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This guide shares the top 5 things to do in the Japanese hot springs and ski resort town of Nozawa Onsen.
Japan’s Niseko has found worldwide acclaim as a premier ski destination, but just a train ride away from Tokyo, another, more unassuming ski town finds visitors falling in love: Nozawa Onsen. Located in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture, the hot springs and ski town of 5,000 draws both Tokyo weekenders and a small, in-the-know crowd of international visitors. Here's my list of top things to do during your visit to Nozawa Onsen.
1. Ski fresh powder at Nozawa Onsen resort.
Though it's not a big power player, Nozawa Onsen's ski resort boasts a vertical drop of 1,085 meters and wonderfully soft powder. With the terrain pretty evenly divvied up among advanced, intermediate, and beginner, there's something for everyone here.
The resort feels like an intimate, family run joint with two gondola lifts and 18 ski lifts. It's very much polar opposite of the super-commercial ski resorts of Tahoe or Colorado. Lift tickets are a fraction of the cost of a Colorado mountain (a one-day adult pass is 4,300 yen - or $43 USD!), so you can ski a couple of days guilt-free. Japan doesn't really have a strong apres ski culture, but you can definitely get some cold Asahis on the mountain. Snow season runs from December until May.
2. Bathe in one of the public hot springs.
Off the slopes, visitors love enjoying good soak in a soto no yu, or public hot springs bath. Relax in one of the 13 public baths, which are open from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. There are typically areas for changing, storing your clothes, and rinsing off before you get in the bath, but bring your own towel from your ryokan. The mineral water in Nozawa is nearly scaldingly hot, so be careful getting in.
The baths are a deeply rooted part of the village and are open to all, free of charge. Outside the onsens, there are little boxes for donations. Locals clean and maintain the baths, so be sure to study up on onsen etiquette.
3. Stay at a traditional ryokan.
Stay a night or two at a ryokan—a traditional Japanese inn, commonly found near scenic areas away from the city. Typical ryokans are a little pricier than a western hotel room, but often include dinner and/or breakfast in the price.
Ryokan rooms have tatami floors and futons for sleeping; usually, there's a common bathing area that pipes in hot springs water. (Many also offer western-style beds, though, if you're not comfortable sleeping on the floor.)
During our time in Nozawa, we stayed at the Kawamotoya Ryokan for about $160 USD a night. I try to include a ryokan stay on every trip to Japan—there's something about them that's so peaceful and meditative.
Location : 8955 Toyosato, Nozawa Onsen Mura, Shimo Takai Gun 389-2502
4. See the Jigokudani snow monkeys.
Humans aren't the only ones who love a hot bath. Over 160 Macaque monkeys live in Jigokudani, which means "Hell's Valley." You'll take a short hike up to their habitat, where you'll find snow monkeys playing, tussling, and bathing blissfully in the natural hot springs.
There are also some human-friendly baths and shower facilities on-site, plus a toasty little soba shop. If you aren't driving yourself, most ryokans in the area can help you organize a trip.
Jigokudani Yaen-Koen Snow Monkey Park
Location : 6845 Heion, Yamanouchi-machi, Shimotakai-gun 381-0401, Nagano Prefecture
Price : ¥800/adult, ¥400/child (up to age 17)
5. Eat an onsen tamago, a hot springs egg.
It turns out temperature-stable geothermal hot spring waters have the exact level of heat needed to make wonderfully soft-cooked eggs. You'll come across spots around town where shell-on eggs are cooking in hot spring water. They make for the silkiest eggs!
Several of the onsens have little boxes located outside with hot springs running through them. You can drop the eggs in before you get in, and they'll be perfectly done when you emerge.


16th - 30th March 2012.
Wonderful weather again this March. We love the addition of the electrical log stove this year. Hope to be back soon.
Graham and Jayne - Suffolk.
12th - 18th Sept 2012.
Another wonderful stay at your very cosy cottage. Lovely weather, great places to eat, who needs to go abroad when there is everything here in Looe! We'll be back!
Sue and Steve - Suffolk.
27th Aug - 3rd Sept 2011.
Had a great stay, weather has been fabulous, been in the sea everyday (in wet suits!!). Cottage comfortable.
Steele family - Milton Keynes.
13th - 27th Aug 2011.
Had a good time at the cottage. Lots to do - went to the beach, paint a pot, plenty of shops. Pubs and restaurants all have good grub!
23rd-30th July 2011.
We had a great holiday, weather fab, cottage great. Loved Looe.
9th - 16th April 2011.
Had a great week, lovely to be so near the beach, very comfortable cottage, loved Looe.
Jane, David, Sophie and James Hadlington.
27th - 30th Sept 2011.
Once again a fabulous holiday. Cottae improves every year - idyllic location, will definitely book again for the New Year.
Sue and Steve - Suffolk.
4th - 11th Sept 2010.
Enjoyable stay at Sandbanks, it's in a very convenient position. Good facilities - very clean and tidy.
SAND BANKS: CHURCH STREET, EAST LOOE, CORNWALL, PL13 1BY.
STUNNING 2 BED COTTAGE IN CORNWALL, A STONE'S THROW FROM EAST LOOE'S LONG SANDY BEACH, HARBOUR AND SHOPS.
Fabulous renovated and refurbished (2006) cottage just off the seafront. What a fantastic convenient location - yards from a long sandy beach, working fishing harbour and seconds from the shops! This cottage has a neutral, clean and contemporary theme throughout, yet retaining some good character with its stone feature fireplace and thick walls. The accommodation boasts spacious open plan kitchen/dining/lounge area with downstairs w.c. Upstairs there is a double bedroom, twin bedroom and shower room. Allocated parking for 1 car on the seafront car park just yards from the cottage. Sand Banks is a perfect cottage for anyone wishing to be in a very sought after convenient location, coupled with a very good standard of accommodation. SATURDAY TO SATURDAY CHANGEOVER. SLEEPS 4. THIS COTTAGE IS NEXT DOOR TO BEACHWAYS, THEY CAN BE RENTED TOGETHER FOR LARGER PARTIES.
Sand Banks Cottage - yard from the beach, harbour and shops.
Open plan living area.
Modern kitchen within the open plan living area.
Light and airy double bedroom.
Modern shower room.
The lounge area.
Less than a 2 minute walk to the Banjo Pier!
Seconds away from the wonderful harbour.
Why not take an evening boat taxi to West Looe (tide permitting).
There are many coastal walks close by.
The long sandy beach just opposite the cottage.
Early one morning!
The promenade and beach just yards away.
Smugglers Museum - Polperro.
|Location||Unbeatable location - in my opinion! Right next to the beach - a few seconds away and less than a minute from the working fishing harbour where you can watch the fishermen, try a spot of crabbing or even book a coastal cruise, glass bottom boat trip or perhaps a speed boat ride. The shops lie less than a minute walk away - so all in all really convenient to everything on offer to East Looe. A boat taxi (tide permitting) will see you in West Looe where there you will find The Jolly Sailor (Looe's oldest pub), or a bit further along the coastal road, will lead you to Hannafore - another wonderful seafront boasting rockpools and glorious views across St. George's Island, not to mention the coastal walk leading to Talland Bay, Polperro and for miles and miles. Sand Banks is also around 40 mins drive from the City of Plymouth for the avid shopper, 1.5 hour drive from the city of Truro and 25 mins drive Eden Project. A 25 mins drive from Bodmin Moors where you will find out more about our fantastic mining heritage with sights of our historical engine houses, not to mention our gorgeous moorland cattle.|
|Nearest Pub/Restaurant||On the doorstep to the many well acclaimed pubs and restaurants on offer in Looe.|
|Lounge||Open plan living room with two 2 seater sofas, flat screen t.v./dvd.|
|Dining Facilities||Dining table and seating for 4 within the open plan living room.|
|Kitchen||Open plan kitchen to living area with modern Shaker style units, gas hob, electric oven, fridge with ice box, microwave and washing machine.|
|Bedrooms||2 Bedrooms. 1 double with 5 foot bed and chest of drawers. Twin bedroom with 3 feet beds (which can be zip linked together) and wardrobe. There is an additional wardrobe on the landing for extra clothes hanging space.|
|Bathrooms||Downstairs cloakroom with wash hand basin and w.c. Upstairs shower room with power shower, wash hand basin and w.c. Newly fitted shower room (2006).|
|Additional Features||Short breaks out of season. Min 3 night stay.|
|Heating||Gas central heating throughout.|
|Parking||You can load/unload right outside of the property. Allocated parking for 1 car directly opposite the cottage on the seafront car park, yards from the cottage and guaranteed for the sole use of Sand Banks. Sign written vehicles not permitted.|
|Outside||Although there is no outside space you are on the doorstep to the beach, harbour and shops.|
|Pets||Sorry pets not permitted.|
|Smoking Policy||Smoking not permitted.|
|Linen||Linen and towels provided.|
|13th April 2013 - 25th May 2013||£ 420.00 per week|
|25th May 2013 - 1st June 2013||£ 525.00 per week|
|1st June 2013 - 6th July 2013||£ 460.00 per week|
|6th July 2013 - 13th July 2013||£ 525.00 per week|
|13th July 2013 - 31st August 2013||£ 685.00 per week|
|31st August 2013 - 21st September 2013||£ 460.00 per week|
|21st September 2013 - 26th October 2013||£ 350.00 per week|
|26th October 2013 - 2nd November 2013||£ 450.00 per week|
|2nd November 2013 - 21st December 2013||£ 340.00 per week|
|21st December 2013 - 5th January 2014||£ 650.00 per week|
Available Reserved Booked or Unavailable
Book this property
|<< Back||Tel: +44(0)1503 265330 or email for availability||^ Top|


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Represented by DeWayne Starnes, Building Official Member
Santa Barbara County
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Santa Clara County
Represented by Michael Harrison, Building Official Member
The County Building Officials Association of California is pleased to announce that its 2016 Annual Conference and Business Meeting will be held from October 31 through November 2, 2016. The location of this year's event will be in Monterey at the beautiful Monterey Tides Hotel.
If you are interested in being a sponsor, please click here.
Dear CBOAC Members & Potential Members:
The County Building Officials Association of California (CBOAC) provides an opportunity for building officials to be more prepared, confident and ready to perform our duties. California has some of the most knowledgeable and experienced building officials to be found and through the CBOAC we’re able to access those building officials and benefit from many collective years of experience.
This resource has never been more important, building officials throughout the state face new or expanded roles and responsibilities. More and more we go beyond applying building code requirements, we evaluate the impact of development with a more holistic eye on the community, the infrastructure, our natural resources and the environment. Beyond traditional application of the building codes we apply ever increasing energy requirements, green building requirements, clean-water requirements, FEMA related regulations, accessibility requirements and a host of other local, state and federal requirements.


