Signscape blog

 This is me in my first rowing race for over 8 years - all the rest of the guys were under 30! so not too bad for a middle-aged baldy! I thoroughly enjoyed the event and forgot the cold. My family came to support - there were lots of people cheering from the banks - it was great fun. Rowing is really about working together to achieve a common goal and every one of us were nervous at the beginning and exhausted by the end of the race.

I took up rowing back in Sep 09 and have loved the training - but it’s great to compete! I’m in the no. 3 seat (which for those initiated is 3rd from left as you are looking at photo) with woolly hat and grimace on face.

Hamish

 This is me teaching Year 2 pupils @ Yatton Infant School. My daughter goes there and my wife was talking to one of the teachers, who asked if we could come in and talk about solar power as the children were learning about the planet and the harm fossil fuels were doing.

It was a great experience - very different from teaching teenagers. My daughter had helped me make a battery from an old shoe box, with a little 6V battery and light. The children rubbed their hands and put them into the “molecules” to light the bulb - all very excited when it lit up.

One of the children asked why don’t we use solar more?, especially if it saves the planet from being dug up! How incisive children can be..

Signscape leads the way for Zero Power

Staff and students at Gordano School recently joined together in a united gesture to see if they could cope without the use of electricity for one day. Their Zero Power Day was structured around using as little electricity as possible, other than that which they generated themselves. The aims of the day were to highlight the impact that modern technologies have on the day to day running of a modern school and to see how much energy and money they could save by being more thoughtful about the power they use.

Various guests from local businesses and industry were invited in to demonstrate how their approaches and products were helping to create a more sustainable environment. Hamish Paterson and Jeremy Reeves were asked by the head of Design and Technology at Gordano if they would spend the day there, demonstrating how their Ecovision system of illuminated signs works. Hamish and Jeremy explained to students from Yr8 right up to A level how the PV cells generate the power for the signs and how the Infra Red detectors provide a more automated approach. Students learnt how the electricity is stored and then released only when it is needed.

The visit provided an interesting, alternative approach for students who got to see how what they study in the classroom is used in a real commercial context. Plans are being developed for another similar exercise in 2010 when Gordano hope to strengthen the links they have made with Signscape and other local companies.

Paul Wison

This was an article written by Paul Wilson of Gordano College (North Somerset) after Jeremy and I spent a day with students looking at alternative energy supplies. We had a great day - with some great ideas and questions coming from the students.

A big thank you to all our customers - it’s been a tough third trading year for us, but as they say “when the going gets tough…” We have improved all manner of areas this year for the benefit of our customers and will be working on more in the New Year, as well as some exciting new products.

Thanks for everyone’s support this year - including our suppliers.

We are closing down Christmas Eve around lunchtime and will be back on January 4th 2010.  We wish you all a great Christmas and look forward to a more prosperous 2010 -from Hamish, Sue, Jeremy and all the Signscape team.

I can’t believe 3 weeks have flown by since I last wrote anything - I have been on holiday for a week to Club La Santa - a sports training resort in Lanzarote.  The weather was great - between 23 and 26 degrees, unfortunately our daughter was ill the first two days and then I came down with a tummy bug! Good to get some winter sun though and a bit of training as well.

We have just produced a new Papyrus price list (contact sales for information) and we have just sold some of our solar powered units to Australia and New Zealand! In addition to all that we have some really exciting developments for next year that are now well under way - will keep you posted.

Speak to you soon..