Daimler DB 18 Drophead Coupe at Brookalnds

This rare vehicle (a Daimler DB18 Drophead Coupe) is due to be auctioned at Brooklands on 4th December 2010. It was used by Winston Churchill in his 1944 and 1949 General Election Campaigns. The vehicle has recently been completely refurbished ready for sale. It is expected to be sold for around £250,000.

The irony is this car was re-furbished in Germany!!!

Our sister company is in the news with it’s aerial photography of the proposed new Cobham Motorway Services Area site.  Ian Leslie, director of High Level Photography, specialist Low altitude aerial photography.  Normally useing specialst Vehicle that have mast that reach up to 25 metres / 84 feet.  This time Ian, a pilot and local resident of Cobham, went up as he realised none of the local newspapers or online article had any photographs showing the impact the development would have.

Site of Cobham Motorway Services Area M25 Surrey (c) Ian Leslie High Level Photography

Read more information on this at High Level Photography’s site an the following detailed article on the Cobham Motorways Services M25 Site.

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Brooklands Motoring Festival a Great Success

Bugatti Beats All Comers in Double Twelve Competition

Riley Sprints to Top Honours on the Track

Brooklands 1907- 1939 Memorial

A 1926 Bugatti Type 35 which was sold to its first owner by Brooklands personality Malcolm Campbell made a triumphant return to the Birthplace of British Motorsport.  It beat a strong field of immaculate classic cars to take overall first place in the Brooklands Double Twelve competition on Sunday for its current owner, Chris Jaques. And in a similarly nail-biting finish on the Mercedes-Benz World circuit next door, Pete Candy’s 1936 Riley Special “Super Rat” stole first place in the Brooklands Speed Trials by just 0.2 sec from Terry Crabb’s ERA  R12C. The two competitions kept a strong crowd at the 2010 Brooklands Double Twelve Motoring Festival – organised by Brooklands Museum and the Vintage Sports-Car Club – captivated throughout two days of motoring action, spectacle and glamour which culminated with the Museum’s Royal Patron Prince Michael of Kent presenting the Double Twelve prizes.

In the Double Twelve competition – in which car and driver had to excel in both complicated driving tests and the rigorous judging of a concours d’élégance to be in with a chance of winning – the Bugatti narrowly but decisively beat Simon Taylor’s beautiful 1937 Bentley 4¼ litre Sedanca Coupé, which was a winner at last year’s Pebble Beach concours in the USA. Other class winners included John Dennis’ 1907/16 Berliet-Curtiss racer, Alex Pilkington’s 1930 Alfa Romeo 1750 Zagato, Bryan Smart’s 1973 Porsche 2.7 RS Carrera and Jo Moss’ 1973 Morgan Plus 8.

Another historic Grand Prix Bugatti claimed honours in the Brooklands Speed Trials – this time it was Martin Overington’s spectacular 1927 Type 35B grand prix car, which was the fastest Vintage (pre-1931) car, taking just 1.36 longer to cover the 900 metre course than Candy’s time of 43.0 sec. The fastest road-going sports car was Andrew Mitchell’s 1937 HRG 1½ litre, and honours in the closely-fought Edwardian (pre-1919) class – with six giant racers taking part – went to Karl Foulkes-Halbard’s  5 litre 1907 Corbin Vanderbilt Cup car.

Brooklands Museum Director Allan Winn said: “The 2010 Brooklands Double Twelve Motoring Festival proved to be a real hit with competitors and spectators alike. We were very pleased to see so many families and enthusiasts enjoying the biggest competition event held at Brooklands since the original circuit closed in 1939. We look forward to building on the success of this weekend at the next event in June 2011.”

Mike Stripe, Secretary of the Vintage Sports-Car Club commented: “The VSCC and Brooklands have a natural affinity and it was most pleasing to see the two organisations working together for the Brooklands Double Twelve Motoring Festival.  Close but friendly competition was the flavour of the weekend, both on the Mercedes-Benz World track and on the legendary Brooklands banking, some 70 years on from the first Double Twelve Events in the 1920s and 30s”.

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Sandra Niehaus from Closed Loop Marketing

Sandra Niehaus continues her series of great articles about the use of using photos effectively in websites.

This article continues a series of guidelines to help you with website image selection. Part 1,  covered some general principles to consider. Part 2 discussed ways to use images to support your company’s brand. In this article she will discuss ways to deal with a tricky image element — the human face.

Using faces in photos on your website presents some unique challenges. I’ll group these challenges into two major groups for this article: “Faces draw attention” and ”Faces don’t mean the same thing to everyone.”

Major Challenge #1: Faces Draw Attention

People look at faces. That’s just how we’re built, as humans. We look at eyes and mouths in particular to help us identify the person, their mood, and their intent towards us.

This can pose a problem for websites if faces are not used carefully. A face — or faces — in a prominent location on your web page can easily distract attention away from your product, message, or call to action. In other words, faces can become a true detriment to your website.

For example, take a look at the Shutterfly home page:

Since I’ve had to shrink down the size quite a bit for inclusion here, the distraction effect is a bit exaggerated. But you can see, even at this size, how the faces on the page attract your attention — to the detriment of the “Learn more” and “Go” buttons. It’s a tough challenge for a photo product site, to be sure!

As another example, take this on-site promotion from Target.com:

This is a pleasing ad with a strong, clear message. But theNow, given enough time a visitor would eventually see the main call to action in this promotion. If you missed it the first time, take another look — it’s the “Shop These Looks” text link. The models’ faces are pleasing, but they are a much stronger element than the call to action.

