As you probably know, efficiency is improved through smart division of labour, and it was this principle that we employed on our last day on the Isle of Wight.
Whilst Peter Mildon and Ondrej Komora were left at the house to do final bits of tidying and bail out Peter’s boat, which by this time had sunk at least three times, most of the team (Ryan Weedon, Oliver Armitage, Tom Whitehead and David Ooi) headed to St James’ Square, Newport, to set up, together with Eco Island, for a 10.00 – 14.00 showcase of our glorious vehicles – Endeavour, an electric ice cream van and a small electric three-seater, – and a chance to meet and share our knowledge with the general public.
Joni Rhodes, Operations Manager at EcoIsland, letting the CUER team use EcoIsland’s electric car at St James’ Square, Newport
At the same time, Keno Mario-Ghae and Anastasia Bykova set off to ‘try it on,’ for lack of a better phrase, with Isle of Wight Radio, having been unsuccessful in infiltrating their office just the day before. In an unforeseen series of circumstances, and after the clarity of early morning thought turned us spontaneously into a ‘meals on wheels’-type arrangement for the convenience of the lovely presenter Lucy Morgan, we were live on air and then interviewed for a pre-recorded broadcast next week. We would like to thank Isle of Wight Radio, and, of course, Lucy in particular for the opportunity to broadcast our message and for letting strangers into the building first thing in the morning.
Anastasia Bykova and Keno Mario-Ghae in front of the Isle of Wight Radio Van, Newport
Ryan Weedon, Keno Mario-Ghae, and Anastasia Bykova in front of the Isle of Wight Radio Station, Newport
Lucy Morgan of Isle of Wight Radio with Keno Mario-Ghae, broadcasting live and recording an interview about CUER
Lucy Morgan of Isle of Wight Radio with Anastasia Bykova, broadcasting live and recording an interview about CUER
By the time the team got together at St James’ Square, were were already gathering crowds of passers by, some of which kindly announced that they had just heard us on the radio. We had a fantastic time of it – enjoying the glorious weather, talking to everyone, and letting kids climb into Endeavour. As a matter of fact, we even managed to secure some funding, right there and then, in relation to the ‘Name on Our New Car’ scheme, thank you, William Sheaf!
Joni Rhodes, Operations Manager at EcoIsland, testing out Endeavour at St James’ Square, Newport
Ryan Weedon, Tom Whitehead, Oliver Armitage, David Ooi, and Keno Mario-Ghae showing Endeavour to the general public at St James’ Square, Newport
Children loving climbing into Endeavour at St James’ Square, Newport
Children loving climbing into Endeavour at St James’ Square, Newport
Tom Whitehead explaining Endeavour to Alex Barroso at St James’ Square, Newport
We met many children at St Jame’s Square, but one young man deserves a special mention for being particularly interested in Endeavour and the team, and even getting involved in helping us get Endeavour onto her trailer for the journey back to Cambridge. Unfortunately we couldn’t take Alex Barroso, pictured above and below, with us, but we hope that one day he too will be working on a CUER solar car and inspiring the next generation!
Reaching out to inquiring young minds and having a great time at St James’ Square, Newport
Alex Barroso, showcasing Endeavour
Eventually it was time to pack up and set off for Cambridge. We were sad to leave the Isle of Wight and all the wonderful people we met there, and the fact that we got split up into two groups for the ferries did not help, but one thing cheered us up: we were allowed to go onto the bridge of the three o’clock ferry and steer it to Portsmouth! We suppose that since Wightlink kindly provided us with free tickets, it was only fair that we worked for them for a bit. We would like to thank Captain Smith for the privilege.
Captain M Smith of Wightlink and Keno Mario-Ghae after letting us have a go at steering the ferry most of the way back to Portsmouth
Sometime on the same day we ended up on the closed M25, where we were able to put a smile on many faces stuck with us in traffic and even hand out leaflets about CUER and Endeavour to other drivers. However, the journey had to end and so we leave you with this thought: if you are reading this and have a little bit of cash to spare, CUER need a banner to go on the trailer when Endeavour is being driven around the country, otherwise everyone is distracted by the need to find out what this wonderful looking vehicle is (Endeavour), strapped up behind the Land Rover. And just think how much havoc we would cause (not to mention neck pains) with our next car, unless people have a fast and safe way of finding out what it is that they are looking at and how to find out more.
Special thanks to ARM, JaguarLandRover, Isle of Wight Council, Radio and County Press, Wightlink, and Ryde School.
Endeavour
