A Wall Worth Saving

 

Unfortunately the building being rebuilt to make the new offices doesn't seem to be in tip-top condition.


This picture shows the back wall, that hopefully can be incorporated into the new building. Judhing by the timber used and the state of the rot it was probably built early in the last century.


This shows the back of the wall with the struts that are keeping it vertical. Note the rot at this end.

Devils Dyke

 

This picture shows us walking on the Devil's Dyke at Newmarket, with the July Racecourse in the background.


You tend to forget how long Newmarket has been involved with horses. The Dyke was built to keep the Southerners out of East Anglia in Saxon times.

Foaling Unit - Nearly Complete

 

This picture shows the nearly complete foaling unit.


Note the grass and one or two details still have to be sorted.

The picture shows the inside of one of the boxes in the unit.



Note the wood and steel sliding doors, the camera looking down into the stable and the new roof.

Sandringham

 

Today, I went up to the Royal Stud at Sandringham.

Now, I've visited many studs owned by the famous, the rich and the ordinary.


You don't really know that the buildings are a stud, as they're all hidden behind a long brick wall and it's only when you see this statue of Persimmon and see a tiny sign saying horse-boxes that you know you're there.


The Royal Studs don't do lots of expensive modern brick and are best described as functional, homely and professional.

Half an hour after arriving, I was back down the road again to Newmarket.

Demolishing the Cart Sheds

 

The new offices are being built on the site of the old cart sheds.




They didn't need much of a push to get them down.

As no-one was really interested in the great pile of fire-wood, it was taken away and burnt.

LED Lights

 

We have used LED lights under the eaves of the foaling unit to light the building.


They are more efficient and hopefully they will last a long time before they need replacement.


The lights are a set of three lights that we bought from Lighting Direct.

As you can see they are specified as being IP64 and are manufactured by JCC with a product number of JC71068.


This picture shows the three lights which are powered by a transformer and can easily be wired into any standard lighting circuit.

As an aside here, I tried to photograph the lights in the dark. Despite the fact they are more than adequate, they were impossible with my simple camera. So if you want to see what they look like, come and see them in action.

Lyndsey's Temporary Office

 

This is Lyndsey's temporary office, whilst the new ones are being built.


About all you can say for it is that it's blue.

New Garage

 

When we built the garage and boiler house for East Green Farm in 1992 or so, we didn't quite finish it off.


So here are the builders putting a proper concrete floor in. Hopefully, all the trouble we've had with nails left behind by the last set of builders will be buried under the concrete.


This is how it looked when the concreting was finished.

Mare and Foal Video

 

The software that comes with the network cameras allows you to take a video clip directly from the camera.

View a Video Clip of a Mare and Foal!
This has been uploaded to YouTube.

Network Cameras

 

All of the cameras in the new building are connected to the stud network so that they can be viewed from anywhere in the locality on any personal computer.


The picture above, captured on my office computer, shows the image from one of the Sony cameras we have installed in a foaling box. This one has full infra-red and has been fitted with a fish-eye lens to get a complete view of the stable.


The camera is shown here. They cost around £200 each and are made to an IP65 specification, which basically means they are waterproof and dustproof. I wouldn't trust them to be steam proof, when you steam clean a stable, but they may well be.

Note how it is angled down and has been modified by removing the cowl.

You will notice that in this case the camera is linked to mains electricity and also connected directly to the computer network that runs around the stables and offices. You can also link them to computers in the office using a radio link if this is more convenient.


This is another view of a camera. Note that here, the cowel has not been cut back.

I think it is true to say that the advantages of this sort of camera over traditionally CCTV cameras will increase in the next few years, as better software and more capable cameras are released into the market.