Directions to Folly Beach and Fred Holland Realty
From the Charleston International Airport
Take I-526 West to the Ashley River Road south exit. Exit here and follow Ashley River Road south to its end. It will split into several exits. Veer to the far right, following the Highway 61 sign. At this point, follow the signs to Folly Beach. Our office is the second building on the left after you cross the last bridge onto Folly Island.
Follow I-26 East to its end. Take Route 17 south towards Savannah. Follow the road until you cross a bridge. On the other side of the bridge, veer to the left as you follow Hwy 171 towards Folly Beach. Our office is the second building on the left after you cross the last bridge on to Folly Island.
(The star marks the spot for Fred P. Holland Realty.)


By Gordon and Sarah Ell
There has been an enormous amount of amazing local non-fiction in recent months – and here’s a taster of one of those releases. Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Sarah and Gordon Ell is part of Oratia’s ‘The NZ Series’ and this extract is reproduced with permission.
By bringing molten rocks to the surface, volcanoes can deposit useful minerals on the surface of the earth. The molten rock (magma) may cool in various forms such as andesite or basalt. Inside these rocks there may be crystals or precious metals. Their composition is determined by the kinds of rock beneath the earth, and the effects on them of heat.
Magma flowing from the mouth of a volcano is known as lava. Sometimes it flows quite swiftly, forming a surface skin, while molten rock, at 1000°C or more, rushes underneath like an underground river. At other times it moves slowly, twisting and breaking as it cools, into piles of broken rock and scoria. There may be ‘bombs’ of rock thrown from the volcano as molten lumps, reshaped as they cool, falling to earth like giant stone teardrops.
Sometimes [lava] flows quite swiftly, forming a surface skin, while molten rock, at 1000°C or more, rushes underneath like an underground river.
Rock formations caused by flowing rivers of basalt are sometimes called pahoehoe, and produce billowing shapes, pillows of lava as may be seen in the cliffs at Oamaru and at Muriwai, west of Auckland. The broken surface of the rock produced by an aa (pronounced ‘ah-ah’) type eruption can be seen on Rangitoto Island and the scoria fields about the Auckland volcanoes, and at Mt Tongariro.
Tephra is a name used by geologists to describe material ejected as particles by a volcano (rather than lava, which flows as a mass of molten rock). Volcanic ash is a form of tephra, not the remains of something that has been burned like wood ash, for there is little burning in the volcano. The ‘smoke’ and ‘fire’ we may see during a volcanic eruption are actually gases escaping from the molten rock. Much of that gas is steam, and most ‘smoke’ coming out of a volcano is ash-charged steam.
Under New Zealand, the Australian and Pacific plates grind against each other, causing earthquakes and allowing molten rock to reach the surface and escape as volcanoes. (image: Tim Galloway)
These gases, erupting with the molten rock, may roar up into the sky in vast clouds. Volcanic ash and pumice then coat the land surrounding the volcano. Pumice is a rock light enough to float on water: gas has filled it with holes which help it float. Pumice from the central North Island is often found on west coast beaches, washed down to the sea by the Waikato River.
Volcanic eruptions may vary in violence with the amount of gas built up in the molten rock. Where the rock is free-flowing the volcano may erupt quite gently, the basalt lava streaming away from the crater, as the gases escape easily into the atmosphere. This is how the little volcanoes of the Auckland isthmus were born.
Where the rock is thick and tacky, in its molten form, then it is difficult for the gases to escape. The result may be a catastrophic explosion. In such a way, great clouds of gas lifted the heart out of Lake Taupo in a huge eruption recorded as a darkening of the skies by the ancient Greeks and Romans, on the other side of the earth. Molten rock is carried high into the air, often expanding with the gases, to form great showers of pumice which then falls on the land.
[…Great] clouds of gas lifted the heart out of Lake Taupo in a huge eruption recorded as a darkening of the skies by the ancient Greeks and Romans, on the other side of the earth.
In another kind of eruption, gas may escape across the surface of the land carrying with it a wall of hot sand, molten glass fragments and pumice. The rush of material flattens any forest and settles as a mantle across the land. In such a way the central North Island has been built up into the Volcanic Plateau. Successive pumice showers overlay thick beds of ignimbrite rocks created by these gaseous eruptions.
Much of the central North Island, north from Taupo and Tarawera, is covered in tephra from volcanic explosions. It may be seen in layers from successive eruptions, in places like road cuttings and riverbanks. The roots and branches of trees, overcome by the eruptions, are often still to be seen in the layers.
It may be seen in layers from successive eruptions, in places like road cuttings and riverbanks.
Geologists have given names to the various ash showers, the layers of mud and pumice which cover the land. Like a layer cake, they show the extent and violence of various eruptions. The Tarawera eruption of 1886 scattered pumice over some 900 square kilometres, while the Taupo eruption some 1800 years ago covered some 6000 square kilometres.
The weather and existing rivers may re-sort the deposits of ash. A river, held back by a new fall of ash, may form a temporary pond. When the dam of soft material bursts then the rush of water may coat the countryside in volcanic mud. Such mud flows are called lahars, and may leave hillocks on the land, as can be seen approaching the Chateau Tongariro Hotel and about Mt Taranaki. A mud flow bursting from the crater lake of Ruapehu in 1953 swept down the Tangiwai River, washing out a railway bridge and causing the deaths of 151 people when an overnight express train plunged into the river.
The kinds of minerals produced by volcanoes depend on the kinds of rocks melted under-ground. Broken fields of basalt may produce the red scoria used in roading work. Sometimes rocks fuse to form glass particles and even sheets of black glass called obsidian. Maori people used splinters of this glass from Mayor Island and Northland as tools to cut and scrape food.
The cones of mountains like Ngauruhoe and Taranaki are easy to identify as volcanoes. Yet there are other landforms created by volcanic activity that are not so obviously formed in this way. In places huge explosions have blown a hole in the earth, which is now filled with fresh water, like Lake Taupo. Perhaps a giant volcano has emptied itself and the countryside above has collapsed into the giant chamber that once held molten rock, such as the caldera of Lake Rotorua. Sometimes molten rock has simply oozed up from a fissure and built up a dome of rock, like Mt Ngongotaha at Rotorua.
The cones of mountains like Ngauruhoe and Taranaki are easy to identify as volcanoes. Yet there are other landforms created by volcanic activity that are not so obviously formed in this way.
Erosion can over time reveal other forms, such as the plugs and dykes that were once the molten skeletons of long-lost volcanoes, like the Coromandel Ranges.
Cone volcanoes, such as Ngauruhoe and Taranaki, are built up over centuries from steep layers of lava and ash. Such cones may produce secondary outlets as their main ‘throat’ becomes blocked with cooling magma.
Shield volcanoes are formed by runny magna, which flows quickly to form a smooth mound. Such volcanoes are quite easy to find in northern New Zealand. Often they are quite small, less than 100 metres high, such as the little Bay of Islands and Auckland cones. Their form is quickly produced, perhaps within two or three years, as basalt-type volcanoes rapidly exhaust their magma.
Extracted with permission from The NZ Series: Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Gordon Ell and Sarah Ell, published by Oratia Books.
Volcanoes And Earthquakes
By Gordon Ell and Sarah Ell
Published by Oratia Books