Suggestions for Dealing with This Issue

Turn the face towards your offering

You can use the attractive power of a face by turning it towards your product or call to action. Depending on the context, this can help direct your visitor’s attention to the area you want them to peruse.  This full article can be found at http://www.wilsonweb.com/design/niehaus-choosing-images3.htm

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ex Formula 1 Racing driver Jonathan Palmer congratulates Glen Heavens on adding another Beech King Air 200GT to Synergy’s fleet.

This new arrival now makes Synergy Aviation one of the largest King Air operators in Europe

All of the aircraft are available for charter and have been fitted with the Raisbeck modifications allowing for greater performance.

Glen Heavens, MD of Synergy, commented “we are thrilled that the market is still thriving for King Air management and charter. Synergy continues to develop its expertise in relation to this aircraft type enabling us to offer greater capacity.  Furthermore we have succeeded in gaining approval for RVSM capability allowing the King Air 200GTs to cruise at 35,000ft thus making it a seriously cost effective option for chartering domestically and into Europe”.

Synergy also welcomes a London Biggin Hill based Cessna Citation CJ (G-THNX) which joins alongside Synergy’s London Luton based Cessna Citation CJ2+ (G-SYGC).

Synergy’s Paddy Magan in front of Citation CJ (G-THNX)

The Citation CJ  is new to the charter market and offers the very latest cabin interior,  which is providing a popular option to travellers looking for a more cost effective entry level jet on those longer European sectors.

Jane Thompson – Synergy Aviation's new Marketing Director

When asked how the company was performing Glen said “Overall we are very pleased to be growing in difficult financial conditions, whilst the market is not as buoyant as the industry would like Synergy is still trading well”.  ”We are also delighted to welcome on board Jane Thompson as our new Marketing Director who joins us with a strong aviation background” .

Jane will be joining Glen Heavens – Managing Director, Paddy Magan – Commercial Director and Alastair Summers – Operations Manager, at EBACE this year in Geneva.

Synergy continues to operate a mixed fleet of Piston, turbo-prop and jet aircraft throughout Europe giving clients an ever-broader aircraft choice allowing for more cost effective options when chartering for VIP, AOG, medical or cargo business.

Synergy Aviation are available 24hrs a day 7 days a week and can be contacted on 08456 747 747 or +44 1276 485 747 or visit www.synergyaviation.co.uk

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Medius / High Level Photography were at BNI-Elmbridge this morning to photography Mr Nick Lunness and Mr Neville Godwin shaking hands over a recent business referral.

Press Release Issued:-

A SURREY wine merchant has won the sole UK distribution rights for an Australian brand of wine that is taking the world by storm
Nick Lunness of Woking-based Wines For U, secured the contract for Peccavi Wines following a chance conversation with the owner of a design agency at a Business Network International (BNI) meeting.

Nick got talking to Neville Godwin from ngd Agency, a branding and design agency – www.ngdagency.com – also based in Woking, at the Elmbridge chapter. He was designing the Peccavi Wines’ website and knew his client was looking to appoint a UK distributor for the range of wines.

Nick, who is a member of BNI Woking, was suffering in the recession. He talked about diversifying and going into distribution. Neville explained Peccavi’s vision of producing the best possible wine from the Margaret River region of Australia.

Owner Jeremy Muller (who also has a Surrey connection as he was born in Woking) agreed that a word-of-mouth launch of his boutique range of wines was the way to go and was happy to appoint www.winesforu.co.uk

as sole UK distributor.

Nick Lunness said: “Life had been crazy at the beginning of 2009. My business had just gone through the worst three months on record. I was at a BNI meeting when I got talking to Neville. We spoke about my work and the direction I wanted it to go in. Then Neville said: ‘A friend of mine is launching a new wine in Australia and they have no UK distribution. Are you interested?’ My answer was yes and once I knew about Jeremy’s vision for Peccavi wines, I knew I had to be part of the process. The wine has just arrived in the UK and I am looking forward to distributing this wonderful brand to wine lovers.”

Neville Godwin, who was delighted to introduce Wines For U to Peccavi, said: “This deal has the potential to completely redefine Nick’s business. I am really pleased I was able to help him secure the sole UK distribution rights for this premium range of wines.”

Jeremy bought the established vineyard in Margaret River in 2005 and renamed it Peccavi Estate. His team produce two ranges of wines – Peccavi, from single vineyard estate grown fruit and No Regrets, featuring two of Margaret River’s classic blends. The wine is available in its homeland Australia, Singapore, where finance broker Jeremy is based, Hong Kong, Belgium and now the UK.

It has met with critical acclaim from wine critics and is available in some of the world’s top hotels and restaurants.

Its namesake premium range – Peccavi – includes a Shiraz 2007, Chardonnay 2006 and a Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, priced at £24.99 a bottle.

The mid-range – No Regrets – is made up of a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillion blend 2008 and a Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 which will be changing to a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend, priced at £12.99 a bottle.

Asked why he chose the name Peccavi, Jeremy Muller said: “Peccavi appealed to me on so many levels. Whether it’s the image of the cheeky dispatch of ‘Peccavi’ by General Napier or the tongue in cheek connotation when alongside ‘no regrets’, there is something in the name that says ‘go on, enjoy life and all will be well’.”

• For more information about Peccavi wines go to www.peccavi-wines.com

• UK distributor Nick Lunness of winesforu.co.uk can be contacted on 01483 770005 or 07930 471420.

• Neville Godwin of ngd Agency is available on 01483 559662 or 07889 499853

• Nick and Neville are members of Business Network International (BNI). BNI is a business referral network, whereby members actively seek to recommend their fellow members, thereby maximising business opportunities. It is an international organisation set up by Dr Ivan Misner in 1985. BNI has 5,400 chapters across the world.

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Any news story you need covered let us know.

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