GAN 2011: First-time exhibitors swell show

First-time exhibitors at February’s GAN 2011 trade show continue to expand the event’s scope, with a variety of exhibits that include ferns, hardy perennials, display products and fork lift trucks.
  Tree Fern specialists HSK Gardening & Leisure will show its tree ferns, Wollemi pines, natural driftwood sculptures from New Zealand and tree fern Feed. Its decision to exhibit at GAN followed pulling out of another exhibition and appreciating GAN’s position as first UK trade show of the season.

Field production at Howard Nurseries

  Howard Nurseries visited GAN 2010, liked the atmosphere of the show and recognised it fitted well with its bare root season. So this year it will show its hardy perennials in containers and bare root which it distributes across the UK.
  Display company VKF Renzel UK will show its innovative range of display products, including signage, carrier bags, display racks, POS material/displays and shop fittings.
  Forklift truck supplier Alto Handling will offer finance packages for long and short term hire, planned maintenance schedules, field service, emergency repairs, manufacturer approved parts, licensed driver training, refurbishing and used equipment.
  Other first-time exhibitors include APAC Packaging, Ellegaard A/S, La Hacienda Ltd, Oakgate Nursey and Southern Retail Systems,
  GAN show director Simon Edwards said: “Each year we steadily expand with new exhibitors who bring an added dimension to the show. As regional trade shows go, GAN has an amazing spread of products and services to interest any horticultural company that wants to keep abreast of what’s new.”
  The one-day southern horticultural trade show takes place on Wednesday, February 9 at Dorset’s Golden Acres Nursery near Bournemouth International Airport. For information visit www.ganshow.com  

Pam reaches 30 years at Golden Acres

Gardening fanatic Pam Shiner has reached 30 years employed at Golden Acres Garden Centre at West Parley – and says she loves taking her hobby to work.
  The centre has just completed a complete refurbishment and is attracting new customers. During the process Pam decided to hand over the higher-level responsibility and step down from her 21-year role as centre manager to focus on customer service and sharing her gardening knowledge.
  When Pam joined the company in 1980, founder Paul Richards was running a small pick-your-own business selling runner beans, tomatoes, rhubarb, cucumber and melons. Pam would pick beans during the morning and sell them to the public.
  A move to a larger site – where the centre is still based – meant Pam would sit on the floor in a wooden greenhouse, pricking out seedlings. That expanded into producing hanging baskets and wider ranges of produce and plants.
  When Paul started a wholesale trade side of the business, Pam’s site became focussed on retail and became the forerunner of the current garden centre.
  In 1989 she was appointed manager and helped shape the centre as it gradually expanded and took on new product ranges, including giftware and a tea room. Pam ran the tea room for its first year and even baked the scones and cakes.
  She said: “Tea rooms compliment a garden centre really well; customers appreciate having both on the same site and in terms of business, they mutually benefit each other.”
  Pam’s favourite plants are herbaceous, which are gradually taking over her garden at home in Ferndown.
  She said: “I’m told my garden is a bit of a jungle but I love it that way; it’s also full of shrubs and trees and I spend all the time I can there, especially on the herbaceous which take a bit of work.”
  Director Simon Edwards said: “What Pam doesn’t know about gardening isn’t worth knowing; she has phenomenal experience that she loves sharing with our customers. She has always been a very core member of our team, and still is.”
www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk      Photography by Phil Dowding

Groveley Detection: commissioning for Shell Philippines on Malampaya gas platform

Aspirator specialists at Groveley Detection have returned from the Philippines after commissioning a single channel unit and autodrain system on the Malampaya Gas Platform, South China Sea.
Gas produced by the platform is cooled by a circulating water system. The aspirator will monitor the nitrogen blanket within the cooling water storage vessel.
Groveley managing director Robert Bennet said: “Our aspirators are installed across the globe and we had a 30% increase on orders last year. I believe this is because the oil and gas market recognizes the key strengths of Groveley GD-A aspirators, they are often an integral part of site safety.”
www.groveley.co.uk    Picture courtesy of Shell

