Oil painting: 'Sails'

Jan Dowding      ‏@JanDowding

Dorset artist Jan Dowding - one of my abstract oil paintings on canvas... I named it 'Sails'. 30x20" pic.twitter.com/rzhv8G3eIF

You can make a slum kids Christmas – for just £3.50

It's true.

UK charity Child of Hope is planning a special Christmas party for all its school pupils from the Namatala slum in Uganda. They will have a great meal – probably the only one this year with real meat – and each receive a gift, some clothing and sweets. Best of all, they get to have fun! It's a terrific event that brings a lot of happiness to the children – and they can bring a parent and brother/sister along too.

It all costs around £3.50 per child – so would you like to join the party by helping fund it? You could buy it for yourself, or pay for a friend! Any donations would be helpful, small or large, and we'll e-mail you a ‘Thank you’ card to print out and pop on your mantlepiece with all your other Christmas cards!

Here's how... www.childofhopeuganda.org/donation-shop/slum-kids-christmas/

Social media tips for charities

Phil Dowding ‏@PhilGDowding

Charities - great tips on managing your #socialmedia - http://abt.cm/1grFz6f

Seeing Double

Jan Dowding    @JanDowding

'Seeing Double' 30x24" acrylic painting on canvas... - - I love daisies... http://www.jedart.co.uk - pic.twitter.com/CZkHPJRK15

Festive ceramics gifts

Ceramics made by Jan Dowding of JED Art will soon help raise funds for slum children in Uganda through Dorset-based charity Child of Hope (she's a trustee!), which is building schools for slum kids in Uganda.

These tealight Christmas trees and other yuletide gifts she has made will be for sale on her stand at the Christmas Craft Fayre at the Lighthouse Family Church (Holton Heath, Dorset) on Dec 7, 10am–2pm.

The event will feature local craft producers selling ceramics, Tupperware, hand-made cards, paintings, jewellery, books, gifts, preserves, cakes… and loads more.

Sunseeker award for outstanding performance

Luxury wood machinist/joiner Kirolite is celebrating after winning a prestigious award from luxury boat builder Sunseeker International – for our 'outstanding' work on its top-of-the-range Sea Raider V craft.

The Dorset-based company provided one-off interior furniture for the 40 metre yacht, ranging from a bar, television cabinets and air conditioning units to chest of drawers and bedside cupboards.

The timeframe from concept through to actual fitting out was just 16 weeks, described by Sunseeker as an "outstanding performance in meeting our most demanding requirements."

The award is a huge feather in Kirolite's cap from one of the world's most prestigious brands. The company has worked with Sunseeker for 35 years and feels very proud that its role in meeting the most exacting of requirements has been recognised in this way.

The five cabin Sea Raider V can accommodate up to 12 guests and seven crew members and is capable of a top speed of 24 knots. She is the largest Sunseeker to be built ahead of the launch of the 155 yacht next year. Sea Raider V was displayed at this year's Cannes and Monaco yacht shows following delivery to her owner in the Mediterranean earlier this summer.

The special award was officially presented to Kirolite at the 2013 Sunseeker Supplier of the Year Awards. In the picture: Bonnie Randall, Kirolite's managing director (second right); Nigel Crabbe, sales manager (right) and shareholders John and Margaret Randall join staff to celebrate the special award from Sunseeker.

Antique metal look is just stunning

Bespoke furniture producer Kirolite's latest one-off project for a 115 Sunseeker yacht has been installed – a bar mirror in distressed bronze finish, complete with two shelves in gloss traditional walnut burr veneers with a modern twist of stainless steel polished rails.

We love the amazing new antique-metal-look finishes... perfect for on board a luxury yacht or in a beautiful home or hotel.

The requirement: An old-fashioned-style saloon mirror to be positioned above a small bar cupboard.

The effect: We overlaid a bronze antique effect on an original hardwood and MDF frame. This was sprayed with the finish of metal filings, with the top layer burnished off to expose the metal, a ragged process with acid to obtain a suitably-mottled effect, polished, left to tarnish, then sealed with top coat… all done in-house.

The result: A gorgeous finish… and one that can be used to make many wood products look like they’re made of distressed metal. The finishes are limitless!

Charlotte Richards, a new-generation grower

Charlotte Richards has been appointed a director of her family’s horticultural business – Golden Acres – which her father Paul started in 1980.

