food. Its roots go back to the time when the solstice celebrations were connected with big parties, where mainly meat was eaten. The Church, therefore, ordered that people should fast on the 24th of December, in order to get rid of these celebrations. The Roman Catholics were allowed to eat fish, and they laid the meat onto the Christmas table and ate it only after midnight. The fish is also a favourite dish because of their scales, which symbolized money and wealth. Nowadays, the fish is served with potato salad.The traditional Christmas dinner is a soup,

made mostly from sour cabbage, lentils, peas, beans and sometimes also from dried mushrooms. On the first and second Christmas Days (25th

and 26th December), people did not have to fast anymore and so they ate meat together with different side dishes, such as barley, beans, peas and other pulses and cabbage. Throughout the Christmas period there was

always been plenty of alcoholic drinks, such as wine and homemade schnapps offered to the guests. One of the symbols of Christmas is also the Christmas tree. Up until then the houses were decorated

with green branches or sticks symbolizing prosperity and protection. In towns, the tree had an aesthetic function. At the beginning the branches or trees hang from the ceiling, above the Christmas table and only later they have been put into stands and decorated with ginger breads, nuts, apples and other goodies.

chrIstMas IN sLovaKIa

by: Veronika Mravcova

sINtErKLaas & chrIstMas IN hoLLaNd

On christmas day the whole family comes together for: Christmas Breakfast. That’s between 12-14 people (depending on who has a boyfriend or girlfriend).The tradition started when I was a child my mum would lock the door to the dinning room and my brother, sister and I were not allowed to get in. She always acted very secretive.

We had to wait upstairs in our rooms until the dining room was completely finished and breakfast was ready.

We always got new clothes so we were really dressed up. She would go all out. The table was all decorated and she had put presents on our plates and lots of food. Still don’t understand why because we were small kids and didn’t eat that much :-)Anyway, Christmas music was put on and then we had breakfast together. It was great.

Nowadays we still do the same except it’s no longer behind closed doors. We now all help her with preparing the table, with the decorations she still gets, but we still have a fantastic time together. Lots of fun!

Now after Christmas breakfast we go home and do our own things.

by: Josian Sweens

sinterKlaas - The Dutch are busy too - shopping for, and more importantly, making presents. Tradition demands that all packages be camouflaged in some imaginative way, and that every gift be accompanied by a fitting poem. This is

the essence of Sinterklaas: lots of fun on a day when people are not only allowed, but expected, to make fun of each other in a friendly way. Children, parents, teachers, employers and employees, friends and co-workers tease each other and make fun of each others’ habits and mannerisms.

Another part of the fun is how presents are hidden or disguised. Recipients often have to go on a treasure hunt all over the house, aided by hints, to look for them.

The real giver is supposed to remain anonymous because all presents technically come from Sinterklaas, and recipients say out loud “Thank you, Sinterklaas!”, even if they no longer believe in him.

ISSUE 3 December 2009 chrIstMas rEcIPEs

Panettone recipe

Panettone is a rich Italian Christmas cake. It is a spongy,

yeasted cake with plenty of fruit and tastes good sliced and

spread with butter. Alternatively eat a slice of fresh panettone

withaglassofsweetwine,suchasVinSanto.It’saversatile

cake and can also be used in a variety of desserts – and if you

havesomeleftoverafterChristmasandit’salittledry,then

useitinatrifleinsteadofordinarysponge,ortoastitandeat

with butter and jam.

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon dried yeast

4 tablespoons milk (or buttermilk)

100g (4oz) butter

50g (2oz) caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

3 (free range if possible) eggs, beaten

Finely grated rind of ½ a lemon

Finely grated rind of ½ an orange

400g(14oz)plain(allpurpose)flourorwhitebreadflour,sifted

1 teaspoon salt

100g (4oz) raisins or sultanas

75g (3oz) chopped mixed peel

Method:

1.Preheattheovento400F,200C,GasMark6.Buttera

20cm (8 in) cake tin and line with lightly buttered

greaseproof paper.

2. Pour the milk (or buttermilk) into a bowl, then sprinkle on

the sugar and yeast. Leave for around 10 minutes –

it should start to go frothy.

3. Combine the butter and caster sugar in a bowl and beat

themtogetheruntiltheyareveryfluffy.Thenbeatinthe

eggs gradually, followed by the lemon and orange rind (and

thevanillaextractifyou’reusingit).