GAN 2011: New products at the show

Viola Floral Power Purple Tiger Eye from Moles Seeds

Exhibitors at the GAN 2011 southern horticultural trade show, which takes place on February 9, will show several new products, many for the first time. The first to announce are:
Syngenta FloriPro Services will launch new pansy, viola and primula varieties, including new additions to the popular Viola Cornuta Deltini™ F1 series, with some exciting new colour additions such as the Deltini HoneyBee.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will show its new RoseClear Ultra, a systemic insecticide and fungicide for combined control of pests and diseases on roses and other ornamental plants.
Ornamental and Vegetable seed supplier Moles Seeds has added Aubergine Pinstripe and tomato Ambrosia to its vegetable range, while ornamental introductions include the trailing petunia Spangles Pink Vein and the new, eye-catching Viola Floral Power Purple Tiger Eye.
Specialist insurance brokers Farm and General has launched a comprehensive Environmental Liability policy to protect against new regulations for preventing and dealing with environmental damage.
House Plants Direct will launch its 2011 range, including new Mothers Day plants and a new category of air plants in its range of Sand Art plants.
Mail order seed and plant company Thompson & Morgan has doubled its young plant range this year to 350 varieties. It will show its new patio vegetable seeds and young plant range and launch new varieties from its own breeding, plus a new range of Hardy Primrose.
Plantopia will show its new Easyfit Christmas tree stand that keeps christmas trees looking fresh all through the season by feeding only the bark and causing no stagnant water.
GAN 2011 director Simon Edwards said: “These are early indications of the range of new products at the show, more are being announced as exhibitor information is received. Visitors will have plenty of new products to investigate."
He added there were still a few stands available for late exhibitor bookings.
The annual show is organised and hosted by Golden Acres Nurseries - an independently-owned grower/retailer chain - on its wholesale site near Bournemouth Airport, Dorset.
www.GANshow.com

Christmas special events at Golden Acres and John Browns garden centres

Local bell-ringers will feature when Golden Acres garden centre at West Parley hosts its first-ever pre-Christmas open evening on Tues November 30 - as a thank you to its customers for their patience during the alterations that took place during the year.
Meanwhile a children’s puppet show will be part of the fun at sister company John Browns garden centre, at its annual pre-Christmas event on Tuesday Dec 7.
During the evenings staff will give away mulled wine and mince pies and there will be double customer bonus points, free prize draws to win garden centre vouchers, and special meals served in the cafe.
Golden Acres’ centre manager Kevin Legg said: “It’s so easy to do your Christmas shopping at our two centres, with free parking, no crowds, no pressure – and always something a little bit different for you to find for your friends and family.
“Our refurbishment is now complete and the event gives us a great chance to thank all our customers for their patience!”
The events will both take place from 5.30pm to 8pm. There will also be displays of Christmas trees, decorations and gifts.

www.goldenacresgroup.co.uk       Photography by Phil Dowding

Cadnam Garden Centre thanks Lyndhurst police station with plants

Cadnam Garden Centre was so grateful to police officers for their help over the years they donated around 60 plants to brighten up the front garden at Lyndhurst police station.
Group plant area co-ordinator Emma Green said: “Staff at the centre know their local beat officers, who are always out and about in the community, so when they approached us to help tidy up the station garden we were very happy to help.”
Chief Superintendent Richard Rowland said: “Most people visiting a police station will be doing so as a victim of crime, or they might be in trouble, so we are keen to help alleviate that stress and make it a better place to be.
"Plants are known for their calming influence, and tidy, colourful premises encourage people to respect themselves and the environment they are in. Staff like them too and it helps them to be proud of their place of work."
Emma added: “We came up with a plan of flowering shrubs and ornamentals with seasonal colour. Plants needed to be low-maintenance and able to withstand nibbling by deer, so we recommended lavender, rosemary, fuchsias and azaleas that need pruning each year. Plus a nice clematis to grow up a bare tree and add some interest.”
www.goldenacresgroup.co.uk         Photography by Phil Dowding

---------
PICTURE:   Emma Green of Cadnam Garden Centre with Chief Superintendent Richard Rowland of Lyndhurst Police Station.

Golden Acres joins the call for a ban on sky lanterns

The Golden Acres group of nurseries and garden centres has stopped selling sky lanterns due to environmental reasons — and has joined the call to have the product banned in the UK.
In spring the group, which locally operates four garden centres in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, decided the risk to farm animals was so great that the product should no longer be sold.
Group operations director Simon Edwards said: “With so much awareness of the potential danger to livestock, and with many of our centres located near arable land or within the New Forest, we felt it would be irresponsible to continue to sell them.
“Now we want to see the product totally banned in the UK as the likelihood of hurting livestock is very high. We don’t want to stop people having fun, but in country areas it’s clearly an unwise risk to take.
Farmers around the UK have called for sky lanterns to be banned as a fire risk to barns full of hay or straw, as well as a danger to livestock.
They report that cattle have been killed by eating wire from degraded lanterns that was accidentally picked up by harvest machinery and put into winter feed.
And coastguards have warned the lanterns are easily confused with distress flares and can lead to unnecessary callouts.
The airborne illuminations are like small, hand-held hot air balloons and typically launched at outdoor parties and weddings.
After lighting the fuel cell, hot air sends the lanterns into the sky — and the increase in the number of them landing in the countryside has become a hot topic.
www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk       Photography by Phil Dowding