I upload all the images from my SD card to my laptop and import them to Adobe Lightroom. I then export all of them unedited to a folder on my computer.
I go through every image individually and star my favourite ones so I can come back and edit them, this saves me a lot of time! I roughly edit the selected photos using; crop, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, vibrance and clarity.
Subject: Mayan ruins
Brief: Photograph the landmarks and points of interest of the Mayan temples from my trip to Chichen Itza, Mexico.
Equipment: Sony a5000, Sony E-Mount 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 lens.
Post Production: Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop
Inspiration: Fernando Guerra, John Huba
At the beginning of 2016 my luck hit and all time high as I was fortunate enough to win a holiday to Cancun, Mexico, from a competition I entered in 2015. Me and my girlfriend decided to go during the Easter holidays, to which I thought was the perfect opportunity to capture some great images for my assignment! We did many exciting activities but one of the perks of the trip was getting to explore the 5000 year old Mayan temples at Chichen Itza. I took many photographs on the day trip, here are my top 5.
This is the main temple at Chichen Itza. Its design has one side facing the sun with segments between each step that shades the other side, giving this amazing light and dark effect. I really like this image as it shows a great example of that effect taking place, showing one half exposed and the other shaded. Having the composition of the temple straight down the middle, almost splits the image into two segments.
Whilst you walk around the site there are many market stalls that sell handcrafted wooden masks, these masks are suppose to resemble those that the Mayans would wear and decorate their constructions with. This mask was perfectly lit by a small gap of light shining through the forest trees, leaving the two on each side darkened by the shade. The details and colours are illuminated, making this image pop.
Another photograph of the ‘light side’ of the Mayan temple. From this perspective you get an idea of how big the structure is with other tourists stood underneath it. This photo is made by the composition and symmetry, the stair case straight down the centre, then the zig-zag pattern either side of it work in harmony.
The market stalls also sell materialistic pieces such as clothing and bowls. This stall particularly caught my eye due to the amount of vibrant colours. This photo works for the reason, its vibrancy, as well as the pattern and structure of the layout.
This stall sold small handcrafted wooden masks, similar to the previous photo the structure of the layout along with the vibrant colours makes this photo interesting to look at. Applying to both this image and the last one – I decided to use the photographs with higher aperture as I believed it looked better when the whole image was in focus, allowing you too see every detail. I have similar copies shot in f/3.5 that focus on the centre, leaving the fore/background out of focus, but didn’t have the same impact.
I researched multiple interviews with different photographers to get inspirations as to which questions I could ask. I came up with a list of questions and then narrowed them down to 8. I split them up into subcategories covering career, style & equipment and inspiration, that way I had some context to the questions I was asking.
The idea behind my shoot was to create something editorial, I wanted to use post production to make something artistic. I also wanted my photographs to have a meaning behind them, a message that can be conveyed through an image. A simple Google search bought me to a variety of ideas I could imitate. Seeing a few clever ideas, I found one that really stood out and would be realistic to achieve via post production
However, I didn’t want to copy it exactly the same so I thought about how I could make it have a meaning. I took the feature of colouring the eyes, but removed the paint brush and instead chose to create a frame with the subject’s hands.
I wanted to convey the meaning along the lines of “creativity is in the eyes of the beholder” and the importance of our vision. How we see the world through our own eyes and the colours and details we can appreciate. The fingers creating a box represents the window we see through or can be interpreted as a reference to photography, creating the frame of an image.
David Pullum is a UK based wedding photographer with plenty of experience in the industry. Covering all types of weddings from Russian to Jewish, his style of photography is impressive and inspiring. David has been named in the list of top 10 UK winter wedding photographers by ‘Professional Photographer Magazine’. As well as his work making appearances on BBC, ITV and Sky. I asked him a few questions about his career, style and love of photography.


Allow me to paint you a picture – a couple having their wedding day, somewhere in the deep nature of the Berkshires, upon a majestic meadow. Looks good, doesn’t it? Well, I’m happy to tell you that YOU could be that couple! There’s a fantastic Berkshires wedding venue that will make your dream celebration come true. A rustic barn, perfectly-manicured lawns, and enchanted trails through the woods are just some of the things that Bloom Meadows offers. And there’s a lot more where that came from! Let me tell you a little bit more about this amazing place.
Located in the heart of the Berkshires is the Bloom Meadows estate across 75 acres of grass fields and gardens. What makes it special are the spaces it features – the Bloom Barn, Silo, and the Parlor. Each of them offers a unique experience, making your Berkshires wedding an unforgettable experience.
To start things off is the Bloom Barn which features a mixture of rustic and contemporary styles. The heart-warming ambiance, the white shiplap walls, and the woody accents throughout the entire place make for stunning wedding backdrops. Additionally, the venue is perfectly designed for seamless celebrations with private dining, accommodating up to 170 guests. Finally, the homely barn includes amenities such as bathrooms, heat, and air conditioning – as well as a bar area for your guests to mingle through the night.
Another addition to this Berkshires wedding venue is the Silo – you can get ready or spend your first night as a married couple in this excellent building. It features a 14ft domed ceiling on the second floor, a king-sized bed, a fully-functional bathroom. It even has a cute kitchenette adorned with rustic brick, while on the first floor, there’s a full catering kitchen! At last, the view from the Silo’s deck will take your breath away – it can serve as the perfect backdrop for pictures!
Let’s not forget about the guys. Bloom Meadows has an exclusive space meant for the gents – the Parlor. Musky aromas of leather, wood, and velvet can be sensed throughout the room! Also, the Parlor has direct access to the Bloom grounds, where you can enjoy yard games before the actual wedding.
The design is also a unique aspect of this Berkshires wedding venue. Wooden and rustic elements adorn the whole place, complemented with delicate and elegant details. Couples can take advantage of the outdoor bar of the venue for cocktail hour and the stone firepit on the patio that’s lit after sundown. Additionally, Bloom Meadows has a team that can take care of every single thing that comes with planning a wedding. Just ask about their design ideas, vendor recommendations, and rehearsals. They will also ensure that everything comes out the way you envisioned it!
You can see why Bloom Meadows is a Berkshires wedding venue that will make your wedding an experience that I’m sure no one will forget! Naturally, I would suggest hiring a photographer who will truly capture the essence of this location and your love story. If you don’t know where to start looking, check out my portfolio. After all, you deserve an incredible photographic experience!


York Clinic for Integrated Health
296 Tadcaster Road
York, YO24 1ET
Reception is open
8:30am–12:30pm Monday to Friday
Arriving by car
The York Clinic is situated on the A1036 Tadcaster Road, York, between Chalfonts and Pulleyn Drive. The simplest way to get here from out of town by car is to come in from the outer ring road on the A1036 which leads in to York’s city centre. As you come in to town, York’s Knavesmire Racecourse will be seen on the right hand side of the road. The York Clinic will be found on the left hand side, opposite the York Racecourse.
Plenty of car parking is available to the rear of the building by following the drive at the side and under the archway to the rear courtyard – please drive carefully.
Arriving by bus
Bus numbers 3 (to/from Askham Bar park and ride), 4 and 12 all stop close to the clinic on 296 Tadcaster Road. See First Bus York for route maps and timetables.
Arriving by bike
Secure bicycle parking is available at the rear of the building, through the archway. See Travel York for cycle route maps.
We have step-free access into the building, as well as an accessible toilet on site. Please let your practitioner or reception know if you have additional access needs, and we will assist you in attending your appointment.


Malaga Retreat Center - December 4-11, 2016
The Malaga Retreat Center in South Spain is a gorgeous and peaceful location for this teacher training intensive. It will be a wonderful time of year to be at this location. The property is on land covered with orchards and gorgeous views. It is 30km away from Malaga.
For a gallery of pictures and more specific information on this location, CLICK HERE and scroll down to the title "Malaga Retreat Center, Seven hectares of venue, 30 kilometers away from Malaga".
There will be a shuttle pick up service arranged for participants to be taken from the airport or Malaga train station to the retreat center. This will cost 25€ each way per person.


Pease Public Library Event Calendar
|Time:||6:30 PM -|
|Title:||Cruising New Hampshire History|
|Description:||Join local author Michael Bruno who will be discussing his book Cruising New Hampshire History: A Guide to New Hampshire's Historical Roadside Markers. Michael was born and raised in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. After serving in the U.S. Army for more than 23 years, Michael returned to New Hampshire in 2009. Michael resides in the historic mountain community of Bethlehem. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
Snow date: Wednesday, January 23rd at 6:30 PM


Gardening in Tennessee
Hello. I've been looking for a place to discuss gardening, and this community seems to be a busy, helpful place. I live in a small town near the Great Smoky Mountains, and the springs here are lush and green. We're also far enough south that it's sometimes possible to overwinter some plants. I've discovered that my favorite plants are wild and delicate, like the Japanese bloodroot that hides in the shade, with its white flowers sheltering behind broad green leaves; like the pink-flowered wild geranium; like the white foamflower that grows so well in the local woods. Impatiens, so easy to grow in dark, out-of-the-way places, were once my favorite flowers, since almost nothing (except the squirrels and skunks that snap stems in containers while looking for grubs) can keep them from growing and spreading over the summer. But I find that I'm slowly relegating them to places further away from the public walkway. Once I loved nothing better than bright patches of impatiens, zinnias, and marigolds, but lush greenness in dappled light from the woods and pine trees is what I crave these days.


We are a full-service Portland asphalt paving company, specializing in residential, municipal and commercial paving. Our team services Portland Metro area including Portland, Gresham, Hillsborough, Beaverton, Vancouver, West Linn, Oregon City, Lake Oswego and many other places around Oregon. We are even available for areas outside of Portland such as Eugene and Salem. Just give us a call to get any questions about your next project answered.
For years we have been paving driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, and many other sites, throughout and around Oregon and Washington. Our commercial, residential, and municipal organizations recommend our paving . Please view our gallery of past paving, excavating, seal coating, and asphalt repair to see the before and after in detail. Our list of references also highlights many of the asphalt paving and excavation projects that we’ve worked on in the past.
All of our paving, excavating, seal coating, and asphalt repair is fully insured, bonded and licensed. Save money, time and stress by dealing with experts from Portland that are professional, experienced and affordable.
Call us to find out more information about our asphalt paving in Portland, OR and the area! Herb Van Cleve at (503) 492-7563


We have a wealth of experience in developing innovative technology solutions that go beyond geographic boundaries. With a hands-on understanding of the seafood products market and the fishing industry, Sayyad is set to change the way fishermen and investors connect.
Sayyad is designed to be a full solution for the entire seafood industry supply chain. This approach enables us to offer international exposure and opportunities for fishermen and investors alike.
Empowering fishermen all around the world with an online platform for selling their products for the best price while giving investors access to the world’s finest seafood products.
Building the world’s largest online platform for fair-trade seafood products and creating trade opportunities in markets with untapped potential.
We offer our clients all the services they need to buy and sell seafood products online.
We have a team of business and international law experts working behind the scenes to make Sayyad’s services possible.


