A Mediterranean scene?
Have we started operating on the Côte d'Azur? No, it's the subtropical Rye Bay, but what a difference nice weather makes!
Here we are loading plum slate for Long Rake Spar on tippers of two different generations.
The Track Washer at Withdean
Took a trip to the Withdean Stadium in Brighton yesterday, to see the Bourne Sport track washer in action and get some pictures and videos.
It is an interesting piece of machinery, built around a Kubota L5040 51hp tractor. Clean water is sprayed on to the track via the front-mounted cleaning aggregate, which also contains rotary brushes. These dislodge the dirt and other debris and the dirty water is then vacuumed away into a 400 litre waste-water tank. This vacuuming process is driven by a separate Briggs & Stratton engine with a large pump. The cleaning process has a relatively low water consumption, requiring about 1 litre per linear metre - so the machine can complete one circuit of the track before having to be emptied and re-filled with clean water.
Although the track at Withdean is said to be relatively new, impressive amounts of dirt were removed by the machine - regular maintenance of this kind will clearly prolong the usable life of the surface.
Withdean stadium - the site hosted Brighton Zoo from 1920 - is now primarily used for athletics, but there is a grass pitch for football as well, which was the temporary home for Brighton and Hove Albion between 1999 and 2011. Next to the stadium is a big sports complex for indoor activities.
May Photo Competition
Time for the next monthly challenge! The rules are simple: submit a photo taken during the month of May (this year) by close-of-business on Thursday 31 May. The photo can be of any subject you think makes an interesting and/or attractive picture, but it has to include a logo of the Bourne Group (i.e. the logos of Gardenscape, Bourne Amenity, Bourne Sport or John Bourne & Co).
The prize is again a crate of your favourite beer or something similar, if you are not a beer drinker. Interesting photos submitted with a short description may get their own feature on the blog as well.
Happy snapping!
Gardenscape May Seasonal Discounts
Keep those weeds down, lay a new path, or create a new play area with our bark products!
In May, we offer a 10% discount on all delivered bulk bags of various barks - from the basic mulch style to top-class play barks from FSC certified suppliers.
April Photo Competition
The first Group Photo Competition was announced earlier this month, with not a great deal of guidance for the happy snappers of the business. Nonetheless, a great deal of high-quality photography was submitted and it has been a worthy challenge deciding a winner. Some of the images have featured here, but there were many more. (Please feel free to write a short description of what is going on when sending in a photo - that makes it easier to turn it into a blog post.) The photos chosen here are a bit lorry-centric, we might try and reflect other aspects of the business too over the coming months.
For May, we will have slightly more specific rules - watch this space for a post in the next few days.
But now, let's get on to April's picks [drum roll]...
A special mention for this photo, showing GN17 WXW gingerly emerging from the Old Sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. The contrast between the old and the new, as well as the lively busy-ness of the picture and its strict colour palette makes this a very worthy contender.
The runner-up of the month can be seen here - its lovely greyscales and reflections in the water make it a real classic.
But there can only be one winner, and this month it is Lee, with the amazing picture below. It was just the tonic needed after a long and wet winter - it really makes you think of springtime and new beginnings! So well done Lee - the prize will be organised via JB shortly.
What will you do for the May competition?