   Charlotte (19) is currently working her way through every department of the business to gain experience.

   The company is a large specialist grower of bedding plants – three million plants each year – and also owns five garden centres in Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Warwickshire.

   Formerly at Bournemouth School for Girls, Charlotte said: “I’m learning the business from the bottom up and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

   “I love plants especially bedding, which are so varied and colourful. That’s entirely what we focus on in our growing nurseries in Hampshire and Dorset. Then we sell the plants through our own centres and also supply to other garden centres around the south.”

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

Groveley Detection wins its largest orders for ultrasonic gas leak detection

Groveley Detection reports it has won its two largest order for ultrasonic gas leak detectors.
   For commercial reasons the company cannot yet divulge the client’s details, but two new Australian contracts will mean the supply of 224 of Groveley’s GDU-Incus detectors for an offshore installation and 149 Incus units for an onshore facility. The combined order value is in excess of $3.5 million.
   Delivery will be completed by June 2013, and Groveley is employing eight new staff members and expanding its factory to boost production.
   Managing director Robert Bennet said: “The technology is still relatively new and we believe this is the world’s largest order for UGLDs. It has focused us clearly on further growth.
   “Our Incus detector uses piezo technology rather than microphones, so it is extremely stable. It’s an all-British patented product; developed and manufactured at our Dorset factory.”
   The GDU-Incus offers a coverage area of up to 40m (pressure, leak size and background noise level dependent), a detection range between 25kHz to 100kHz and an instantaneous speed of response. The IP66/67-rated detector provides protection from the harshest of weather with a -55°C to +85°C operating temperature range.
   Each GDU-Incus is factory-set and requires no field calibration. It needs minimal maintenance and reliable operation is ensured using a continuous electronic self test.
www.groveley.com    Photography by Phil Dowding

Groveley Detection announces record year with 18% turnover boost

Hazard detection company Groveley Detection has announced a record year with an 18 per cent increase in turnover to £4.7 million for its latest financial year, which ended in May.

   It reports that profits in the period more than doubled, due to a higher proportion of its sales being own-build products than equipment it distributes.

   Managing director Robert Bennet said: “We have maintained sales of gas detection systems we sell in the UK as a distributor, and at the same time we have hugely increased sales of our own products, mainly to export markets. The main cause of that is our new Incus ultrasonic gas leak detector, which has allowed us to expand widely into world markets.

   He said: “We have made our name as problem-solvers; companies around the globe approach us with situations they need a solution for. Most locations we install equipment in are extremely hazardous – no two sites or facilities are exactly the same.”

   The growth meant the leasing of further premises adjacent to its factory in January, allowing Groveley to double its production capacity.

www.groveley.com      Picture by Phil Dowding

Photography for Questa Voce

Questa Voce is a new, large-scale singing group set up to provide a chorus and soloists for concerts and events. They are professionally-trained to the highest standards in all styles of performance and singing including opera, classical, musical theatre, jazz, oratorio and contemporary. Involved in live performance and recording, they are a new force not to be missed.

Our photography was set in an Elizabethan manor house in Dorset; small group shots, entire group and an individual session with each member. The images were first seen in the programme for the group's acclaimed December 2012 performance, Questa Voce sings Christmas.

www.questavoce.com

Groveley Detection: new web app simulates use of Incus ultrasonic gas detectors

Engineers can quickly determine approximately how many Groveley Incus ultrasonic gas leak detectors would be needed to monitor a process area, thanks to a new web app.

   Groveley Detection’s free app allows the user to input plant size, area of coverage, gas pressure, gas temperature and background ultrasonic noise levels. 

   It indicates approximately how many Incus detectors are required to protect a hazardous area under given circumstances. The app is a first step before embarking on an ultrasonic mapping survey to monitor background ultrasonic noise levels and determine optimum positioning of the detectors – which is always advisable when utilising UGLDs.

   Ultrasonic/acoustic gas detectors instantly detect gas leaks by 'hearing' the sound generated by escaping gas, rather than responding to specific measurements of LEL or ppm.

   It is the only commonly-available method of detection able to detect a gas leak without the gas cloud needing to come into direct contact with the detector. The technology is impervious to wind, fog or gas dilution and is therefore very reliable in outdoor installations. 