Otter spotted at West Parley coffee shop

The Dorset conservation success of the previously-threatened otter took an interesting turn on Monday, October 18, when an otter calmly wandered into a coffee shop at West Parley!
Staff at Golden Acres garden centre spotted the otter walking through the external areas of the centre until it sat in the coffee shop entrance for a few moments before moving on.
Staff member Chris Woods, who filmed the otter on his mobile phone camera and video, said: “We are about a kilometre from the River Stour and there are no other real streams nearby, so it travelled quite a way – maybe it was because we had tuna mayo jacket potatoes on the menu that day!”
Otters, which are viewed as a  barometer of river health, did not completely disappeared from Dorset rivers as they did from other UK areas, and after years of decline, their numbers are now significantly increasing.
www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk

Feeding wild birds increases in popularity

Feeding wild birds and attracting them into gardens has proven to be extremely rewarding for many people – and is growing in popularity, if customers at Golden Acres’ garden centres are an indicator.
Sales of bird care products at the group’s four centres in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire are up 22 per cent on 2009 and a whopping 45 per cent over the last two years.
David Bamford, centre manager at Golden Acres at Landford, said: “Feeding birds has always been a winter activity but is becoming popular throughout the year, with around half as much product sold in the summer as during the winter.
“The RSPB now encourages the all-year-round feeding of wild birds on its website and a lot of people are enjoying seeing them regularly in their gardens.”
The RSPB says although winter feeding benefits birds most, food shortages can occur at any time of the year. By feeding the birds all-year-round, you'll give them a better chance to survive the periods shortage.
With autumn and winter coming up, David recommends putting out food and water on a regular basis. “In severe weather, feeding in the morning and in the early afternoon really helps them.”
Bird food sales are also becoming increasingly specialist, with food easily available to attract specific types of bird into a garden, such as tits, starlings, sparrows, greenfinches, robins, wrens, thrushes, goldfinches, blackcaps and collared doves.
www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk

Groveley commissions detectors at renewable energy facility

Engineers at Christchurch-based Groveley Detection have commissioned two carbon monoxide detectors at New Earth Energy’s first low-carbon renewable energy facility in Canford Arena, Poole.
The detectors protect the Advanced Thermal Treatment room and are connected to a GDS404 gas alarm panel.
This key site for New Earth Solutions Group also accommodates its development centre and a 6MW landfill gas power station that has operated since the 1990s. The power station contributes up to 80% of Dorset’s total generation of renewable power.
The order was placed via Shaftesbury-based Wessex Fire and Security which installed the complete fire detection system while utilising Groveley Detection’s advanced knowledge in toxic gas detection.
www.groveley.co.uk

Tice creates Budgens Boost for Wimborne

Four extra jobs are to be created when a new Budgens convenience store opens at Tice Wimborne at Walford in early February.
It will more than double the size of the Tice forecourt store – currently SPAR – to occupy the whole of the frontage of the petrol forecourt. The popular garage has occupied this prominent corner site since 1964 and before then in East Street.
Tice’s original SPAR forecourt store was opened in 1996 and has gone from strength to strength, with redevelopment taking place in 2003 and again in 2007.
It will be business as usual for the forecourt, servicing and sales operations  during the improvements. At the same time, the workshops will be getting a facelift with a new automated test lane MOT bay, new workshop lifts and all the latest equipment. 
Managing director Malcolm Tice said: “Budgens ideally suits our expansion needs and we think if offers the town an excellent convenience range of food.
“There will be a large fresh food selection – including local produce - and a wide enough range to buy all you need to cook a range of meals.
“It will be especially easy for people from the outlying areas to drive to the edge of town, park for free, and enjoy a quick food shopping experience.”
The new Budgens store will be open seven days a weeks from 7am to 10pm, and will have improved free parking bays.
www.tice.co.uk    Photography by Phil Dowding

John Robinson Houseplants moves and changes name to House Plants Direct

John Robinson Houseplants has moved from Romsey to West Parley, near Bournemouth International Airport, and has changed its name to House Plants Direct Ltd.
The sister company to the Golden Acres Group now occupies space at the group’s main nursery.
House Plants Direct imports and sells a variety of house plants and is best known for its own-produced ranges of coloured sand planters – called Simply Sand – which are hand-produced onsite.
The company employs nine staff, plus additional pre-Christmas temporary staff.
Director John Robinson said: “The move will allow for greater efficiencies and improved service.”
House Plants Direct was the original limited company name while it traded under the brand name of John Robinson Houseplants.
www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk   Photography by Phil Dowding

GAN: early exhibitor bookings are positive

Among the first exhibitors to book for GAN 2011, which takes place on February 9, are Kernock Plants, LBS Horticulture, H.Smith Plastics and Woodland Horticulture.

Plant propagator Kernock Plants says GAN is a key show in its calendar: “It is an excellent time of year for us to show some of the alpine and spring range of plants at their best... and an excellent opportunity to showcase our new additions.”

Horticulture product distributor LBS Horticulture has attended the show for a number of years and: “... we find it an excellent way to touch base with some of our local customers as well as finding a few more. The success of this show means we always re-book straight after.”

