Christmas week is upon us again.

No snow this year, a relief, we all learnt last year that we don't really like it in spite of those Xmas cards with snow scenes we send each other. Had a first visit to Holland last week, to Arnhem, what a lovely place. Even Schipol airport does not have the spirit crushing atmosphere that most airports have. On our last recruitment event of 2011 - Dec 7th, Philip and Julie de Mol, agents in Belgium came along as observers with a view to recruiting Nurses for Belgian Hospital and Care Homes. They were impressed by the procedure and will return to Porto on Jan 10th and 11th to do their own interviews. We look forward to a steady stream of Portuguese Nurses to Belgium. 2011 has been a year of expansion for us, we opened a new office in Avenida Libertad in Lisbon and we moved to bigger offices here is Sandyford after many years in Dun Laoghaire. We have also strengthened our connections and bases all over Spain. As Ana Andrade remarked to me just today, we have become a global village in action. I am pleased to say our Diary for the first quarter of 2012 is busy, Employers from UK, Dublin, Belfast, USA and Belgium. We welcome Liliana Costa to Best Personnel Ltd, Porto, dealing with Care Homes in UK and Physiotherapists for USA. I wish you all Happy Christmas and a less recessional 2012. ~ Eileen O'Malley

Eileen O'Malley

Wszystkim naszym kandydatom i pracodawcom zyczymy spokojnych, radosnych, rodzinnych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia i samych sukcesw w Nowym Roku! Mamy nadzieje, ze Nowy Rok przyniesie Wam ciekawe oferty pracy i wspaniale mozliwosci rozwoju zawodowego.

~ Sylwia Markiewicz Sylwia Markiewicz

Para alm dos presentes, das sobremesas e das decoraes, o Natal sobretudo um tempo de esperana. Esperana para um futuro melhor, cheio de sorrisos e sucessos, em que os problemas do dia a dia se vo resolvendo e vamos caminhando para a felicidade. O Natal tambm o tempo de acreditar em milagres, de acreditar que o difcil e at mesmo o impossvel pode acontecer. Atingir um objectivo atravs do nosso esforo, ficar feliz por aprender algo novo, conseguir ajudar os outros e acima de tudo apreciar com gratido o que temos e o que nos oferecido. Este o esprito do Natal. Se todos o sentirmos pelo menos um bocadinho, ento talvez todos os dias sejam realmente dias de Natal. Ana and Iva in Porto office Translation: Beyond the presents, the desserts and the decorations, Christmas is mainly a time for hope. Hope in a better future, filled with smiles and sucess, where our daily troubles meet their solutions and we make our way to happiness. Christmas is also a time for believing in miracles, for believing that the difficult and even the impossible can happen. To reach a goal through our effort, to be happy for learning something new, to be able to help others and above all, to appreciate and be thankful for what we have and for what is offered to us. This is the Christmas spirit. If we can all feel it at least a little bit, then maybe we can have Christmas everyday. ~ Ana Andrade Sem dar conta os dias passaram, os meses voaram e as estaes mudaram... 4 o nmero de natais que j l vo por terras irlandeses, onde me encontro rodeada de Pubs, Guiness e Fish and Chips.... Longe da famlia mas perto dos amigos e dos momentos que criamos ao longo destes anos. Perdemos algumas coisas pelo caminho, mas ganhamos outras, que so estas que fazem com que tudo valha a pena.... Desejo um feliz natal a todos e espero que a vida vos tenha proporcionado momentos felizes, semelhantes aos quais eu tive a oportunidade de passar. Liliana Silva Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! ~ Liliana Silva

K Vnocum v Cesk Republice bezesporu patr spousta snehu, aby se dali stavet snehulci, snkovat a lyzovat, mrz, aby se dalo bruslit, zdoben vnocnho stromecku, sladk vnocn cukrov, kter provon cel dum, cas strven s rodinou a blzkmi. K stedrovecern veceri, kter se uskutecn 24. prosince se tradicne podv ryb polvka, smazen kapr a vynikajc bramborov salt. Po veceri se rozsvt stromecek, rozdaj drky a cel vecer se trv povdnm a pojdnm vnocnch dobrot. 25. a 26. prosince mme svtek a vetsinou trvme tyto dny tm, ze navstevujeme celou rodinu. ~ Iva Nemeckova

Iva Nemeckova Ya estamos en Navidad!!. Este ao ha sido muy positivo para m, ya que he podido participar en nuevos retos para la compaa, aportando mi granito de arena a llevarlos a buen puerto. El ao que entra espero sea an mejor, ya que tenemos en el horizonte importantes proyectos tanto en Estados Unidos como aqu en Europa. Sin ms, desearos a todos una Feliz Navidad y un Prspero Ao Nuevo! ~ Carlos Perez

Carlos Perez In the past 6 months, with all the help from Danny and Eileen, I learned a lot in BPL, and enjoy working with my colleagues every day. A good time is coming. In the very best time of the whole of the year, I wish all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. ~ Yuehua

Yuehua Qiu Writing this from Koln in Germany after an afternoon spent exploring the Christmas market. The Schnitzel at lunch was nice together with the local beer. I got to thinking about Germany and their role within the EU. Where will the experiment end and what effect will the scenario have on labour mobility within Europe? The leadership changes in North Korea also acted as a reminder of the global backdrop. So we enter 2012 with a world in flux. One thing that struck me was that despite all this and the inherent instability the demographics remain compelling. My daughter explained that the birth rate was a cause of concern for the Government and that the population was ageing. So, Europes largest Economy will need help in dealing with their future healthcare provision. That was a pleasantly reassuring thought as the year approached its end. Daniel Roberts

~ Daniel Roberts

Yours sincerely, Eileen O'Malley Director www.bestpersonnel.ie