Honey Bees stop flying when the temperature drops down into the 50s (F). They stay inside their hive in what is called a winter cluster which means they get into a big huddle. There is no point to flying outside of the hive as there are no flowers in bloom, hence no pollen or nectar is available and the cold could kill them. The colder the outside temperature, the more compact the cluster becomes.

The object of this clustering is to keep themselves warm, so warm that the temperature in the centre of this cluster, where the Queen Bee stays, is kept at about 80 (F). The outer edge of the cluster is about 46 to 48 (F).

The worker bees create heat by shivering and they also move back and forth between the inner part of the cluster and the outer part. In this way no bee will freeze.

Paul Buckley the Estates Manager comment; “Behind Garden Cottage we have been building an allotment. We have built 3 raised beds which are ready to go…and we’d like to offer them to our customers who may have an interest in growing food crops. All we have asked in return is a share of the fruits of their labour!

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Andy our gardener will be on hand to assist and advise. It goes without saying access to the plot s are 24 hours per day 7 days per week. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking to install a water tap, a small shed and add in some tools and seating to help are gardeners on their way. We may even add in some chickens further down the line!”

Since  then we have been bowled over by the demand, so much so that all 3 beds have now been allocated,  but despair not, more are being built and prepared as we speak and hopefully they will be ready by the end of next week.

The first three beds have been allocated as follows…

Andy (the gardener)
The SeeWhy Team
The Trinity Team

As the next beds become available they will be allocated as follows…

The Garden Cottage Team
The Fastlane Team
The Touch Team

Once they are up and running we will be looking for any ideas on how we can help, advice and support our gardeners and build on what we have in order to maximise all the opportunities and benefits that allotment gardening offers. Any assitance or guidance needed then Andy our gardener will be on hand!

These will be printed and framed by Alistair to be shown at a special exhibition titled ‘Self’ as a fundraising exercise for the school. All the portraits will be mounted on easels and displayed in the meeting rooms, conference room, fireplace mantlepieces and other suitable areas on both the ground and first floor of the Neo Gothic office building.

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The launch of this exciting and innovative exhibition will be held at New Lodge on the 22nd March from 6.30pm – 8.30pm with a guest list of about 200 people.

House of Commons for sale

Marchday the company behind the idea say it wants to put the House of Commons up for sale on behalf of the people of England – saving hundreds of jobs in the process. Marchday happens to own a huge 107 acre development Lingfield Point in Darlington, County Durham and could offer the Government a great deal at a fraction of the price. But to take advantage of it MPs would also have to be prepared to accept the advice of MP Iain Duncan Smith and move to follow the jobs.

John Orchard, of Marchday (which also owns New Lodge in Windsor and Cavendish Square in Central London) said:

“The Palace of Westminster functions as a giant office space with meeting rooms and chambers.

“It is very costly to run and maintain. Obviously there are cheaper places to be based – for example Lingfield Point – which is an award-winning sustainable business park that offers everything needed to run the country efficiently and cost effectively.

“Ok, this is a tongue-in-cheek poke at the Government but with several serious points behind it. For example in the past few years the Government has commissioned two reports into devolving civil service jobs to the regions, the Lyons Report and the Smith Review, the Lyons Report alone cost £2.22m and yet very little changed as a result

“News reports earlier this week made it clear how hard some of the poorest areas of England will be hit by the planned spending cuts and this is a great opportunity to resurrect this idea.

“The Government is asking everybody else to face the harsh realities that cuts will bring – it needs to take a top-down lead by example approach.
Office space at Lingfield Point is available at £10 per sq ft compared to the average of £35 per sq ft in London. The North East has a work-ready army of skilled people and logistical and transport links to Europe that are the best in England.

“This isn’t about making political points – it is a moral issue – we want the people in charge to think about the human cost of the proposals on the table and how easily some of the effects could be mitigated,” said Mr Orchard.