TechArtista is a diverse, city-wide, ecosystem of coworking spaces made up of creatives, business types, non-profit professionals, and anyone with a calling. Our main goal is to provide a world-class, amenity-rich, coworking experience so that you can achieve yours.
Founded in 2014 at our flagship location in the Central West End, we’ve since expanded into Downtown, The Grove, and University City. In fact, we’re the only coworking company in St. Louis to offer universal access across multiple locations in the city to all of our members.
Documodernn has been a proud member of the TechArtista community since 2017. We thrive on the interaction, collaboration, and creativity in all areas of business that they represent — plus some of the coolest and fun office spaces out there. We highly recommend becoming a member. See you there! Back to CONTACT


Dirk Hartog was born in Amsterdam in 1580, the second son of Hartych Krijnen, a mariner, and Griet Jans. In February 1611, Hartog married 18-year-old Meynsgen Abels at Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk (Old Church), the same church in which he was baptised. It is not known whether the couple had any children.
Before joining the VOC in 1615, Hartog traded as a private merchant and skippered the small vessel Dolphyn (Dolphin) to a number of Baltic and Mediterranean ports. In January 1616, aged 35, he became the skipper of the 700-tonne Eendracht on its maiden voyage to Bantam in the East Indies. The ship embarked from Texel in North Holland along with four other vessels. It had a crew of 200 and carried 10 money chests containing 80,000 reales (pieces of eight), valued at about 200,000 guilders, which were to be delivered to VOC trading posts in the East Indies.1
Hartog saw ‘several islands, though uninhabited’, behind which a vast mainland could be seen.
In August 1616 Eendracht arrived at the Cape of Good Hope alone, after becoming separated from the fleet during a storm. It was restocked with supplies of fresh fruit, vegetables and drinking water, before departing the Cape three weeks later following the new Brouwer route. Eendracht sailed too far east, however, resulting in an unexpected encounter with the then unknown west coast of Australia, where Hartog saw ‘several islands, though uninhabited’, behind which a vast mainland could be seen.2
Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island
On 25 October 1616, Eendracht made landfall at the northern end of Dirk Hartog Island in Shark Bay, an area that was home to the Malgana people. Hartog and his crew spent two days ashore. The group examined the area thoroughly but determined that it held nothing of apparent commercial value. Before proceeding for Bantam on 27 October, they inscribed a testimony of their visit on a flattened pewter dinner plate.
Recording their landing date, the name of the ship and its senior crew, and details of the onward journey, this act transformed an ephemeral engagement into a tangible mark of discovery. The Hartog plate was nailed to an oak post placed on the rocky cliff top, overlooking what is now known as Cape Inscription. The message on the plate is translated as:
1616, 25 October, is here arrived the ship the Eendracht of Amsterdam, the upper-merchant Gillis Miebais of Liege, skipper Dirck Hatichs of Amsterdam; the 27th ditto set sail again for Bantam, the under-merchant Jan Stins, the upper-steersman Pieter Dookes van Bill, Anno 1616.
In December 1616, Eendracht reached Macassar, where 16 of its crew were killed in a confrontation with locals.3 Hartog then visited a number of trading posts to deliver the money chests, before departing Bantam one year later for the return passage to the Netherlands, arriving in the province of Zeeland in October 1618.
Following his history-making voyage, Hartog left the employment of the VOC and became the skipper of Geluckige Leeu (Lucky Lion), which sailed to various European ports. Dirk Hartog died in 1621, shortly before reaching the age of 41, and was buried in the grounds of the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam. The Eendracht, which embarked on a second voyage to the East Indies in May 1619, was eventually wrecked off the west coast of Ambon Island in May 1622. The wreck site has not been located.
The Land of the Eendracht
Hartog’s landing in 1616 had a significant impact on world geography and cartography, and foreshadowed a series of Dutch, British and French expeditions that would gradually, over the course of two centuries, put Australia on the map. As he sailed north from Shark Bay to Bantam, Hartog charted some 400 kilometres of the Western Australian coastline and named it after his ship, ’t Landt van de Eendracht (the Land of the Eendracht) or Eendrachtsland. This name soon began to appear on maps of the world, in place of the mythical Terra Australis Incognita. Among the earliest were the 1618 and 1627 outline charts by chief VOC cartographer Hessel Gerritsz.
Successive Dutch navigators, including Abel Tasman and Willem de Vlamingh, would extend the charts of the western, northern and southern coasts to give shape to Hartog’s Eendrachtsland, which was also known as ’t Zuyd Landt (the South Land) or ’t Grote Zuyd Landt (the Great South Land). In 1642 Tasman sighted new land that he called Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) after the Governor-General of the East Indies, Anthony van Diemen. In 1644 he completed charting a long stretch of northern coast from the Gulf of Carpentaria to North West Cape, connecting all the unfolding Dutch discoveries to form Hollandia Nova (New Holland). Tasman’s two voyages were the last major explorations of New Holland for some decades.
Proof of daring VOC ancestors
Dirk Hartog’s plate would lie undisturbed at its windswept island outpost for more than 80 years, until Willem de Vlamingh’s expedition in the ships Geelvinck (Yellow Finch), Nyptangh and Weseltje in 1696. De Vlamingh had been instructed to search for possible survivors from the wrecks of two VOC ships, Ridderschap van Holland (lost 1694) and Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon, lost 1656), and also to chart the remainder of the western coast of New Holland. While he was unable to locate any trace of the missing ships, his expedition resulted in the mapping of nearly 1,500 kilometres of coastline, as well as the naming of Rottnest Island, the Swan River and Steep Point, the most westerly point of Australia.
In February 1697, de Vlamingh and his crew landed at Dirk Hartog Island and by sheer coincidence discovered the inscribed Hartog plate, lying half-buried in the sand beside its now decayed oak post. Recognising its historic significance, de Vlamingh took the Hartog plate on board and replaced it with a new one engraved with his predecessor’s original message, as well as a record of his own visit. The plate was nailed to a new post of cypress pine collected from Rottnest Island. The inscription on the de Vlamingh plate is translated as:
1697, the 4 February, is here arrived the ship Geelvinck of Amsterdam; the commander and skipper Willem de Vlamingh of Vlieland, assistant Joannes Bremer of Copenhagen, upper-steersman Michil Bloem of the diocese of Bremen. The hooker the Nyptangh, skipper Gerrit Colaart of Amsterdam, assistant Theodoris Heirmans of the same, upper-steersman Gerrit Geritsen of Bremen. The galliot, the Weseltje, skipper Cornelis de Vlamingh of Vlieland, steersman Coert Gerritsen of Bremen; and from here set sail with our fleet to explore the Southland with destination Batavia.
In March 1697 de Vlamingh delivered Dirk Hartog’s plate to Batavia as ‘proof of the daring spirit of his ancestors’.4 The following year the plate was taken to the VOC headquarters, East India House, in Amsterdam, where it remained until the company was dissolved in 1799. In 1819 the plate was handed to the Koninklijk Kabinet van Zeldzaamheden (Royal Cabinet of Curiosities) in The Hague, which became part of the Rijksmuseum in 1883. Today it endures as a powerful icon of shared cultural heritage, symbolising the longstanding maritime connections between the Netherlands and Australia. In 1991 Dirk Hartog Island was included in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, in recognition of its outstanding natural universal values, while the Cape Inscription area was added to Australia’s National Heritage List in 2006 as a place of national significance.
The de Vlamingh plate has been in the collection of the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle since 1950. It was discovered by French Captain Emmanuel Hamelin of Naturaliste (part of Nicolas Baudin’s expedition) in 1801, and then recovered from the sands of time in 1818 by the French explorer Louis de Freycinet, who presented it to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris. The plate was rediscovered in 1940 and returned to Australia by the French government in 1947. It is one of the few material reminders of pre-British, 17th-century Dutch encounters with the continent that would come to be known as Australia.
The Dutch ultimately abandoned their interest in New Holland in the mid-18th century, having found nothing of commercial value in what they deemed a barren and inhospitable land. In 1770 the British navigator Lieutenant James Cook charted the elusive east coast of New Holland and named it New South Wales. In 1801–1803, Matthew Flinders’ circumnavigation showed that Terra Australis was an island, and not part of a larger southern landmass. Hartog’s Eendrachtsland, New Holland and the Great South Land were finally revealed to be one continent – Australia.
- Phillip E Playford, ‘Hartog, Dirk (1580–1621)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- J P Sigmond and L H Zuiderbaan, Dutch Discoveries of Australia: Shipwrecks, Treasures and Early Voyages off the West Coast, Batavian Lion, Amsterdam, 1995, p 36.
- Although Bantam is listed as the onward destination on the Hartog plate, VOC log books indicate Eendracht visited the Dutch factory at Macassar before sailing on to Banda and Bantam. See Western Australian Museum, ‘1616: Dirk Hartog’.
- Peter Sigmond, ‘Cultural Heritage and a Piece of Pewter’, in, Lindsey Shaw and Wendy Wilkins, eds, Dutch Connections: 400 Years of Australian-Dutch Maritime Links 1606–2006, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, 2006, p 83.