Horticultural container manufacturer H. Smith Plastics books early for GAN in order to obtain a stand in its usual place so that existing customers can find them easily. “We think it is a reasonably-priced show held early in the year so growers can use any new products for that spring.”

And growing media supplier Woodland Horticulture says it has always found GAN provides an ideal platform for meeting landscapers, growers and garden centres located throughout the Wessex area: “The friendly and informal atmosphere has enabled us to effectively develop new business.”

GAN show director Simon Edwards said: “The 2011 event is shaping up extremely well and its range of plants and products will be wider than ever. Exhibitors are very positive for next season and the show’s timing fits so well in their marketing plans.”

The one-day southern horticultural trade show GAN will place next year on Wednesday February 9 and its website is now live with full exhibitor’s information and online booking.

It takes place at Dorset’s Golden Acres Nursery near Bournemouth International Airport. For information visit www.ganshow.com

---------
Picture:  Kernock Plants will introduce four new Erysimums at GAN 2011 along with the new pink Iberis ‘Absolute Amethyst’, pictured.

Golden Acres: garden centres invest in new training diploma

Garden centres are investing in a new training diploma that will help them provide the best customer service and advice.
Staff from Golden Acres' four garden centres at West Parley, Three Legged Cross, Landford and Cadnam are studying for the Horticultural Trade Association’s (HTA) newly-launched Garden Retail Diploma.
Group plant area co-ordinator Emma Green said: “It’s a brand-new qualification and covers every aspect of running a garden centre. We are keen to develop our staff for the future good of the business as well as to provide the best service we can to our customers.
 “The diploma will give staff a broad understanding of the whole of the retail operation and improve their horticultural knowledge, all in one qualification.
“We know that businesses who invest in training for their staff are more efficient, have less waste, and are able to assist their customers better. You are only as good as your staff, so we are very happy to add this new diploma to the range of training we offer our people.”
The HTA’s new diploma is the only specialist qualification in the garden retail industry and gives garden centre staff the opportunity to develop the specialist knowledge and skills they need to become sales professionals.

www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk    Photography by Phil Dowding
www.the-hta.org.uk

Picture:   (left to right:) Michelle Savage, Chris Woods, Gemma Sparrowhawk and Alix Gibbins from the Golden Acres group of garden centres, who are studying for a new garden retail qualification - the HTA’s Garden Retail Diploma. With mentors David Goble and and Emma Green.

GAN awards now open for entries

Exhibitors heading for GAN 2011 on February 9 are being invited to enter for the show’s range of awards.
The three award categories are:
• Best New Plant Variety, including new flower, plant or plant material in any form, for example seeds, young plants and plugs;  
• Best Technical Product or Service, which includes professional products such as machinery, equipment, materials and services;
• Best New Retail Product, including equipment and services for garden centres and products for resale;
Entry for each section is free to exhibitors and will be judged on the day, with awards presented in a ceremony during the afternoon of the show. Judges will also tour the stands to make the ‘Best Stand’ award.
Director Simon Edwards said: "New plants and products are a vital element of GAN and are of major interest to visitors. We love the enormous range and variety of new items on show.”
The one-day southern horticultural trade show GAN will place next year on Wednesday February 9 and its website is now live with full exhibitor’s information and online booking.
It takes place at Dorset’s Golden Acres Nursery near Bournemouth International Airport.
For information visit www.ganshow.com
---------
Picture: Winner of best new plant at GAN 2010 was Kilworth Conifers with its hardy Podocarpus ‘Guardsman’, a new conifer with a distinctive erect, conical shape to be released for sale in 2011. It was seen for the first time at GAN.

Groveley Detection to exhibit at oil & gas show Adipec 2010 in Abu Dhabi

Hazard detection specialist Groveley Detection is to exhibit at oil and gas industry trade exhibition Adipec in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, during November.
Christchurch-based Groveley Detection is a manufacturer and supplier of gas and fire detectors for the petrochemical industry and aims to increase its presence in the Middle East market. It already supplies extensively to the UK, European, Caspian and SE Asian regions.
On show for the first time at Adipec will be Groveley’s new GDU-Incus, the latest addition to its range of ultrasonic pressurised gas leak detectors. The hemispherical airborne leak detector has extended area coverage, plus features such as self testing and cleaning and it is even submersible.
www.groveley.co.uk   Photography by Phil Dowding

Poppy feeds carnivorous plant

Carnivorous plants on show at Golden Acres Garden Centre fascinated young visitor Poppy Boswell (4) – who quickly found a dead fly to test them out.
A Pitcher plant wasn’t tempted but a Venus Flytrap quickly snapped shut on the insect!
The Landford centre’s display includes plants using all five basic trapping mechanisms:
• Pitfall traps (Pitcher plants) which trap prey in a rolled leaf that contains a pool of enzymes or bacteria which digest the insect,
• Flypaper traps using a sticky substance to catch insects,
• Snap traps that catch flies with rapid leaf movements,
• Bladder traps that suck in prey,
• Lobster-pot traps which force prey to move towards an area with inward-pointing hairs which stop the insect escaping.
Carnivorous plants supplement their nutrients from trapping and consuming fauna, typically insects. They grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, such as acidic bogs and rock outcroppings.The display is touring all four of the group’s garden centres at Landford, West Parley, Cadnam and Three Legged Cross.