4.Placetheflourandsaltinalargebowl.Nowgentlyfoldin

themilky/yeastfluid,followedbythecreamedbutter/sugar

mixture. Mix them all together until you have a soft dough.

5.Putthedoughontoalightlyflouredsurfaceandkneadfor

about5minutesuntilit’ssmooth.

6.Thenplacethedoughintoanoiledplasticbag(orcoverwith

a tea-towel and leave in a warm place). Leave it for about an

hour until it has doubled in size.

7. Sprinkle the raisins/sultanas and mixed peel over the dough.

Kneaduntiltheyarecompletelymixedin.Placethemixture

in the cake tin and leave it in a warm place, until it has

doubled in size again. It will take about 45 minutes.

8. When it has risen, bake it in the oven for 10 minutes, then

reducetheheatto350F,180C,GasMark4andbakeitfor

another30minutes.Whenit’sdoneitshouldbegolden

brownandfirmtothetouch.Coolthepanettone,anddustit

with icing sugar.

by: Francesco Baldrighi

dutch apple Fritters (apelbeignets)

Ingredients

•6-8firmtartapples

•2cupsbeer

•2cupsflour

•1pinchsalt

•Oilorvegetableshortening,fordeepfrying

•Vanillasugar(granulated)

directions

1. Peel and core apples and cut into lengthwise slices between 1/3 and 1/2 inch thick.

2.Mixbeerwithflourandsaltuntilsmoothandfreeoflumps.

3. Dip apple slices into batter and let excess drip off.

4. Fry a few slices at a time in fat heated to 370 F.

5.Turnoncesotheybecomegoldenbrownonbothsides-about4minutesinall.

6.Drainoneapapertowelandservewarmsprinkledwithsugar.

7.Makes6to10servings.

*VANILLASUGAR:Place1poundconfectioners’orgranulatedsugarinajarwith2or3vanillabeans.

8. Close jar tightly and let stand for 48 hours before using.

Replenishsugarasitisusedup.Useascalledforinindividualrecipes.

Beans need replacing only after 4 or 5 months.

spanish Brandy truffles (truffles recipe with a touch of spanish cognac)

Basic ingredients

•250ggoodqualitycookingchocolate

•50gbutter

•80mlfreshcream

•50gicingsugar

•3tbspbrandy

•50gcocoapowder

directions

1. Break the chocolate up into small pieces and place in a glass bowl over simmering water (make sure the bowl isn´t touching the water) - you mustn´t stir the chocolate as it melts

2. When the chocolate has completely melted remove from over the heat and add the butter and the cream and mix together well

3. Add the brandy and the icing sugar and continue mixing until all the ingredients form a thick smooth mixture

4. Place the mixture in the fridge for about 30 mins

5. Finally form small balls with the mixture and lightly dust with the cocoa powder - place on a plate to serve.

French champagne soup

Ingredients:

•1bottleofChampagne

•200goffreshraspberries

•1glassofCointreau

•1glassofsyrupofcanesugar

Preparation (5 Minutes)

1.Thedaybefore,mixtheraspberries,theglassofCointreauandtheglassofsugarsyrupinasaladbowl.

2. Leave overnight.

3. Put the bottle of Champagne in the fridge.

4. Pour it on the mix just before serving and enjoy when it is cold.

ISSUE 3 December 2009ProfILEs

Manfred is the VP of Finance for Belkin EMEA. He joined Belkin on September 1st.

He joins Belkin after working for 17.5 years at Phillips, of which the last 10 years has been in the Netherlands.

In his last role Manfred acted as Financial Director for the Phillips Consumer Lifestyle Sales Organization for the Benelux and was based in Eindhoven.

Before that he covered several roles as Financial Controller in the Phillips Consumer Electronics Headquarters in Amsterdam. He also collected several years of experience in the industrial environment within Phillips in Vienna, Belgium, Hungary and Hong Kong.

In his private life Manfred used to be a fanatic Volleyball player participating in the national Austrian competition for many years. He also used to Mountain bike and Snowboard in his spare time.

Since most of his hobbies are not really fit for the Dutch mountains he currently spends a lot of time with his family.

Daughter Lena (3 years and also soon welcoming another member to the family expected in April 2010.

