THOUGHT

38 NEWS
SPECIAL REPORT
39
Fire
Return to the dam, 50 years on
in
Work takes place in the shadow of the dam Work commenced in the mid-1960s The Clywedog Dam as it looks today
A
Shropshire sand
and gravel company
is supporting a
programme of work on one
of the biggest dams ever
to be built in Britain – more
than 50 years after they
first won a contract for the
project.
Tudor Griffiths Group, from Ellesmere,
first signed a deal to supply sand and gravel
for the building of the Clywedog Dam in
1964.
And now the family-owned company
has been called upon as part of a scheme
to install a new hydro-electric system in the
lower basin of the dam.
Managing director Tudor Griffiths said:
“It’s such a great feeling to be working on
the dam so many years after my grandfather
first won the initial contract.”
The Clywedog Dam was built to
eliminate flooding in the upper Severn valley,
creating a domestic water supply for a
large area of Wales and England, and also
generating electricity.
The site is three miles from Llanidloes
and 60 miles from the Tudor Griffiths head
office and quarry in Ellesmere.
“When the dam was built, it really was an
incredible feat of engineering, and to ensure
we could supply sufficient amounts of sand
and gravel, my Grandfather hired every
available tipper within a 30-mile radius of
Ellesmere,” said Tudor.
“Concreting of the main dam started
early in 1965 and continued until October
1967, and during that time approximately
252,000 cubic yards of concrete were
placed, so it really was a massive project.”
Once the dam was complete, the area
was landscaped to make it look like a natural
lake and the water stocked with 17,000 trout.
The Clywedog Sailing Club was also formed.
The current project on the dam involves
the installation of a new 100 kilowatt hydroelectric
system on the weir wall at the lower
basin of the dam, and Tudor Griffiths is
working alongside the appointed contractors,
Bentleys.
Director or Business Owner?
Looking for truly independent
financial advice?
There’s lots of financial advice out there - but when you’re busy running your business it’s
sometimes difficult to focus on your personal finances. Beaumont Financial Planners offer
truly independent financial advice tailored to your specific needs. Working with company
directors and business owners means that we understand the specific financial complexities and
needs of individuals whose finances may be closely linked to those of their business.
To find out why our clients voted Beaumont’s Mark Evans one of the Sunday Times VouchedFor
top 250 IFAs in the country, and what we could do for you, visit beaumont-financial.co.uk
or call us on 01691 670524 to arrange a free initial consultation.
Beaumont Financial Planners Limited is an appointed representative of pi financial ltd,
which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Beaumont Financial
Planners Limited is registered in England. Registered address - Emstry House North,
Sitka Drive, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6LG.
Registration number 08707394. pi financial ltd is registered in England. Registered address:
Morfe House, Belle Vue Road, Shrewsbury, SY3 7LU. Registration number 3556277.
Beaumont Financial Planners Limited
21 Salop Road, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 2NR
t 01691 670524 e mail@beaumont-financial.co.uk
www.beaumont-financial.co.uk
To arrange an appointment
with Mark, or one of our
other advisers, call us
on 01691 670524
his
belly
By Chris Austin
It started out as a road trip.
Christo McKinnon-Wood
took a beat-up old Enfield
bike over to India so that
he could do what the young
and adventurous do: go
travelling.
The founder of Kadai Firebowls
quickly fell in love. The culture, people
and treasures of that remarkable country
dazzled his senses.
An antiques dealer by trade, Christo
wondered whether he might ship a few
pieces of furniture back to the UK. He’d
started out on London’s King’s Road and
was sure there’d be a ready market for such
Indian treasures.
Christo was so enamoured with India
that he began to visit regularly and by 1995
he was regularly selling items at a small
antiques market in Shropshire, at Church
Stretton; a town in which he’d made a
home.
Josephine Beasley, Kadai’s marketing
manager, takes up the story: “Christo made
some really important connections in Indian
and nurtured some great relationships.”
It was during one of Christo’s many trips
to Rajasthan, in Northern Indian, that he
had the idea for Kadai Firebowls.
It was the mid-1990s and Christo had
been spending time with friends.
Taste for adventure – Christo McKinnon-Wood pictured on his travels in India
Barbecue time – firebowls come in
a variety of shapes and sizes
They were on a rooftop garden and as
the sun began to set the temperature fell.
Josephine says: “They had a big Kadai
bowl, the sort that are used to cook for large
numbers of people at festivals, parties and
weddings.
“It was just lying around but the people
there decided to use it get warm. So they
started chopping up old pieces of furniture
so that they could light a fire.”
The evening continued into the early
hours and when Christo awoke the next
day he saw a bright future. Kadai Firebowls
were born.
“He formed this idea of using those old
Indian cooking bowls. They were almost
obsolete and Christo decided to recondition
them to create a new product.”
Gradually, Christo’s business evolved
and by 2002 he was selling a range of
sandstone that had been hand carved by
highly skilled craftsmen in Rajasthan.
They used classic English designs from
the 18th century, creating inspiring works
that were quickly bought by the company’s
customers. His business, which is based
at Home Farm, Leebotwood, started to
take off. Over time, he developed a retail
outlet, just off the A49, while using a large
warehouse to store new treasures from his
regular visits to India.
His company’s ethos was about
embracing the outdoors, just as his friends
did in Indian. Christo found architectural
treasures that people could use in their own
gardens. Quality was king.
Josephine adds: “We work with a lot
of family workshops out there and all the
designs are unique to us. Christo comes
up with new ideas here in Shropshire then
goes over to India five times a year to help
the workmen create the new products. The
products are then shipped to us in large
containers. We get several each month.”
Creating desirable products, of course,
was only one part of Christo’s business. He
also had to find ways of introducing new
customers to his architectural antiques as
he developed a UK market.
u