www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk   Photography by Phil Dowding

Royal Bay Dorset care homes: going for Gold Standard

Staff at a Corfe Mullen care home - Forest Hill House - have welcomed a new government accreditation for care homes that they say will have positive impact on the quality of life for care home residents.
Jules Dove, registered manager at Forest Hill House said: “Gold Standard Framework (GSF) is a very positive move in the care industry – one of the best changes for a long time and we are happy to work towards accreditation, which takes around two years.
“GSF is a process to attain high standards for end-of-life care – it’s all about staff, residents and their relatives working together to improve the residents’ comfort, peace-of-mind and quality of life while they live in the home.
“For instance, we already have an activities co-ordinator who organises internal and external events, including outings to places of local interest - and daily activities including gardening in raised garden beds, which is possible even from a wheelchair.
“Significantly, GSF also establishes better collaboration with GPs, primary care teams and specialists. ”
Jules is also group development manager of Royal Bay Care Homes, which owns and operates Forest Hill House. Its other two Dorset care homes – Castle Farm Retirement Home in Lytchett Matravers and Larks Leas Rest Home in Blandford Forum – are also preparing for GSF accreditation.
She said: “It is already working really well here, with all our staff getting involved and enjoying the process of accurately matching service to residents’ wishes and needs.
“We focus on living longer and living better. We find out what people love doing and ensure they continue that wherever possible while they are residents with us – their wishes are vital.
“It helps their confidence that they will always be looked after well, and their relatives enjoy the support framework we provide for them.”
Forest Hill House is a historic and architecturally-important country manor set in 15 acres of gardens and woodlands with views over Poole Bay and the Purbecks. Described as a care home with nursing, it has 33 residents and 50 staff.
www.royalbay.co.uk

3D home video: new screw-mount assembly converts camcorders to 3D

Virtually anyone owning a camcorder will soon be able to film in 3D with a new screw-mount camcorder lens assembly, says the company developing it.
Research and development company Stereoscopic Optical Systems says its dual lens system, mounted on the lens filter thread of a normal camcorder, produces true stereoscopic 3D home movies that can be shown on a 3D screen within minutes.
The product could be available to consumers within 12 months - but that’s subject to the developers finding collaborative or joint-venture interest to enable the unit to be mass-manufactured.
Managing director Russell Wilson said: “It’s a passive optical system that produces continuous, sharp 3D images in a way that will bring costs down for equipment manufacturers.”
www.stereoscopic3dimages.com     Photography by Phil Dowding

Groveley Engineering Precision wins SC21 bronze award

Groveley Engineering Precision has been presented a Bronze award from the SC21 programme, an aerospace and defence supplier accreditation - only the second in Dorset.
SC21 (National Action Plan for 21st Century Supply Chains) is a change programme which aims to accelerate the competitiveness of the UK's defence and aerospace industry by raising the quality performance of its supply chains.
It has made only 27 bronze awards around the country. Groveley’s award was presented at Farnborough 2010, where it was exhibiting.
In the process of qualifying for the award, Christchurch-based Groveley gained instant benefits in staff and workflow efficiencies – leading to extra capacity.
It trained its entire workforce to a minimum NVQ2 level in BIT (Business Improvement Techniques), which focuses on lean manufacturing and continuous improvement. It teaches the workforce how to identify and eliminate waste, create flow and improve quality leading to greater efficiency and increased profitability.
Managing director Peter Bennet said: “We have supplied precision engineered components to the aerospace and defence markets for 40 years and signed up to SC21 to improve our position in the supply chain.
“Our staff were brilliant and really bought into it and as a result are a more cohesive workforce that understands the business strategy.
“With efficiency up, we have created extra capacity to take on more precision engineering work. And on top of that we are now achieving 100 per cent on-time delivery.
“The award has a lot of credibility - as a direct result we are now in discussions with new defence and aerospace companies which we hope will lead to new contracts.
“Now we have gained the bronze SC21 award, we’re moving on to silver and gold levels.”
www.groveley-precision.co.uk
---------
Picture:  Groveley’s Peter Bennet (centre) and Stuart Leaper (left) with SC21’s Russ Armitage

Groveley Detection: first remotely-operated gas detection aspirator

A gas storage facility in Germany is the first site to install Groveley Detection’s new remotely-operated gas detection aspirator system.
Designers at hazard detection specialist Groveley developed the system to monitor potential methane gas leaks at a regeneration gas-fired heater, which dries gas that has been stored in underground storage caverns before being fed into the main grid.
Managing director Robert Bennet said: “Remote operation from a control room means personnel can avoid going into the hazardous area during operation, which can reach temperatures of 800°C.
“It also allows the system to be used intermittently – only when the heater is in operation – and to automate the system’s line purge to clean the sample line with compressed air.”
The aspirator incorporates Simtronics GD-10P gas detectors.
Photography by Phil Dowding   www.groveley.co.uk