MaNfrEd tIEfENBachEr VP of Finance for Belkin EMEA

ME

Mo

Bo

ar

d BELKIN INtErNaL BEta tEstING ProGraMWould you like a chance to get hold of networking products before they come out? FOR FREE! As part of our continuing efforts to improve our products and ensure they deliver the performance and customer experience we have come to expect we are soon going to begin our internal testing program for networking products. This is open to all levels of technical experience and anyone employed by Belkin, I don’t just want “geeks” responding so don’t feel shy to answer!The program will involve the participants being given upcoming products while they are under development and those people to use the products and test certain aspects and provide feedback and reports back on different aspects of the product to PM. The testing will have to be done outside of working hours so you must be willing to invest your own time in the scheme, the reward is that once you’ve completed testing the products in most cases you’ll get to keep that product for nothing, or get a free sample later on if we require it back.They must be willing to:

• Spend time using the product, both in an unprompted (treating it as an end user) and it some saves prompted manner (Following specific instructions).

• Provide written feedback in the form of short reports and in some cases grades of the product in terms of performance, ease of use.

• Provide sensible product suggestions for enhancements on the products.

If you are interested let me know, please confirm you could do the above and what a quick run down of what networked devices you have and internet connection. I will then let the ones chosen to participate know and will contact them once the first program begins. Of course those involved will be required to sign an NDA to confirm they won’t allow early knowledge of products outside the organization.

Contact: martinw@belkin.com

Pr

ofI

LEBelkin have developed a brand new range of mice which place your hand in the optimum position for working in comfort. The new mice are shaped in the design preferred by ergonomics experts for ultimate comfort wherever you use your laptop.

The new Wireless Comfort Mouse has been ergonomically designed to provide the most comfortable shape to fit your hand and has a clever magnetic perch which attaches the mouse to your laptop so you can move easily from room to room without leaving your mouse behind.

The new Bluetooth Comfort Mouse connects wirelessly to laptops with built in Bluetooth technology so there’s no need to use a Bluetooth dongle with your laptop. The mouse also features the same ergonomic design as the Wireless Comfort Mouse.

coMfort MousE raNGE

Pr

od

uc

t

by: Manfred Tiefenbacher by: Martin Worth

ISSUE 3 December 2009 EvENts

BELKIN hoLLaNd Halloween party

Halloween PartyFriday 30th October5pm - 9pm

Costumes required!

Place: Canteen

If you work with so many different cultures there is always something to celebrate!

30 people joined in for our evening halloween party!! It was a fun night!!

For those who dressed up to scare the others it washysterical.Gruesomezombies,vampires,mental patients, pirates, bats and more scary characters crawled out of the woodwork.

But you know food, drinks, games and decorationsthat’salleasytoarrange.Havingpeopledressthepartthatwassomethingwecouldn’tcontrol....checkoutthose pictures…it was amazing!

Amafiagamewasorganisedwhichbroughtoutthefightingspiritinsomepeople!! Winners were the US team.

Afewofourcolleague’shadneverbeentoaHalloweenpartybeforeandtheywentallout,beautiful costumes, great make up and the propswerejustoutrageous.Threeprizeswerepresented to the winning costumes.

thank you everybody for making it a halloween party to remember!

octoBEr 30th 2009

by: Josian Sweens & Marie vd Boon

ISSUE 3 December 2009EvENts

Thank you to all the participants, the photos were all amazing. They will be put to a vote on Intouch and the winner will be announced in the next issue.

sPEEd shoPPINGAn original Open2Europe concept (our French PR Agency), Speed Shopping is a day-long event designed to promote our products personally to over 200 journalists from the French consumer and specialized press.

Whether it be during their lunch break or between meetings, journalists can easily find a moment in their day to stop by, thanks to a central location with public transportation nearby.

Sneak-previews of upcoming products so that Speed Shopping attendees have « scoops » to write about. Products are staged in an original and logical way in order to help journalists understand the products’ usefulness.

A « Shopping list », filled out by each journalist during his visit and handed back to us at the exit, will allow us to keep track of which products he/she was interested in.

by: Andrew Albrecht

LuNch & LEarNOn September 17th we started the Dutch lessons at the Belkin Amsterdam office. Since I am not a qualified teacher, I prepared myself by going to the University to follow some lessons and see how they teach the “Delftse method”.