Old Mission Peninsula, MI
The 81 on East Bay is an unusual parcel – roughly 80 acres of undeveloped land with approximately 1,500 feet of shoreline along the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay. The developer’s goal was to create something special while preserving the natural resources and integrity of the property. To accomplish this, our team at Mansfield Land Use Consultants pursued a Planned Unit Development (PUD) instead of a Use-By-Right. The final design provides 65% preservation of open space including 83% of the shoreline bluff and 1,500 lineal feet of East Grand Traverse Bay waterfront.
Planned Unit Development (PUD)


Our warmest congratulations to Deborah Jack (St. Maarten) and Chemi Rosado-Seijo (Puerto Rico), who were among the 18 recipients of the Soros Arts Fellowship, which supports innovative mid-career artists and cultural producers advancing social change around the world. The fellowship provides artists with the resources to develop a large-scale project on their own terms in their own local contexts.
Deborah Jack (pronouns: she/her) will create To Make A Map of My Memory: Wayfinding Along Synaptic Topographies, linking cultural memory preservation in St. Maarten with climate justice through an archive of oral histories, a connected film, and multimedia installation. She will center the experiences of communities in small island nations bearing the brunt of climate disasters and work collaboratively with her community in St. Maarten to produce self-determined narratives and representations that confront issues of colonial extraction and cultural commodification for touristic consumption. Jack will combine voices and recollections on the island’s shifting landscape from elders in St. Maarten with archival imagery, vernacular photography, and present-day images of the changed landscape to create a poetic documentary project. With To Make a Map of My Memory, Jack underscores the importance of preserving these intangible histories within the broader collective memory of smaller islands and advocates for the value of island consciousness as a counter and cure to the extractive nature of landlocked continental forces.
Jack is a multidisciplinary artist based between St. Maarten and Jersey City whose work includes video installation, photography, and text. Her practice engages a variety of strategies for mining the intersections of histories, cultural memory, ecology, and climate change. Her work was featured in the exhibition Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s-Today at the MCA Chicago and will travel to ICA Boston in Fall 2023. In Fall 2021, a retrospective, Deborah Jack: 20 Years, was presented at Pen + Brush in New York City. Her work is in the collections of the MCA Chicago and the Smith College Museum of Art. Deborah received a Nancy Graves Grant for Visual Artists (2021) and she is a 2023 Changing Climate Resident at the Santa Fe Art Institute, as well as a Surf Point Foundation Artist in Residence. Deborah is currently a Professor of Art at New Jersey City University.[. . .]
Chemi Rosado-Seijo (pronouns: he/him) will work with residents from El Cerro, Puerto Rico, to transform the community into a “Green Barriada,” a self-sustaining and environmentally resilient community. El Cerro: From Metaphor to Reality seeks to position El Cerro as a model for energy, hydric, and food sovereignty. Rosado-Seijo will collaborate with this ancestral community to invest in its survival capacity and knowledge by building and teaching residents how to sustain energy and water-resilient homes through harvesting solar energy and rainwater. The construction of informal orchards and five new community gardens will encourage research about the agricultural history of El Cerro. The residents are instrumental partners in the design and implementation of these agro-ecological practices and community-led solutions for climate, environmental, and economic justice. The artist will collect and document these experiences, working methods, social and educational impact, and project histories to share in a print publication serving as a testament to the possibilities for other communities.
Rosado-Seijo is an artist who uses organizing, visual art, and sculpture to tell the story of his Puerto Rican identity and community. In 2020, Rosado-Seijo was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art‘s education department to develop a project entitled Beyond the Uniform, which engaged Museum of Modern Art‘s security department officers. He currently has a long term site-specific sculptural skate bowl at Art Omi. From 2009–2014, Rosado-Seijo organized exhibitions in his apartment in Santurce, creating a center for meeting and exchange in the Puerto Rican contemporary art scene. In 2006, together with Roberto “Boly” Cortez, they inaugurated La Perla’s Bowl, a sculpture built with residents of San Juan’s La Perla community that functions as both a skateboarding ramp and a pool. Since 2002, Rosado-Seijo has worked with residents of the El Cerro community to present art projects, workshops, and other initiatives. Rosado-Seijo had his first solo show at the Joan Miró Foundation, Barcelona (2000). Before that he worked with Michy Marxuach to open a gallery in 1998 that transformed into a not-for-profit organization presenting resources and exhibitions for contemporary artists in Puerto Rico.
For more information, see https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/soros-arts-fellowship Also see https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/fellows/chemi-rosado-seijo and https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/fellows/deborah-jack


'Goldberry!' [Frodo] cried. 'My fair lady, clad all in silver green! We have never said farewell to her, nor seen her since the evening!' He was so distressed that he turned back; but at that moment a clear call came rippling down. There on the hill-brow she stood beckoning to them: her hair was flying loose, and as it caught the sun it shone and shimmered. A light like the glint of water on dewy grass flashed from under her feet as she danced.
They hastened up the last slope, and stood breathless beside her. They bowed, but with a wave of her arm she bade them look round; and they looked out from the hill-top over lands under the morning. It was now as clear and far-seen as it had been veiled and misty when they stood upon the knoll in the Forest, which could now be seen rising pale and green out of the dark trees in the West. In that direction the land rose in wooded ridges, green, yellow, russet under the sun, beyond which lay hidden the valley of the Brandywine.
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, “Fog on the Barrow-downs”


The Pioneer team looks forward to meeting our Customers and Partners in person at the following events throughout 2023.
Apr 16 - 19
Senior Dining & Hospitality Conference – SDA Synergy: Conference
Marriott Marquis Houston 1777 Walker Street Houston, TX 77010
May 1 - 3
Los Angeles Convention Center 1201 South Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90015
May 7 - 10
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center 201 Waterfront Street Forest Heights, MD 20745
May 22 - 25
Ohio Health Care Association Convention and Expo
If you are unable to attend any of these events, please reach out to email@example.com and we can schedule a virtual demo of our products. We look forward to meeting you.


Role of Groundwater in Food Security
The work will assess the role of groundwater in supporting national food security goals in four nations in Asia and Africa ? China (East Asia), India (South Asia), Jordon (West Asia), and Tunisia (North Africa) as well as the region of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Each of these countries/regions have unique groundwater issues and need to be studied context-specific. For this research, fine resolution data will be collected for each nation as well as SSA. National partners, where possible, will be involved in data collection. The data collected will be used in analysing groundwater issues within the local constraints. Local partners will also be involved in developing future groundwater scenarios for these nations/regions. The IMPACT model will be applied with country-specific datasets to analyse the scenarios for food security within the country and their potential impact on global food markets.


New website design, digital colour guides for this global whisky brand and merchandise designs for their new t-shirt range.
Highland Park is one of only a handful of distilleries that still retains a traditional malting floor, turning each batch of malt by hand, in what is a physically demanding process.
To malt their barley, they steep it in the mineral rich water from the Crantit spring, before transferring it to the malting floor to slowly germinate. When it is ready, the barley is then placed in their kilns where the aromatic peating process begins.
The brand’s Orkney Islands home has history rooted back to 800AD when the Islands were owned and ruled by the Viking kingdoms of Denmark and Norway. Although Orkney became part of Scotland in 1468, Orcadians still feel a connection with their Viking heritage as one in three of them has Scandinavian DNA.
On International Viking Day – the day Highland Park’s Viking ancestors would shed their winter clothes and prepare their longships for the year ahead – by embarking on their very own adventure in the heart of Kirkwall.
Highland Park opened the doors and welcomed the world into their first ever store. As well as a retail space offering merchandise and whiskies and a tasting room, the new visitor experience store includes a gallery featuring works from local creatives. Over the summer we designed over 140 t-shirt concepts for Highland Park which was then hand screen-printed locally (16,000+).


GFW TASK FORCE
The GFW Elementary School will serve as the polling place for anyone who resides in the City of Gibbon (INCLUDING Moltke, Severance, Cornish, and Grafton Townships in Sibley County; and West Newton and Lafayette Townships in Nicollet County).
The GFW Middle School will serve as the polling place for anyone who resides in the City of Fairfax (INCLUDING Wellington, Cairo, Bandon, and Camp Townships in Renville County; and Ridgely Township in Nicollet County).
The GFW High School will serve anyone who resides in the City of Winthrop (INCLUDING Bismark, Transit, and Alfsborg Townships in Sibley County; Penn and Round Townships in McLeod County; and Bernadotte Township in Nicollet County).
If you have any questions about where your polling place is, please feel free to contact the school district office, or Sibley County Auditor’s Office. Only residents of the areas that I have listed are able to vote.
GFW has assembled a community task to help answer the following questions:
The answers to these questions will help determine what steps need to be taken as GFW marches into the future. Community input is greatly appreciated!


Experience, Engagement, Education
- Land in the middle of the Savanah to a personal welcome;
- Feel the vastness of the wild lands as you listen for the sounds of its inhabitants;
- Set forth on a safe and secure walking safari with a professional guide;
- Relax on a river boat safari and catch a glimpse of wildlife in a different setting;
- Rove over land on a driving safari for a chance to see a herd of elephants, a pride of lions or a band of hyenas in their natural habitat;
- Have a close encounter with the wildlife from the safety of your vehicle or boat;
- Visit a local village and engage with students in the local school.