GAN 2011 is open for exhibitor bookings

The southern horticultural trade show GAN will take place next year on Wednesday February 9 and its website is now live with full exhibitor’s information and online booking.
Last year the exhibition attracted visitors from sectors such as growers, wholesale nurseries, garden centres and landscapers.
UK and European exhibitors included plant growers, seed companies, nursery equipment, ventilation systems, natural stone, garden products packing suppliers and irrigation systems.
Director Simon Edwards said: "Already 107 exhibitors are booked for GAN ‘11, with over 160 companies expected, many of which will launch new products and previously unseen plants. Last year was our best and busiest show ever, and 2011 already looks like it will exceed it."
It takes place at Dorset’s Golden Acres Nursery near Bournemouth International Airport.
For information visit www.ganshow.com       Photography by Phil Dowding

Golden Acres: Lisa Philp-Vieira appointed assistant group catering manager

The Golden Acres group has appointed Lisa Philp-Vieira in a new position of assistant group catering manager for its four garden centres.
Lisa was formerly catering manager at Poole Stadium, then head chef at AFC Bournemouth, following years of experience in restaurants and hotels.
She said: “I’m discovering what little gems the cafes and coffee shops are in Golden Acres; the quality is extremely high and each has its own style and ambience.”
Photography by Phil Dowding   www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk

New management team workshops

New Forest Hotels

Management development company KJ Associates has launched a new service - practical management team workshops that focus on current issues within an organisation.

The half-day programmes are run every six months with an organisation’s management teams to enable them to focus on their strengths and weaknesses in team working during real, current issues.

The concept began as an experiment at one of Ringwood-based KJ Associate’s clients, New Forest Hotels, where one of the general managers was aware that her team’s management of time was not particularly good.

A successful workshop for the team was developed and then rolled out for the four hotels in the group, where now the whole management team attends each session for its hotel.

Managing director at New Forest Hotels, Michaela Lisle, said: “All our managers are benefiting from the workshops. The biggest advantage has been increased communication and a greater understanding of the dynamics of their own teams.

“This has had a positive effect on their team organisation, which in turn has benefited the staff and guest experiences. A management team that works together towards common goals makes for a happy team, improves the morale – and guests benefit from a happier team looking after them.

“Other organisations will benefit from investing in a similar process, as it gives your management team the ability to structure training themselves. They can deal with current issues that are affecting their team performance in a facilitated environment. All businesses strive to be proactive instead of reactive – these sessions nip any potential management team issues in the bud!”

Katie Jones of KJ Associates said: “This is relevant to management teams operating in any form of business or organisational environment, and in any industry. It is entirely focussed on real issues and learning from day-to-day events rather than theory.= - which makes it highly effective.”

www.kj-associates.co.uk

Groveley Detection: 600th gas aspirator

Hazard detection specialist Groveley Detection has shipped its 600th gas detection aspirator.
Christchurch-based Groveley has supplied its gas detection aspirators (sampling systems) to oil, gas and energy installations around the world since 1993, monitoring potentially lethal smoke, flame and toxic gases.
This unit - to be installed at ATCO Power’s Muskeg River cogeneration plant in Alberta, Canada - will monitor a gas turbine enclosure for potential methane leaks. It is the latest aspirator of five supplied to ATCO Power in Canada for gas turbine monitoring.
The 170-megawatt gas-fired power station provides steam and electricity to the Muskeg River Mine, with surplus electricity sold to the Power Pool of Alberta. Energy from the turbines’ hot exhaust gas is captured for use in the mine’s bitumen extraction process.
Groveley’s system includes three high-temperature (up to 185ºC) duct probes, which monitor different areas of ducting from the turbine by drawing gas samples to the aspirator cabinet and its three methane detectors.
The Muskeg River station's design enables it to generate electricity with minimal effect on the environment. Both of the gas turbines are equipped with low NOx combustors to minimise the environmental impact of generating electricity.
And it turns 84% of the natural gas's potential energy into electricity and steam - compared to an average of 33% achieved by conventional power stations - while emissions of greenhouse gases are about one-third of a similarly-sized coal-fired power station.
www.groveley.co.uk