We started out with 16 students but along the way we lost 4 so right now we have a firm group of 12, beginners and more advanced students.

It’s tough to study another language next to their regular Belkin work days but they all make the time.

The students are very enthusiastic and some even use their lunch time to study.

The Dutch classes are on Tuesday evening and Thursday evening after office hours.

I also noticed that the Dutch colleague’s in the office help out by talking to them in Dutch.

They all make great progress and by the end of the course (end of April 2010) they will all be able to speak fluent Dutch.

by: Josian Sweens

by: Delphine Pichois

Next Issues competition is for the cutest baby pictures, seeing as Belkin is re-populating during the next few months. Closing date is April 25th 2010.

for thE NExt EdItIoN BaBy PIcturEs

coMPEtItIoN

LastIssuescompetitionwasforyourphotographs.Tosendinyourholiday photos, sunsets, crazy fun pictures. A prize will be given for the bestphoto.VotingwillbeonIntouch.

Last EdItIoNs coMP: hoLIday Photos

suMMEr Photo coMPEtItIoN

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

BELKIN uK socIaL charIty EvENt

Winner of the Belkin UK Social “BBC Children in Need”, “Guess the cake weight” competition.

the winner was: lorna Mcdowell in the Finance dept

The Cake Weighed : 2108g (4 lb and 10.35 oz.)

We had a sheet with 230 different weights to choose from.

You gave £1 a go to BBC Children in Need...then picked a weight.

The lovely “Smarties” topped sponge cake (made especially for us), was supplied for the competition by Faye

octoBEr 30th 2009

ISSUE 3 December 2009 EvENts

Deep-deepinsideofbigcoldMotherRussiaalittletown in a small state called Bashkortostan, located on the border of Eurasia and Siberia in the great Ural Mountains. People live as we are over here in Belkin but are different in many ways.

Locals are called “Bashkirs” and they speak the Bashkir language. ThenameBashkirisrecordedforthefirsttimeatthebeginningofthe 10th century in the writings of the Arab writer Ibn Fadlan (have

you read it?). At that time, Bashkirs lived as nomadic cattle breeders and bread horses:

Butthatwasbackthen.Todaymajority of that little city are Russians,Ukrainians,Tatars(nottartars–don’tmixnationwithfood),Bashkirs,Vietnamese(don’task me how they have ended up there). Todaythatlittlecityisfamous(in Russia) for building helicopters (the onlythingisthattheydon’tknowhowto sell them).

Winters in that area can be very severe.Thetemperaturemightgo down to -430. Summers are usually warm and dry, average temperature of +250 or even +300.

Theverycoolthingaboutthatlittlecityisthenature:wild forest, fast current rivers, very fresh air. Not cool things: people are not really friendly (in fact most of them look grumpy) – you are not respected if you are showing soft personality. Service in stores is really bad – you almost need to apologies for entering the store and askingsalespersonaquestion.

Most of sales people in stores are stuck to the computer in the store chatting on ICQ to their friends and when you enter the store they give you the “ oh, NO!Whatdoyouwant?!’’stare.Andifyouarenotlocal – be prepared that everyone will try to “pull your leg” especially if you are on the market. But generally people are friendly in their own way as the life is very hard over there. Just to give you an example: over here if we go to Media Markt we canaffordtobuyfromoursalarya€350flatscreen32’’TV–overtherethesameTVcosts€450inRussianRublesabout20000RUBandmostofpeopleearnbetween8000–12000RUBamonth.Theoldgeneration like retired folks get even less: 3 500 – 4500RUBamonth.

Thelocalfoodthoughissomethingto experience! Usually there is lotsoffoodonthetable!Thereisa tradition – if guest has arrived to the house then family (usually

women) will be preparing a big meal for the guest while the host (usually men) will entertain the guest with alcohol and chat. Some of Bashkir foods:

Manti – or meat dumplings similar to steamed Dim-Sums

VackBelash– meat pastry

Ragu– or simply a well-known stew

Anyideawhat’sthenameofthecityIamtalkingabout?

To be continued…

vENus travELs

“…Gonna travel, gonna travel wild and free I’m gonna pack my bags because this great big world is calling me…”

Local girl Carina

Winter snow storm. Pedestrian paths are cleaned with tractors

froM russIa wIth LovE continued…Only an $80k gift to the right official and you can be that guy.