John Orchard at the Houses of Parliament

MP for Darlington Jenny Chapman supported Lingfield Point’s stance and said:

“The Government should listen to John Orchard.  David Cameron wants people to get on the bus to find work and I want them to come to Darlington.  We’ve got great schools, excellent transport links and great value real estate.  Darlington is a top place to do business and could save you money.   John says this is tongue in cheek, but I say the Government should listen up.”

In the midst of this atmosphere of frenzied cost cutting it is easy to forget quality of customer service. In a way, giving or expecting to receive excellent service almost feels too good, wrong even; extravagant in this harsh new world of austerity.

We believe you should be able to have both. At Lingfield Point we have committed to providing continued excellent customer service, remarkable workplaces, at the best price.

We wholeheartedly believe that the call to cut costs can still result in spaces where people enjoy coming to work, are efficient, productive and have fun. This is undoubtedly a huge challenge but, along with our exceptional teams we are in great shape to help our customers enjoy the best of both worlds.

1950's style snug at Canteen.

We’re delighted to welcome two new cafe operators to our portfolio; Absolute Taste, the events and hospitality wing of the McLaren racing team at New Lodge Windsor and ‘Canteen’ by Alexander McMurray at Lingfield Point Darlington. Both companies have already really impressed us with the quality of their service.

Both pride themselves on using locally sourced ingredients, so local in fact that they sometimes look no further than the grounds for inspiration. John explains;

We recently had a meeting at New Lodge and were presented with the most amazing selection of beautifully presented canapes. I was particularly taken with some fig and rocket numbers and was knocked out to be told that the figs had come from our own fig trees in the gardens. You can’t get much fresher than that!

Fig rolls - New Lodge style!

Sophie climbs.

Is it just us or is cycling everywhere you look these days? With the Tour de France kicking off tomorrow (and England out of the World Cup) it seems that pedal power is on everybody’s minds.

The Marchday teams at Lingfield Point, Darlington and New Lodge, Windsor have recently taken advantage of the Government’s ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme and have really caught the cycling bug in the process. So far Marchday have bought 8 bikes through the scheme with more in the pipeline. At Lingfield Point the Marchday Peloton can feature up to 7 riders on their regular Tuesday night rides out into Teesdale and Weardale and new ‘rouleurs’ are always welcome.

New Lodge manager Paul Buckley began riding in March and has already taken part in some grueling sportifs including the recent Chilterns 100, a hilly 100 mile course which he completed in 6:26 only four weeks after breaking his wrist in a cycling spill. He’s hard! Speaking of which, the Marchday cycling guru at Lingfield Point is (Hard) Colin who has inspired the boys and Sophie to amazing feats of endurance. Of course Sophie was a professional mountain bike rider so this is all a bit too easy for her.

So, do we cycle to work? Well…. sometimes…. but we all cycle lots, are enjoying every minute of it and feeling (and maybe even looking) better as a result –  and that must be the result the Government is after – isn’t it?

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The winning picture has been mounted and exhibited in the conference room on an easel, and receives a print to take away. Those placed 2nd and 3rd receive a framed print to take away as a memento.

However it doesn’t stop there, the winter/spring season is now upon us and the New Lodge art page on the website is set up ready for new entries, the more the merrier.

The first season has set the bar high as acknowledged by judges and New Lodge staff alike. Enjoy looking through the pictures and reading the judges comments, the closing date for winter/spring is middle of June.

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The decision about what to do next was made slightly easier by the fact that the tree surgeon deemed the larger branches to be unsafe and they had to be removed. Marchday was left with a 15ft tree stump stripped of its beauty. Although the trees scale and grandeur could never be recreated the history and essence of the tree remained. The challenge was to bring the the tree back to life! ……. Inspiration struck ”how about getting a tree sculpture to look at it?”

Graham Jones, a Birmingham based artist arrived on site in October of 2008 and finished the piece in April 2009. Marchday is exceptionally proud of the tree and hope that it’s essence been recreated … see below and let us know if you think it has worked!

Special thanks to Graham Jones. If you like his work please visit www.gmjwoodcarving.co.uk