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24
April/May 2013 www.esb.ie/em
HEALTH & HABITAT
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UNDISCOVERED CARCASSONNE
WHAT'S NEW?
by Dave Walshe
CARCASSONNE IS probably not one of the first cities you'd cite if asked for a city break destination. However, with the relentless growth of Ryanair it is an option for more and more people as the airline fly there from 12 European locations. Reasonably priced daily flights from Dublin and seasonal flights from Cork have proven popular and I had the pleasure of taking two trips there. It must be one of the easiest airports to get in and out of giving you a most welcome start to your stay. A medieval city, it's about the same size as Waterford. It has a most impressive walled castle, which dominates the city. It is a real step back in time walking around it and a beautiful location for an evening meal. It screams Basil Rathbone and old Sherlock Holmes movies with dark alleys and long scary shadows. Carcassonne is a city that is ideal for exploring on foot or on a bicycle and is the perfect location to base yourself if you want to explore the Languedocroussillon region with the Pyrenees within easy reach. If a lazy boat trip is your thing then you are spoilt with the nearby Canal Du Midi.
As you can imagine there is a great range of places to stay with prices to suit every budget. Dining out in France is like no other dining experience in europe and in this regard I will give special mention to Chateau de Cavac, a restaurant in a converted stable where the menu is designed to cater for every palette. You don't pick a wine as they provide it as part of the meal from their own vineyards. A six course meal here costs €45 and that includes the wine - a red, a white and a rose, refilled as required. All the rooms are named and of different sizes to accommodate families or couples wanting an escape.
They also have different levels of facilities to ensure every pocket is catered for. It is a must visit if you go to Carcassonne and judging by the amount of English speaking voices I heard it has been discovered by a fair amount of people. Carcassonne delights and caters for most types of visitor from the sporty, active types to the easygoing, take-it-as-itcomes ones.
Check out www.chateau-decavanac.fr for full details.
DRIVING ON BUSINESS? GET ADVANCED DRIVING
SAFE DRIVING
Advanced Drivers benefit from a 20% reduction on their private motor insurance if insured through ESB's insurance scheme.
Grainne Coogan
» IT IS ESB'S AMBITION THAT ALL STAFF WHO DRIVE ON ESB BUSINESS WILL COMPLETE ADVANCED DRIVER TRAINING
One of the targets of the most recent safe driving programme, Achieving Road Safety Excellence 2009 - 2011, was that by the end of the programme, 50%of staff who drive on ESB business should have completed advanced Driver training.
The training has been completed by more than 2,500 staff since it was introduced in 2006. It has been a leading element of our safe driving programmes, which have seen serious collisions in our fleet drop from 63 a year to 13. Other elements of the most recent programme include the installation of a fleet management system in all fleet vehicles, the consolidation of driving policies into The Fleet Drivers’ Handbook, which was issued to all fleet drivers, and that was followed by the publication of a Private Drivers’ Handbook and a road safety awareness DVD that was issued to all staff.
The safe Driving Programme 2013 - 2020 will be launched shortly. Advanced Driving Training will continue to be one of the bedrocks of the programme, the target being that the remaining 2,000 staff who drive on business, but have not yet completed training, will attain advanced Driver status over the next three years.
Staff who have participated in the training have commented on the great benefits it has brought to their driving behaviour. Advanced Driver Training teaches the driver to control the vehicle with precision, to drive with higher levels of concentration and awareness, to anticipate danger and mistakes from other drivers and to always leave a comfortable margin for safety.
TRAINING IS DIVIDED OVER TWO DAYS:
DAY 1 - A classroom session followed by an on-road session.
DAY 2 - Follow-up Onroad session and the advanced driver Test. (Held about four weeks after day 1)
For more information contact Gráinne Coogan, Communications Officer at 01 4631721, email safedriving@esb.ie or visit the Safe Driving Website: http://esbnet/safedriving