If you’ve been enjoying the Olympic Games this year, you may have noticed some very interesting information regarding the Team GB artistic swimming duet of Kate Shortman and Isabelle Thorpe and their costumes – they’re made from recycled ocean plastics, otherwise known as Prevented Ocean Plastic, or Ocean Bound Plastic!
If you’ve read our blog post on our Top 5 Eco-Friendly Fabrics to Add to your Wardrobe, you’ll know that at RAINE Clothing, we’re no strangers to utilising recycled plastic that could have otherwise made its way into oceans or landfills, so we thought we’d give you a little more information on exactly what Prevented Ocean Plastic is, and why it’s such an incredible material!
What is Prevented Ocean Plastic?
Prevented Ocean Plastic, or Ocean Bound Plastic, is single-use plastic that is collected from coastal areas which are at high risk of pollution; this is plastic that would, if not for intervention, likely end up in the ocean, causing further harm to this important ecosystem. In fact, it’s actually estimated that about 80% of plastics currently polluting oceans worldwide come from land-based sources!
These single-use plastics, usually in the form of plastic bottles, have usually been dropped into water or beach areas as litter, and are mostly collected by volunteers, to prevent them from making it to the ocean and doing further damage there. This is because, due to the nature of ocean water, which contains high quantities of salt, single-use plastics become degraded and completely unviable for recycling, meaning that even if it were possible for these bottles to be removed from the ocean, they would just end up at a landfill and further contributing to greater pollution.
Experts currently define Prevented Ocean Plastic as plastic which is found within 30 miles of a coastal area or a major waterway which feeds into the ocean, but this definition does also include plastic which could in some way otherwise harm marine life.
Most commonly, these plastics are found to be harming water across South East Asia, South America, and the Galapagos Islands, the Mediterranean, Central America, and the Carribean, so it’s truly a worldwide issue.
What can I do to help?
The most simple answer is: recycle! Whilst these schemes are a great way to deal with the growing waste problem we’re facing globally, recycling your single used plastics is by far the best way to do your bit, so these plastics aren’t likely to end up in bodies of water in the first place!
Aside from that, as with most eco-friendly and sustainable materials, the more demand there is, the more recycling processes will be prioritised, and the more these recycled ocean plastics can be utilised! Luckily, there are lots of ways in which various companies are getting involved with these schemes, so you will be able to make some changes that can help! For example, some supermarkets are now getting involved in incorporating these recycled ocean plastics into their packaging, so it’s always worth doing your research and keeping your eye out for the Prevented Ocean Plastics logo where possible!
Another option to help this important cause is to try and purchase more recycled plastic products, such as rPET (recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate) or recycled Polyester, which are made from two of the largest contributors to Ocean Bound Plastic!
There’s plenty to be done and lots of global organisations to help, so please do try and get involved if possible.
We hope you found this information useful, and we’re so delighted that Team GB’s artistic swimming duet have chosen to opt for recycled ocean plastic costumes this year, to further highlight this incredibly important cause.
If you’d like to find out more about these recycled ocean plastics, please head over to preventedoceanplastic.com, where you can also find out what you can do to help!
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The largest recorded Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program grant (GusNIP grant)
Tuesday, November 22, 2022 (Tulsa, OK) – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that Hunger Free Oklahoma is the recipient of the largest recorded Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grant. The four-year grant award of $14.2 million, from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, is critical to expanding the Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) program to farmers markets and grocery stores in high-need areas across the state. Double Up Oklahoma offers a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $20 per day, on SNAP purchases for qualifying fruits and vegetables at participating locations.*
According to Richard Comeau, Senior Director of Programs at Hunger Free Oklahoma, the USDA grant will be transformative for Oklahoma with the potential to reach 50 of Oklahoma’s most food insecure communities.
“We will be working with communities and partners across the state to identify areas where access to nutritious food is severely limited and implementing programs that really meet the community’s needs,” said Comeau. “Oklahomans living in food deserts, rural communities, and areas with high health disparities will all have access to more nutritious food, improved food security, and the ability to stretch their budgets further amidst rising inflation and the end of COVID-19 support programs.”
Hunger Free Oklahoma has operated the Double Up Oklahoma program since 2019; at that time the program only existed at farmers markets. In the past three years, through strategic growth and partnerships, DUO has expanded and currently operates in 10 grocery stores, as well as 17 independent farmers markets across the state. Expanding the number of stores over the next four years will offer increased options and access to fresh fruits and vegetables for participating communities. Hunger Free Oklahoma believes this will have a huge impact on those communities.
“We are grateful to the USDA and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture for this opportunity and to all supporters who contributed towards the matching funds required to apply for this grant,” said Chris Bernard, Executive Director at Hunger Free Oklahoma. “Collectively, this support will allow us to make Double Up Oklahoma the largest nutrition incentive program in the region. More importantly, this grant allows us to make sure more communities have access to fresh fruits and vegetables and more Oklahomans have the resources they need to make healthy choices. At Hunger Free Oklahoma, we believe that ideas should be tested and when shown effective they should be scaled. This grant award is the next big step to scaling Double Up Oklahoma to every community in our state.”
“Recently HFO was highlighted in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health Fact Sheet for its goal of expanding DUO into all 77 counties in Oklahoma,” Chris continued. “This grant along with the private and state dollars committed to the program will help to reach more than 50% of that goal.”
Read more from the USDA press release here: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2022/11/22/usda-invests-more-59m-improve-dietary-health-and-nutrition-security
The DUO program expansion is funded through the USDA via the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, Ascension St. John, Sanford and Irene Burnstein Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS), Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Tulsa Area United Way, and The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation.
- To learn more about DUO and how to support Hunger Free Oklahoma’s mission, visit www.HungerFreeOK.org/DoubleUpOK.
- *SNAP participants interested in participating in the DUO program can find locations and information about the program at www.DoubleUpOklahoma.org.
Hunger Free Oklahoma works to leverage the power of collaboration to solve hunger in Oklahoma by improving systems, policies, and practices. Learn more at HungerFreeOK.org. Apply for SNAP by phone: 1 (877) 760-0114.
Double Up Oklahoma, a program of Hunger Free Oklahoma, doubles the value (up to $20 per day) of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars spent at participating farmers markets and grocery stores in Oklahoma. Learn more at DoubleUpOklahoma.org.


The Nike Air More Uptempo NYC representing New York City completes the upcoming Nike Air More Uptempo City Pack joined by the Chicago and Atlanta pairs.
This Nike Air More Uptempo comes dressed in a Wolf Grey, Midnight Navy and White color combination. Replacing the large ‘AIR’ on the panels we now have ‘NYC’. Grey covers the uppers while White lands on the NYC and Nike Swoosh. Completing the look is Navy which is applied to the Nike Swoosh and outlining.
Look for the Nike Air More Uptempo “NYC” to release on December 20th at select Nike Sportswear retailers and Nike.com. The retail price tag is set at $170 USD.
Color: Wolf Grey/White-Midnight Navy
Style Code: AJ3137-001
Release Date: December 20, 2017


There is a special something about traveling by bicycle.
I like to consider myself (arrogantly) quite a well-travelled chap. Aided by the wonders of an English passport, I am provided with very few visa complications around the world. I have travelled through almost 40 countries; each one carrying its own gem of uniqueness. Though, it was in Cambodia during a 9-month trip through Asia that I became quite disinterested in the conventional methods of travel. After all, it’s not about the destination, but about the journey, right? Apologies to the cramped buses, full of boozy ‘slack’ packers, that lost my custom, but I decided to invest more in the ‘journey’ side of traveling.
It was in Battambang, a city just southwest of Siam Reap where my travel buddy and I invested in two fixed-gear bicycles for $10 each. Using bungee cords and rope we attached our backpacks to the loose racks on the back of the bicycles, and began cycling south with no clear destination in mind.
The feeling of using your body to propel yourself across large masses of land is unexplainable.
Adventurously, instead of going directly from A to Z, you’re given the freedom to explore the many escapades that await, hidden, among the other 24 letters of the alphabet. As slow as this may seem, watching the environment pass you by while on a bicycle seems somewhat more visceral than through the transparent divide of a window. Being forced to stop due to a flat tire, or mild fatigue can allow you to elicit the most interesting of conversations from the wildest of characters.
Physically, the demand is wherever you want it to be. You have full control on how far you would like to push yourself for the day. Your heart rate remains at a steady, slightly elevated pace, for the entire journey. Meaning, unlike any other vacation, you finish your holiday in better shape than when you started.
Environmentally, you’re doing the world a big favour. The tourism industry is responsible for 5 – 12% of global greenhouse emissions (1), with air travel being the largest contributor of those emissions. Whereas cycling is the most environmentally efficient way to travel, who doesn’t want to reduce their carbon footprint using their feet?
Curious about your personal Carbon Footprint? Calculate yours here: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
After 3 weeks of cycling around Cambodia, covering over 1000 km, I rolled into Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on my faithful two-wheeled friend. Feeling tired, overwhelmed, and accomplished, I sensed that the small world that I was used to traveling had now become much larger.
I have now cycled over 5,000 km through 9 countries. Every trip reminds me how much more there is to see, and I can think of no better way to see it than from two wheels and a saddle.


Map reveals true scale of cocaine consumption across major European cities London, United Kingdom. 4th February 2021 – Today, to mark the launch of ZeroZeroZero, a drug-trafficking mini-series based on the book of the same name by Roberto Saviano, NOW TV and artist Nathan Wyburn unveiled a supersized map of the world comprised of 161kg of triple zero (000) flour. The artwork takes inspiration from the book’s tagline – “Look at cocaine and all you see is powder. Look through cocaine and you see the world” and highlights four peaks representing the European cities with the highest consumption rates.
Installed in Greenwich overlooking the City, Nathan crafted the map over a week, after months of preparation, using 161kg of the class A drug’s moniker, 000 flour. This is the gram for gram equivalent of cocaine consumed in London every week – the highest of any capital in Europe – worth upwards of £6,400,000 in street value. The artwork highlights four peaks representing the European cities with the highest consumption rate. The tallest peak is London (161kg per week, 23kg per day), twice that of Barcelona (80.18kg per week, 12.74kg per day) which occupies second place, and almost three times that of Amsterdam and Berlin in third and fourth position with the smallest peaks.
ZeroZeroZero follows the journey, cost, and devastation of transporting a large shipment of cocaine from Mexico to Europe. The 7 x 5 metre artwork shines a sobering spotlight on the UK and European consumption rates of cocaine. It features the most popular shipping routes to Europe and the UK from South America, the Caribbean, West Africa and Brazil with seven cargo ships illustrating how 77% of cocaine is carried by sea.
Featuring an all-star cast including Andrea Riseborough, Dane DeHaan and Gabriel Byrne, fast-paced series ZeroZeroZero focuses on the buyers, sellers and brokers who drive the frenzied and lethal world of international drug trafficking, Commenting on the installation author Roberto Saviano said: “There is a river that flows under the big cities, a white river that originates in South America, which crosses Africa and branches out everywhere. Men and women, heads down, walk along the London boulevards... under their feet flows that white river, it flows impetuously.”
Artist Nathan Wyburn added: “I’ve worked with all manner of unique ideas and mediums over the years. This intricate piece for NOW TV has been incredibly interesting to design but it’s also harrowing to see such shocking statistics piled high in flour form.”
According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA): ‘Cocaine is the most commonly used illicit stimulant drug in the European Union. Around 18 million adults (aged 15-64) in the EU have used cocaine at least once in their lifetime. Of these, around 3 million are young adults (aged 15-34) who have used the drug in the last year’.
The EMCDDA adds: ‘In 2018, the number of cocaine seizures and the quantity seized in the EU reached the highest levels ever recorded, with more than 110 000 seizures of cocaine reported, amounting to 181 tonnes’.
For support and guidance on cocaine use, and for more information on where to seek help, visit the NHS website or NOW TV’s charity partner The Mix. ZeroZeroZero is available on streaming service NOW TV and Sky Atlantic from 4th February.