John Browns Garden Centre: customers are getting younger

New figures at John Brown Garden Centre in Three Legged Cross, Dorset, show its customers are getting younger.
It’s not that older customers are reducing in numbers, says centre manager Jeremy Green, but that popularity has increased enormously since a refurbishment was completed 15 months ago, and new customers in the 45-60 age group are being attracted.
Figures for garden centres across the UK show a strong predominance in the over-60 group – gardening tends to be an older person’s past-time – and that’s still true at John Browns but research has revealed a gradual, but clear, shift.
Figures taken four times during the last 12 months show the percentage of of under-60s customers increased in that period from 28 per cent to 41 per cent.
Jeremy said: “We enjoy a close relationship with our over-60s customers, but at the same time it’s encouraging to see so many families visiting the centre.
“The new, modern style at the centre plays a significant part, as does the range of plants and products which we offer. There are also 13 concessions onsite offering a huge range of other products and services from electric bikes to a hair salon.
‘This year a lot of families haven’t gone away on holiday, so they have wanted to spend more time in their gardens.
‘Another reason for the shift we feel has been the re-emergence in popularity of grow-your-own vegetables and fruit, which attracts young couples and families in particular.”
John Browns is part of the Golden Acres group.
Photography by Phil Dowding.  www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk

Golden Acres: road closure stops business

Golden Acres garden centre at Landford is apologising to the many of its customers who were unable to visit the centre yesterday, Sunday Aug 1, following an unannounced road closure.
On one of the centre’s busiest days, the A36 road from Salisbury to Southampton was closed all day for an eight-mile stretch between Ower and Brickworth, with no diversion available other than to join the A27.
There had been no warning given to the garden centre.
Operations director Simon Edwards said: “We are making attempts to contact the Highway Agency to find out why there was no warning - and to ensure it never happens again.
“Sundays are our busiest day of the week. We lost a lot of business when our customers were unable to reach us.
“We can only apologise to our customers – if there had been warning, we would have tried to contact them by e-mail, through our website or onsite, and provided a different route.”

'Vicar of Baghdad' addressed Connect 2010

Canon Andrew White – known as the ‘vicar of Baghdad’ – was among the speakers at the new Connect 2010 event near Poole, during July 14-18.
Reverend White is vicar of St George's Church, Baghdad, the only remaining Anglican church in Iraq. He is also President of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East as part of his reconciliation work in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole.
He joined David Rowe (warden of Lee Abbey), Brian Draper (author and broadcaster), a team from the Middle East and local speakers.
Organiser Rob Richards said: “Around 30 churches and fellowships of various denominations in south Dorset and nearly 2,000 people attended, with between 300 and 600 in the main tent each day. Early feedback from ministers shows their congregations are keen to continue to grow closer to God – and to bring the gospel to those who don't know him.”
"We were excited with the connections – not just with all the local churches – but also with the outpouring of the Spirit forty years ago at Post Green, the Christian Community led by Sir Tom and Faith Lees and in other places in Dorset. God is revealed as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of each generation, and so it was for us – as the next generation – to take up the spiritual inheritance from the former generation and be inspired to go back to our churches with fresh vision from our time together.
The grounds of the beautiful Holton Lee, once part of the Post Green community, were transformed with marquees for seminars, talks, camping and kids clubs.
Rob added: “The Lord God made the whole event exceed our early expectations as He came in power on many of people who came. Some came daily and others camped. A number gave their hearts to the Lord Jesus and many have been changed and have come closer to Him. Firm friendships have been made across all ages and Christian traditions.  
“It was great to host Canon Andrew White, who flew over especially to speak on the first evening with his amazing stories of hope and to show how it is possible to work together and connect – even between those who have been enemies.
“Coming together and connecting was the major theme that covered the whole five days.
“At a personal level it was extraordinary seeing Paul's words, "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph 4:16) at an event which we believed was ‘For such a time as this.’”
Immediate feedback included: “The organisation was superb, the hospitality generous and the sense of God's presence with us was very real"
“It has confirmed afresh for us priorities for action over the next months, and given us huge encouragement that God is indeed at work breaking down walls and barriers and preparing the ground for the future."
“Things are not going to be the same... the Church here now knows, very practically and simply, that it is one, that our different ways of doing things, our different comfort zones in worship and in the minor application of doctrine, are pretty irrelevant beside the great love our Lord has put into our hearts one for another."
Co-organiser Paddy Bartholomew said: “God greatly blessed us all and we look forward to seeing churches connecting closer and closer, wounds between individuals and communities healed and the continuing move of the Holy Spirit in South Dorset.”
Photography by Phil Dowding.  www.connect2010.org.uk

Trees help you breathe - so plant one in your garden!