So outside of working and sitting in traffic, how is life in Moscow? For starters, very few people speak English. I have been trying to learn the Cyrillic alphabet so I can at least read a menu and know which stores sell what. The letters are not what they seem – a ‘P’ is a ‘R’, a ‘3’ is a ‘Z’, a ‘C’ is a ‘S’, etc. Learning to speak the basics is key to be able to negotiate with the taxis and order a beer. I wish I had a bit more cultural insight to share, as they tell me this city is covered with Museums and Theatres. It is part of my personal FY10 SMART plan to better round my Moscow experience on that front now that my wife is over here. It has been fun exploring the real Russian restaurants – learning to eat Pelmeni, Borsch, raw sturgeon and all kinds of pickled vegetables. Don’t forget those various rounds of full bottles of flavoured of vodka. We have also met many expats in Moscow who have shown us the hottest restaurants and trendiest nightlife hotspots. The quality of restaurants and variety of ethnic food options available is a welcome surprise. Although the fact that Moscow is Top 3 most expensive cities in the world, makes going out tough on the old ABN AMRO card once the FX hits the bank statement.

It is a nice feeling to be back here for yet another winter season as Russia is definitely feeling more like home and I have enjoyed getting to know Moscow. I look forward to seeing what this FY10 chapter in Russia has in store for us. I would like to thank all the Belkin teams for their support of the Belkin Russia business as we work thru the growing pains, deliver on our targets, and build a sound foundation for the future.

by: Efrain Montesinos

The Game-Room saw it’s official opening on the 21st of October 2009 by Nima. This

was done officially with a ribbon cutting ceremony (corny but cool)

Due to the hard work of the Employee Forum and the assistance of Inger Jansen we now have a great location to spend the few fleeting minutes that Belkin allows us to.

We have a huge flat screen TV with a Wii console and the accompanying Wii Resort game, a professional Dart Board and hopefully we will be adding some more goodies with the help of our fellow Belkinians and Nima of course.

Since the opening the Game Room has seen many of us blowing off steam, all for our own reasons. Just the fact that we have

the opportunity to really let our hair down (for those of us who have hair) is great.It is safe to say that this is simply the beginning of things to come. Belkin has made good on one of the requests from her employees. Let’s hope that this is only the tip of the ice-berg and that we will be seeing many more great things happening within the Belkin B.V. office.

oPENING of thE GaME rooM - dutch offIcE

ISSUE 3 December 2009EvENts

BELKIN sPoNsors thE yEarLy BBva MarathoN IN MadrId

On November 1st, more than 7,000 athletes joined BBVA, ANCUR & Belkin in the yearly Carrera Solidaria BBVA in Madrid, Spain.

ACNUR is the division of the BBVA Bank that leads community donations to support educational projects in 3rd world countries. This time the donation gained from the 2009 BBVA Marathon will go to support the children in need of the refugee camps of Dadaab, Kenya.

Each of the 7,000 participants donated 5 Euros, and with BBVA duplicating the proceeds, we reach almost €70,000 that will benefit the children of Kenya.

Belkin participated with the donation over 150 Mobility Soft Goods products to give away on the web and with the main winner prices.

ACNUR supports 3 refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya that help over 118,070 children in need. We hope to continue the relation with ANCUR so with the help of our products we can also provide support to children in need around the world.

by: Ana Camargo

We appreciate your support and sponsorship as we have managed to raise over £6,000 for our charity Alzheimer’s.

On Sunday 20th September, Chris and Andrew ran 13.1 miles in the biggest annual half marathon in the world! They ran to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Chris and Andrew teamed up with 9 other pals from the village of Olney, and called themselves “Olney Old Knees”.

If you would like to contribute to Chris and Andrew’s fund raising, it would be very much appreciated.

You can contribute on-line via: http://www.justgiving.com/olneyoldknees2009/ ....or stop by Chris and Andrew’s desks (UK Office).

The BUPA Great North Run, was shown Live on BBC1. From 9.30am to 1.30pm, Sunday 20th September 2009.

by: Andrew Albrecht & Chris Dodd

BELKIN uK socIaL PIcNIc IN thE ParK 2009

We set up a Belkin Social Committee this year after requests from the Employee Forum meetings.