Lake de la vie Country Estate is a premier wedding and conference venue in Port Elizabeth and is nestled between pristine forest and lake, set in the awe-inspiring Royalston Exclusive Residential Estate and Private Wildlife Reserve spanning 1000 hectares and teeming with over 2000 head of game ranging from the tiny Blue Duiker to the colossal Eland and includes herds of Wildebeest, Giraffe, Zebra, Nyala, Waterbuck, Lechwe, Blesbuck and the elusive Sable Antelope which is Royalston’s ambassador & emblem inspiration. Critically endangered species such as the Honey Badger, Knysna Woodpecker, Secretary Bird, Cape Eagle Owl and the Fish Eagle, make Royalston their home. With over 300 hectares of virgin coastal forest, vast plains, the lake and panoramic views of the deep Blue Indian Ocean. The Reserve carries a diverse array of fauna and flora including an abundance of Milkwood and Yellowood. Royalston offers the perfect sanctuary to both animal and man.
Lake de la vie Country Estate forms a key component of this exclusive development and reserve where one can escape from the chaos of the city and be transported to this haven, to enjoy the luxurious comforts of this world class venue. Should one enjoy a single night at Lake de la vie, imagine the opportunity of living at Royalston. The limited residential plots will be made available to the public in mid 2011 with the full infrastructure and services presently under construction. If you dream of a life in the country on a fully fledged game reserve with numerous activities from walking and hiking trails, horse riding and game drives or just game viewing from your own garden, this is the place for you. The reality is that one is only 5km from the nearest amenities. Royalston is truly one of a kind, ear-marked to set the bar for Eastern Cape development the estate will easily compare to South Africa’s top private residential estates. The entrance is a mere 8.5km West from Beverley Grove along the Kragga Kamma Road. For further information, please feel free to enquire at the Royalston Head office at 041 372 2113 or Pam Howcroft at Royalston Properties on 072 204 7289 for further information.
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CLOQUET, MN – Minnesota Wilderness forward Chikara Hanzawa will travel to Lithuania in January to represent team Japan in the 2020 Ice Hockey U20 World Championships. Hanzawa will be playing in the Division II Group A bracket where team Japan will face off against Great Britain, Spain, Serbia, and Lithuania during the tournament.
Hanzawa is currently a forward wearing #14 for the Wilderness.
”I’m extremely excited for Chikara to have the opportunity to represent his home country of Japan at the World Championship! It is a well-earned honor for Chikara to be able to represent his country and we look forward to watching his continued success over the tournament. ” commented Head Coach Jon Vaillancourt.
The Minnesota Wilderness is a Tier II Junior Hockey Team in the National American Hockey League (NAHL), based in Cloquet, Mn.


FOR PICKUP ONLY
Refreshment to go.
Order 4-packs and Cases to pick up in-store.
Our new line of single-origin cold brew, blended from our signature, in-season coffees. New coffees will be announced and released at the beginning of each month. Quantities are limited, so you don’t want to wait on these!
Grown in the Kochere region, close to the legendary town of Yirgacheffe, this coffee showcases all the amazing characteristics of an Ethiopian coffee perfectly. Bursting with natural strawberry flavors, complemented by crisp lemon and subtle tea-like qualities; it is summer in a can.
Flavor Profile: dried strawberry, lemon, jasmine, chamomile.


The Old Bell. 20 Bell Street, Henley-on-Thames. RG9 2BG.
The nearest car parks to the pub are situated off Kings Road and Greys Road. These are both Pay and Display car parks, but are free in the evenings. Please check the charges and times.
We are also only a 10 minute walk from the Henley-on-Thames train station, and seconds away from bus routes to Reading, Marlow, Wallingford, Twyford, and the surrounding villages.
We are a mere 2 minute perambulation from the River Thames if you are arriving by sailing craft.
Come and help us celebrate the New Year.
Entry is Free and by invite only.
Last entry is at 10pm and there will be a fantastic homemade curry served just after midnight to soak up the bubbly!
There are invites available behind the bar if you need any for friends and family.
All our regular (and irregular) customers are invited automatically (ie. You!).
The only restriction will be on how many we can fit in. First come, first served.


The half marathon will travel on a course identical to 2012. The full marathon will do one loop of the half marathon course, then branch off at about mile 11 and go further into residential roads in Hampton. (Marathoners do NOT go past the Half Marathon finish or near the start)
The second loop of the marathon will contain 4 miles of different rural roads, then joins back up on the original course at mile 15.5 of the first loop. For better hydration, water stops are now 2 miles apart.
As of right now, the elevation guide we have shows this to be the flattest course in New England for a Marathon, and half marathon.
The course is certified and a Boston Qualifier with a start and finish mat for the half and full marathon.
The race course has been measured and certified according to the USATF and is a Boston Qualifier. (Certified NH11027RF)
There are two small hills at miles 4 and 6, but the highest elevation gain is only 60ft!
Half Marathon Elevation Chart
Full Marathon Elevation chart
Both the Half marathon and the full marathon travel on mostly scenic country roads and include miles of oceanside views. The course is very flat - for New England - and has only one medium hill you travel over once in the half and twice in the full marathon.
Our course starts in the center of Hampton Beach near C street, and north of the large Sea Shell. The starting line is about 1/4 mile north of the famous Seashell on Hampton beach. Before you start, why not plunge into the cool ocean water at Hampton Beach Park? It has a wide sandy beach with bath-house, showers and lifeguards (in the summer) along with blocks of attractions, restaurants, and hotels.
The race for the Marathon and Half all start in one place. Wave to all your friends and family as off you go south on Rt. 1A or Ocean Boulevard for about 1 mile with the Atlantic Ocean and Hampton Beach to your right.. After a foliage laden loop of Hampton's rural roads and neighborhoods the course heads for the small but picturesque town of North Hampton, first settled in 1639.
Following the separation of New Hampshire from Massachusetts, this part of Hampton was known as "North Hill" or "North Parish". Just off the course are the Fuller Gardens, where you can enjoy two acres of formal flower gardens (hundreds of tulips and 2,000 rose bushes) on a turn-of-the-century estate.
There are century old historic homes, hay fields and stone walls all along the rural route. Some people love the inner loop even better than the famous ocean side of the course.
This is a "loop" course where the top of the loop eventually ends back up on Rt. 1A by mile 9. This loop includes some of the most scenic Atlantic Ocean roads on the rocky New Hampshire coast. Enjoy unobstructed views of the ocean and the rocky cliffs at Little Boars Head, a seaside promontory that became a fashionable summer resort in the 19th century, and contains elegant examples of Victorian and Edwardian architecture. You will travel on past North Hampton State Beach where it's still possible to find some peace and quiet, and you might even spot some hardy souls riding the waves. North Beach also has a sandy beach, bathhouse and lifeguards. Right on the water’s edge, the park offers beautiful gardens and places to spread out for a picnic or nap.
As you wind your way southward, you will have traveled the so-called “two-mile drive”, which is said to be the most spectacular ocean-side drive on the East Coast. On the left, nothing but ocean, on the right, expansive beautiful homes. Finally you'll return to finish at Hampton Beach and celebrate with a well-deserved after-race party.
Both the half and full marathoners run together until about mile 11. At about mile 11 the full Marathon separates from the Half Marathon. PLEASE be aware and listen to race marshals and see our large signs for the split.
You will end up back on on Winnacunnet Road and then wind through some delightful Hampton areas neighborhoods. So the Marathon course is different from the Half Marathon from about mile 13 to about mile 18.5. At mile 19.5 you will join back up with the half marathon course on Woodland street and go to North Hampton just like the first loop.
The marathon course has a medium grade hill at about mile 16.5 miles. This is the same loop we do in our Winter Half Marathon and this is a reasonably easy incline. The final 8 miles of the marathon course are the same as the half with those beautiful roads along the rugged New Hampshire coastline.