   To try the free app, register at www.groveley-ultrasonic.com

New ultrasonic gas detection website

Hazard detection specialist Groveley Detection has launched a new website that focuses entirely on its ultrasonic gas detection equipment and solutions – www.groveley-ultrasonic.com

   Ultrasonic or acoustic gas detectors instantly detect gas leaks by 'hearing' the sound generated by escaping gas rather than responding to specific measurements of LEL or ppm.

   Managing director Robert Bennet said: “Ultrasonic is the only commercially-viable method of gas detection without the gas cloud needing to come into direct contact with the detector. The technology is impervious to wind, fog or gas dilution and is therefore very reliable in outdoor installations. Our intrinsically safe and flameproof sensors detect gas at the speed of sound.”

   Groveley also manufactures aspirator-type gas sampling systems and catalytic gas detectors. And it markets Simtronics’ GD10P and GD10PE point infrared gas detectors as exclusive UK distributor.

   A new corporate video on the website shows Groveley’s expanded new premises and upgraded production facility.
www.groveley-ultrasonic.com

Groveley Detection: largest order for its GDU-Incus ultrasonic gas detectors is shipped to Papua New Guinea LNG

Hazard detection specialist Groveley Detection has shipped 31 of its GDU-Incus ultrasonic gas leak detectors to the new upstream LNG plant in Papua New Guinea – in Groveley’s largest Incus consignment to date.
   The units – supplied against two orders to a total contract value of $350,000 – will monitor potential gas leaks in the LNG plant gas compression areas and other areas with pressurised gas.
   Ultrasonic gas detectors instantly detect gas leaks by 'hearing' the sound generated by escaping gas and is the only method able to detect gas without the gas cloud needing to come into direct contact with the detector. The technology is impervious to wind, fog or gas dilution and is therefore very reliable in outdoor installations.
   The GDU-Incus incorporates four independent sensing heads to allow unobstructed sensing and a larger detection range.
   The Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (PNG LNG) project is a new gas project built to handle three large gas discoveries in the southern and western highlands of the country. It includes gas production, processing and liquefaction facilities, as well as offshore and onshore pipelines.
   LNG cargoes are due to start in 2014. The PNG LNG project has an estimated lifespan of around 30 years, by which time it could produce around nine trillion cubic feet of gas.
www.groveley.com     Picture by Phil Dowding

New worship software package gives synchronised control for band and projection

A new worship software tool has been launched for worship teams that seamlessly joins up the functions of lyrics, chords and projection – all controlled from a single source.

  Worship, Inc stores and maintains all a band’s lyrics and chords on laptop or tablet PCs, then displays them as a live playlist to each member through standard Wi-Fi.

  It ensures all musicians always have the same words and chords. Songs can be transposed at click of a button by the worship leader and instantly displayed to each musician. 

  The Worship, Inc package is being offered free for a three-month trial, fully-functioning. Without entering credit card details and with no commitment to purchase, musicians can load in their songs, invite up to ten friends to join the group, share and subscribe to playlists.

  Phil Read of Charthouse Data Management, the Dorset-based company that created the new software, said: “It makes the process of sharing songs flawless, simple and very fast.

  “Worship leaders are excited because gone are the days spent photocopying chord sheets or coordinating slides. This has been designed with corporate worship and band leaders in mind, providing everyone present with a unified, but personal, view of the songs being played.

  “Musicians can carry all their songs and chords on a tablet PC or laptop – no more lugging that big binder around with them. 

  “And projection is simpler because the package enables remote control of the projector display from anywhere on the network. A singer, pastor or even someone sitting in the congregation can select the media to display, ensuring you have the right words all the time.”

   Guitarists can use capo keys to display the appropriate chords for using a capo, while leaving the song in its original key for other band members.

  Song lyrics and chords are stored and distributed from a central website and to all musicians. During a service, songs can be added into the playlist as inspiration leads and the song is instantly made available to other band members and projection.

  Lyrics can be projected verse-by-verse in large meetings where the size of text is important, or displayed as the whole song for small groups. Worship, Inc can also be used to display all the media needed during a service, including videos, pictures and recordings.

   The Worship, Inc package costs £12.99 for a single user, £57.99 for five users and £275.99 for up to 25 users.

   For more information and to download a free trial, visit worshipinc.com

Picture by Phil Dowding