We came up with the name BUS (Belkin UK Social) and organised our first event which was a Picnic in the Park at a local village park, Irchester Country Park.

It was a fantastic day, the sun was out and everybody had fun. We had a very successful raffle on the day and Anita Smith (UK Warehouse) won the prize of £100.

After the success of Picnic in the Park we organised a trip to Peterborough Dog racing which also went brilliantly and everyone enjoyed themselves- requesting that we do a trip there again.

We have plenty of future events planned and are currently completing the calendar for 2010.

by: Faye Drage

thaNK you for sPoNsorING us for a Good causE!

thE BuPa GrEat North ruN

Andy and Chris meeting up at the finish. With a few mates from Olney where Chris lives, they joined 50,000 runners and it was a fantastic and amazing experience!

ISSUE 3 December 2009 EvENts

who dId thEsE youNGstErs Grow uP to BE?

who Is who: 1. Andrew Albrecht, 2. Suzanne van Gemert, 3. Nima Ahmadinejad, 4. Magda Piotrowska, 5. Veronika Mravcova , 6. Ana Camargo, 7. Marie van der Boon, 8. Benita Vleugels, 9. Marie-Claude Falardeau, 10. Joey Tang, 11. Tyler Sheble, 12. Inger Jansen, 13. Martin Worth, 14. Peter Pleunes, 15. Filippo Schiavon. 16. Wieteke Lemmen, 17. Alvaro Villalvilla Merelo.

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ISSUE 3 December 2009

GAGREEL

BELKIN NEwsLEttErCreated by: Peter Pleunes, Wieteke Lemmen, Ana CamargoDesigned & edited by: Marie van der BoonPlease send all material and stories to The editor team:

NEw startErs

Francesco Baldrighi Distribution Account Manager - Italy Date: 1st October 2009

esther houghton Key Account Manager - UK Date: 2nd November 2009

enrique ernesto Account Executive - Spain Date: 15th September 2009

Pedro araujo Account Manager - Spain Date: 1st November 2009

Miguel roca Account Executive - Spain Date: 15th September 2009

jiM nirMan National Account Manager - UK Date: 2nd November 2009

Married at the Maharaja Farms Palace in Hoshiarpur, India.

We hope you liked this Christmas issue of our Belkin EMEA Newsletter “Belkin Beat”. We need your help to put together even better next ones! Because... a newsletter needs content and that should come from you, our EMEA colleagues! Please forward all your copy & photos to: BelkinBeat@belkin.com & marieb2@belkin.com.Next Edition will be in May 2010 as I will be away on maternity leave till mid April.

LEavErscolin BlakeMore Web Developer - (UK) Date: 16th October 2009

Fraser henderson National Account Manager - (UK) Date: 16th October 2009

duncan siBley National Account Manager - (UK) Date: 16th October 2009 2009

joost van klaveren Country Manager Benelux - (BV) Date: 30th September 2009

EMEa says Goodbye to Joost van Klaveren (after 7.5 years)

On the evening before his last day we went out with the team for a nice dinner. Had some good laughs and nice campfire stories. We handed over a nice framed poster which has become a tradition in the Benelux team when people leave.

We gather all kind of pictures that are made during the time on events, parties, office etc. Normally it’s hard to find nice pictures of people but even in the digital world.....Joost was there! We’ll miss you!

Bright Aboagye

Josian Sweens + Matthew Carr

Chris Eisner + Filippo Schiavon

vicki Monk HR Administrator (UK) - Maternity Cover Date: 5th October 2009

alex ingleson Operations Administrator - UK Date: 2nd November 2009

xxxx Nima Ahmadinejad & Mila Jimenez Garcia Born: xxnd December 2009

wEddINGs

suNGEEta PaBLa Married Anoop Singh

Date: 14th October 2009

Marie-Claude Falardeau + Laura Castori

Alvaro Jerez

NEw ParENts

Max roBert haanaPPel Arnt & Colinda Haanappel Born: 5th November 2009

Michal kaczyk Zdzislaw & Ewa Kaczyk Born: 24th October 2009

Milan roBert van de ven Jean-Paul van de Ven & Charlotte Blom

Born: 29th October 2009

olivia denash Martin & Anitha Denash

Born: 12th November 2009

rowan agustin sheBle Tyler & Yazmin Sheble

Born: 5th December 2009