By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
My main interest, obviously, is and was green and environmental stuff at the show and there were a number of interesting things to be found.
There were, first of all, Kevin's Green Heroes (in fact they were conspicuous by their personal absence but their exhibits were there) and a number of those really have gotten my attention and I hope to be able to follow up on some of them for sure.
As I said in my previous article on the Grand Designs 2011 show, it would have been nice if the heroes would have been on hand on the opening day. There were lots of people looking at the exhibits but who were more than a little miffed that there was no one there to actually explain the concept of some of the product.
Yours truly, in fact, ended up explaining the idea and concept of the Secret Energy Turbine (SET) and also as to how coppicing works with regards to Sebastian Cox's coppice furniture. I am sure the “heroes” would have been much better placed to explain this but I tried my best.
In the Grand Garden section the talk was to a degree poultry as there were two companies dealing with chicken and poultry housing. One of those was Doodlehouse whose hen houses really spoke to me – though silently. They are made from recycled plastic, fit together like a puzzle and can be had in plain white (cheaper) or in a variety of lovely colored designs. A d the other was Flyte So Fancy with lovely well-made wooden homes for your poultry. The two hens though were not too happy with all the lights and all that at the show, it seems though. Doodlehouse's stand is definitely worth a visit just for the bright colors in design for a hen house.
Another thing of interest to me was the Baxi EcoGen CHP boiler presented on the Calor Gas stand. This boiler – using a Sterling Engine – creates heat and electricity at the same time using gas. It can also me fired by Calor LPG or should also be possible to be used with methane, produced, say, on a farm. Now there are potentials there for the off-gridders, are there not?
The show still runs until May ... and details are found below as to tickets, etc.
The show is:
Open 11am – 6pm on Saturday 30th April
Open 10am – 6pm Sunday 1st – Sat 7th May
Open 10am - 5pm 8th May
Standard prices
Weekdays (Tuesday – Friday): Advanced £11 On the door £15
Weekends (Incl. Bank Holiday Monday): Advanced £14 On the door £18
Multiple day tickets (entry on two days) £20
VIP Experience brought to you by Miele £35
Platinum VIP Experience brought to you by Miele £70
Children (aged 15 or under) Free (ticket is required)
Book tickets now and save £4*, book online at www.granddesignslive.com, or call the 24 hour box office on 0844 209 7349 + kids go free.
Group Discounts
Bring your friends and save even more, with great discounts available for groups of 10 or more. Call 0844 412 4650 for further details on group discounts.
© 2011