The Himalayas always offers serene beauty with lots of thrill and excitement. The mountains always challenge trekkers to conquer them bypassing the toughest trails and dangerous hikes.
Here, are some of the thrilling adventures that are on the bucket list of every trekker:
The wildest and dangerous treks in the Himalayas that will thrill and excitement at the same time. Chadar Trek is a walk on the Frozen Zanskar River, walking on a thick sheet of ice is a thought which gives goosebumps. The trek starts from Leh and the trail takes you through so many rocky mountains, colorful rock formations, frozen waterfalls, and tiny Zanskari hamlets. Adding a thrill to your adventure is the temperature here remains in -20 degrees. You will also get an opportunity to explore the culture of Leh and Ladakh. Chadar Trek attracts thousands of avid trekkers every year that undertakes this frozen challenge. Chadar happens only once in a year in the months of January and February.
STOK KANGRI TREK:
Stok Kangri is another Himalayan adventure that is a challenging one. The trek starts from the Ladakh region and includes trekking, steep climbing through snow patches, rocky mountains that can leave you breathless. The Stok kangri Peak offers the entire view of the Zanskar and the Indus Valley. The peak is located in the Hemis National Park. This high altitude trek requires a lot of stamina, physical and mental fitness, and strength. The best season to do this trek is in winter when the Himalayas are all snow-covered and offers great panoramic views. This trek also gives a chance to get an insight into the Ladakhi culture.
GOECHA LA TREK
With the spiritual aura of Sikkim and trekking to high altitude peak Goecha la (15,100ft) is an adventure to do. Goecha la trek offers amazing views of 16 peaks, snow-covered Himalayas, ravishing sunsets & sunrises, Himalayan forests, verdant meadows, gushing rivers, rhododendrons that will make you fall in love with this trek. Sikkim is the place where the trek begins, the holy spiritual place has its own charm. You will see the enchanting beauty of verdant valleys, alluring orchards, rich variety of flora and fauna, and a great ambiance that attracts a lot of tourists every year. The trek offers captivating views of Mount Pandim, Kabru, Rohtang, and the massive snow-covered Kanchenjunga with green landscapes, and serene beauty all around.
Here comes one of the toughest trek in the Garhwal Himalayas in Uttarakhand. Kalindi Pass is a high altitude mountain pass that connects Gangotri and Gastoli. It is located at an altitude of 5,920m and is a popular trekking destination in the Himalayas. The trek commences from takes you through many small beautiful lakes, glaciers, snowfields, and valleys. From Gangotri, the trek will take you to Vasuki Tal and ends at the holy place Badrinath. Kalindikhal trek offers majestic views of Shivling, Meru, Kedar, Kamet, Mana, and Abhi Gamin. You will holy vibes throughout the climb. It is a high glacial trek that demands strength, stamina, and survival in sub-zero temperatures. You will get an amazing experience of trekking and camping in the snow. The best time to do this trek is in summers from Mid-June to Mid-September.
PIN PARVATI PASS TREK
The Pin Parbati is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 5,319m and known as the toughest trekking destination in India. The whole trek is of 100km and can be covered in 15 days. The trek will take you through the lush green meadows, scenic mountains, and alluring passes. Pin Parvati trek commences from Manali and passes by so many small villages like Manikaran, Barshaini, Thakur Kuan, Kheerganga, Mantalai, etc. Trek and explore the villages, take a dip into the hot springs of Kheerganga, dense forests of oaks and rhododendrons, snow-covered peaks, glaciers, grazing pastures, and a lot more. The trail passes through the Pin Valley National Park which has a great variety of flora and fauna. You will spot some snow leopards and Himalayan birds. Pin Parvati Pass requires a lot of strength and stamina.
SHIVLING BASE CAMP TREK
The Himalayas have a lot to offer and always with the name of Lord Shiva. Shivling trek is a most spiritual trek in the Garhwal Himalayas. The Shivling Peak is perched at an elevation of 6,543m and it is one of the sacred peaks in the Himalayas. Shivling base camp trek is the most challenging trek and the trail takes you through the steep of curvy, rocky, and bumpy paths. The treks begin from Gangotri and go beyond to the base of Kirtibamak, and Kedardome. Experience the scenic views of Bhagirathi (I&II), Mt. Meru, Mt. Kedardome, and Sathopanth. The alluring lake is located in Gaumukh which is considered as the source of Bhagirathi River. Spend some time in the land of Shiva Bhoomi and feel peace.
All these thrilling treks are popular in the Himalayas. These are only for experienced trekkers who know trekking skills. Adventure always demands a positive mental attitude that helps in conquering.


A more detailed IP address report for www.Film.ru is below. At the time you pulled this report, the IP of www.Film.ru is 184.108.40.206 and is located in the time zone of Europe/Berlin. The context of www.Film.ru is "Film" and could reflect the theme of the content available on the resource. More IP details of www.Film.ru are shown below along with a map location.
|Host of this IP:||static.88-198-189-8.clients.your-server.de|
|Organization:||Hetzner Online GmbH|
|ISP/Hosting:||Hetzner Online GmbH|
|User Rating:||Rated / 5|
|Local Time:||10/24/2017 12:59 PM|
Find your IP address location by using the free IP tool to do it at IPAddress.com. Read more...
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Naples Florida is famous for its balmy tropical climate and sometimes visitors are surprised to learn that the first residential homes built in Collier County were equipped with central heating but most did not originally have central air conditioning systems.
The vast majority of Johnson’s customers know that although maybe few and far between, SW Florida has always been vulnerable to periods of cold weather and that the intensity and duration of each season can be very different from one year to the next.
The Florida Agricultural Plant Hardiness maps are a good indicator of whether your location is likely to drop below 32F degrees. If you are located near the Gulf of Mexico or Naples Bay, it can be expected that your heating system would rarely have to operate at or below freezing temperatures ; whereas heating systems to the east of US 41 and even further to east of Interstate 75 will have to operate at lower temperatures and for longer durations.
The data below was collected from Naples Municipal Airport over the past 15 years. It shows the Average High, Average Medium and Average Low Temperatures for each month of the year. Notice that Naples Municipal Airport recorded an average of .3 freezing days over a 15 year period and only during the month of December. We all know that other areas of Collier County reached freezing temperatures much more frequently than at Naples Airport. It’s located on the Gordon River at the foot of Naples Bay and in close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico keeps it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
SW Florida Construction Methods
While the demands of our heating season can be considered mild in comparison with other regions of Florida, the most common methods of construction used locally in the buildings served by our heating systems are not nearly as resistive to heating losses to outdoors though walls, windows, doors and ceilings in most cases. Likewise, residential and commercial systems for use in controlling the comfort of occupants are rightfully designed with cooling and dehumidification capabilities prioritized.
Architectural features that are popular include large rooms with high ceilings. The most effective air conditioning system configuration is diffusion of conditioned air into the space from ceiling or side wall locations located toward the center of spaces and directed downward toward the heat sources within the space.
Architecture and heating systems designed for use in regions where energy use for comfort is dominated by a cold climate are usually designed with the heat supplied near the floor using forced air systems with floor mounted diffusers or heated slabs and radiant heaters located at or near floor level. Each method addresses the heat rising to the ceiling through convection to favor the most frequent mode of operation.
Many of SW Florida central air systems are not very efficient when operated in heating mode ; the architectural design of many of the spaces served is in not conducive to efficient heating mode performance.
Many SW Florida interior spaces are designed in such a manner that the heated air rises up into high ceilings through convection taking the heated air away from occupants at floor level.
Often cold surfaces such as windows, sliders and tile or marbles floors add to comfort issues for occupants down in the living area while all of the heated air supplied into the room is just overhead in the high ceilings above them.
The thermostat is located above floor level near eye level of the users and is also quite a few feet below heated air that accumulates in the upper areas of a high volume ceiling space. The thermostat will continue to demand heating operation until the user set point has been satisfied by the room temperature in the exact location of the thermostat. Room air temperatures in high ceiling area above the thermostat could be as high as 20 degrees greater than the temperature of the indoor air at the thermostat level. When these scenarios combine, it increases the required hours of heating run-time required and the energy demand required.
Even though annual heating energy costs are far less than what is used for cooling and dehumidification of the conditioned air in summer weather mode, many of our heating systems and building designs run much higher energy cost per hour than would be tolerable in colder climates. Electric resistance heating is the most inefficient method used to provide heating mode comfort to occupants. It is also the most common type of heating system used in residential and commercial SW Florida Buildings. Even though annual utility costs for heating is just a fraction of what is used for cooling, many SW Florida owners of electric heating systems have had very high monthly statements for the months that the electric heating system was used.
Many of Johnson’s customers have ultra efficient heat pump systems that operate from cooling tower or geothermal water systems operated in their building, these are water source heat pump systems that are excellent for cooling and dehumidification uses and are heat pumps as a standard feature. Many SW Florida multi family condominiums utilize water source heat pumps.
Types of SW Florida Heating Systems
Only a handful of comfort heating systems in southwest Florida utilize the types fossil fuel combustion furnaces that are so common in northern areas of North America. The vast majority of residential and commercial comfort heating systems in SW Florida are dependent upon electrical utility energy sources ; some are heat pumps while others are less efficient electric resistance heating systems. Both use electrical power to heat indoor air for the comfort of occupants.
Heating systems require varying levels of maintenance. Electric Resistance heating systems have fewer components and while not requiring the same level of maintenance as heat pump systems, still need attention and regular testing. Electric heat components should be tested regularly during maintenance service of the central air system whether they have been used by occupants or not. Electric heating elements collect combustible dust and debris during operation in cooling mode than accumulates on the electric heating elements, if not regularly energized and tested the combustion becomes more severe when eventually energized. The only way to make sure electric heat will operate when needed is to maintain it even during long durations of not being used.
Heat pump system require the same maintenance and service requirements as air conditioning systems. Heat pumps utilize the same indoor and outdoor fans, heat exchangers and compressors that are used during cooling mode operation and share a control system that operates the same components, but differently as it switches between heating and cooling modes. Heat Pumps are reverse cycle refrigerant systems that can direct heat flow from outside to inside during heating mode operation and from inside to outside during air conditioning operation.


Hands On Hartford is located at:
55 Bartholomew Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
Currently, most of our programs operate at our Center for Community location at 55 Bartholomew Avenue in Hartford, CT. This includes our administrative offices, food pantry, neighborhood services, backpack nutrition program, housing services, community engagement offices, Faces of Homelessness, Cafe at Fifty-Five, catering and shared use space.
Our MANNA Community Meals program is located in downtown Hartford at 45 Church Street (located in Christ Church Cathedral, across from Hartford Stage).
Need additional directions? Having trouble finding us? Give us a call at 860.728.3201.