Plant a tree and help clean up Britain’s air, that’s the message from Landford garden centre and nursery group Golden Acres.
Spokesperson Emma Green says if everyone with a garden planted at least one small tree, there would be more oxygen for everyone to breathe because trees act as an efficient filter that cleans the air we breathe.
She said: “Trees provide oxygen as a bi-product of photosynthesis and they store carbon dioxide rather than release it back into the air. Actually, a mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as ten people inhale in a year.”
Emma lists lots of reasons why trees are beneficial, including the fact they clean the soil by absorbing dangerous chemicals and other pollutants that have entered the soil. They then either store them or change them into less harmful forms.
On top of that, trees muffle urban noise almost as effectively as stone walls and they help cleanse the air by intercepting airborne particles, reducing heat, and absorbing such pollutants as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide.
Shade from trees reduces temperatures in summer – studies have shown that parts of towns without cooling shade from trees can suffer from temperatures up to seven degrees centigrade higher than surrounding areas.
And of course, trees provide habitat for birds and animals, shade to encourage certain plants to grow and privacy for the garden, while some produce berries for birds.
Emma said: “There can even be an increase in property values when trees beautify a property or neighbourhood – we’ve heard figures of home values increasing by 15% or more.
“Even small gardens can take a tree if the right shape and size is chosen. Many people think of just big trees like the oak, but there are much smaller varieties available for smaller gardens like crab apples, acers, flowering cherry and Sorbus.”
She said the fear of roots growing too wide and near a home is exaggerated and limited to trees like ash and Weeping Willow that like damp areas, which the roots hunt out.
The Golden Acres group operates four garden centres around Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire - each of them stocks a large selection of trees.
Photography by Phil Dowding.  www.golden-acres-nursery.co.uk

New improved 3D camera system removes audience health concerns

A Dorset research and development company says it has produced a 3D camera system that works without showing flickering alternate images to each eye - therefore eliminating health concerns connected with 3D technology.
Stereoscopic Optical Systems has developed a new 3D camera assembly for use in medical surgery, professional film-making, TV production and home camcorders.
The system has already been used successfully with a camcorder to produce home movies that were shown on a 3D screen within minutes.
Instead of using two electronically- or mechanically-linked cameras and flickering two sets of images, the company says its new JC3D system shows images to both eyes at the same time by incorporating two views from adjacent lenses that are manipulated into a single camera by passive optics.
Conventional 3D imaging often involves co-ordinated twin camera arrangements, twin projectors, or very complex methods of displaying stereoscopic images to each eye in turn, or showing left and right eye images alternately to the same camera.
In the consumer sector, health concerns have been raised by industry leaders in stereoscopic entertainment over the way 3D TV and films are viewed because of their flicker effect.
People with epilepsy, pregnant women, the elderly, children and those suffering from serious medical conditions are among a wide range of people said to be at risk.
Potential side effects have been highlighted such as confusion, nausea, convulsions, altered vision, light-headedness, dizziness, and involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching and cramps.
Russell Wilson, managing director of Stereoscopic Optical Systems Ltd, says “Our passive optical arrangement produces continuous images in a simpler way – which will avoid potential health damaging effects, improve image quality, and bring costs down for equipment manufacturers.”
Other applications for the camera system include inspection in the aviation, nuclear, industrial, undersea exploration and oil and gas sectors.
The system is the result of 15 years of research and development by a team led by inventor John Christian, and Stereoscopic Optical Systems now hopes to stimulate collaborative or joint-venture interest.
Photography by Phil Dowding.  www.stereoscopic3dimages.com

New improved 3D endoscope camera system should reduce surgical error and the risk of litigation

A Dorset research and development company says it has produced a 3D camera system that improves picture quality and adds a depth dimension to images produced by endoscopes with a unique twin lens arrangement – potentially reducing patient risk and intervention error.
And the company behind it – Stereoscopic Optical Systems – says that should lead to a significant reduction in litigation threat.
Surgeons who have seen and used the system in early trials say it is much lighter and easier to manipulate than the conventional approach to 3D endoscopes and laparoscopes and initial reports say it is far less tiring.
During surgical training or post-operative analysis a video recording will give freeze-frame images and a 3D view without flickering, unlike current 3D systems which show a single left or right eye image only, with potential shudder, but not in 3D.
Hospital surgical trials are to resume shortly.
Instead of using two electronically- or mechanically-linked cameras and flickering two sets of images, the company says its new JC3D system shows images to both eyes at the same time by incorporating two views from adjacent lenses that are manipulated into a single camera by passive optics.
Conventional 3D imaging often involves co-ordinated twin camera arrangements, twin projectors, or very complex methods of displaying stereoscopic images to each eye in turn, or showing left and right eye images alternately to the same camera.
Russell Wilson, managing director of Stereoscopic Optical Systems Ltd, says “Our passive optical arrangement produces continuous images in a simpler way – which improves image quality and brings costs down for equipment manufacturers.”
Other applications for the system include inspection in the aviation, nuclear, industrial, undersea exploration and oil and gas sectors.
The system is the result of 15 years of research and development by a team led by inventor John Christian, and Stereoscopic Optical Systems now hopes to stimulate collaborative or joint-venture interest.
Photography by Phil Dowding.  www.stereoscopic3dimages.com

On this site...

This is a selection of the latest press releases issued by Phil Dowding on behalf of its clients. Editors... if you would like more information on each story or a high resolution image (or alternative images), please call Phil Dowding on (01202) 697201.