Segaran Family News - 2024 - A year in pictures

In March 2024, Jane and I sold our majority stake in Tele-Products Ltd. The sale went through smoothly with all jobs protected - a great outcome for the company we founded 36 years ago.

Retirement has been busy! Holidays in the Azores, Tanzania and a break in Scarborough, with Emily, Justin, Luke and Sarah. It has also meant more time devoted to green festivals, eco fairs and markets, where we have passed on techniques for 'protecting the environment and building resilience to climate change'. Check out www.sf-innovations.co.uk for more info.

Joseph turned 40 in February and spent a few days celebrating in Rome with Richard. He has taken the plunge and applied for Dutch citizenship, after 20 years of living there. He retains his British citizenship, and of course his Yorkshire passport.

Emily squeezed in numerous Lindy Hop weekends, music gigs and festivals into her busy life in Nottingham. Justin and her managed a get away to Croatia. Here she is, organising campus Pride march in her role as EDI officer at Loughborough Uni.

We had a great holiday in Sri Lanka with Luke & Sarah - the cooking lesson being a high point. They got engaged this year, with the wedding planned for next summer. Sarah is busy at LNER, keeping the trains running and Luke has taken up actual running, with plans for a triathlon at some point.

Having retired a few years earlier, Jane has a good rhythm to her week, with Yoga, handing out intercepted waste food at St Luke's Church  and cooking at the Foxwood 'pay as you feel' community café. I am still tinkering with electronics for pleasure and trying to build a similar pattern of volunteering roles.

Our book publishing had a boost this year, with Joseph giving the website a new look. He came over in August to work alongside me and get familiar with the Amazon publishing platform. You can see the new website here. 

Here are a few more family photos to finish - wishing everyone a wonderful 2025.

Segaran Family - A year in pictures 2022

Here is a round up of news and images from 2022

Jane and my book project for this year was publishing a collection of recipes from the many members of the Navaratnam Family (Seggy's maternal grandad).  This recipe book has contributions from various members of the extended family. They cover dishes from around the world to reflect the global nature of this family. It includes many recipes from the Segaran family.

Emily as bridesmaid, holidaying on the Amalfi coast with Justin, braving the weather as scout leader and made up for Halloween.

Joseph and Richard visiting us in York, as extras in a film and celebrating Richards Birthday in Ibiza.

Luke and Sarah in Portugal, celebrating Sarah's birthday and Luke with friend in Budapest.

Our 2022 highpoint was celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary with family and friends.

Jane and I were busy throughout the year at Green Festivals, Eco Fairs & Markets and at numerous environmental awareness events. We found this work fantastically rewarding and enjoyable.

If anyone would like to keep up with this check out our website www.sf-innovations.co.uk and/or follow our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SFInnovationsLtd

As we see another year ending and a new one around the corner, we would like to wish everyone a peaceful 2023. 

Jane and Seggy

 

Segaran Family - A year in pictures, 2021

Anyone who made it through 2021 - with all the various lock-downs and restrictions - needs a medal. Well done.

January kicked off with a virtual international book launch for a book on Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Mannar, Sri Lanka by Thiru Arumugam. We had delegates from the US, Canada, UK, Australia and even one from Sri Lanka even though it was the middle of the night. See all our books here at www.ohmbooks.com

Here are some photos from Joseph, Emily and Luke. Joseph & Richard managed to visit us in September, the first time we'd seen them in the flesh since the wedding in March 2020. Emily spent a very active year body boarding, climbing and camping as well as visiting family in London and the 'famous' Marble Arch mound. Luke and Sarah became proud homeowners in July and have been busy moulding the house to their taste.

 

As restrictions lifted, we filled the second half of the year with workshops at various festivals, eco markets and fairs to promote renewable energy  and helping build resilience to climate change. Off-grid solar power, Haybox thermal cookers and rocket stoves were on display.

We visited Belper, Shrewsbury, Pickering, Fulford, Redcar, Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds and York with our pop-up stall, demos and banners. There was much interest in the flat pack rocket stoves - ask if you want to know more!

Here is a small selection from our short breaks and trips - NY Moors, Northumberland, Lake District and the Dales. Pretty much all local holidays this year. Also a Covid secure trip to the Ballet plus all dressed up for Valentines Day dinner at home.

2021 was also good year for the garden, both at home and at Beetle Bank Farm.

We wish all our friends and family a peaceful New Year.

Jane & Seggy

 

 

Segaran family - A year in Pictures 2020

It has certainly been a different year to the one we planned to have back in January 2020. But in general, we have a lot to be thankful for. We have acquired new skills, took pleasure in doing things locally and spent time with distant friends using Zoom and a myriad other video apps. 

Jane set up a spare room as her sewing workshop, updated her sewing machine went on a few virtual courses to up-skill and started sewing bags for the mini rocket stove and for the Wonderbox thermal cooker in earnest.

Wishing everybody a Happy New Year. Below are are some of the family highlights from 2020. 

January: We attended our first Solar Cooking Conference in Faro and presented 2 papers. It was great to meet solar cooking enthusiasts from across the world and share stories.

February: We pick up our caravan - the first part of our plan this year to take our low impact cooking workshops out to a number of green festivals. We used it to run remote workshops from as well as to discover Yorkshire over the summer.

March: The year's highlight was being part of the celebrations surrounding Joseph's and Richard's wedding. It was a lovely lovely family gathering - here are a few photos to try and capture the event.

Little did we know how lucky we were to enjoy this - the troubles to come best highlighted by this notice in one of the toilets in Amsterdam. Empty streets in York in the first few days of lock-down.

April to June: We spent the first lock-down by trying out new recipes, going for bike rides and walks when we could and taking a few of our planned sustainable living workshops on-line as virtual events. 

Various garden gatherings for Birthdays.

August 2020: Coming out of the first lock-down. Work and play at Beetle Bank Farm - A Community Supported Agriculture venture.

Joseph collated all his cooking photos into a new website - Cooking with Joseph

Emily picked up joinery, DIY and gardening skills with great results.

Luke and Sarah carried on working from home all through various Covid lock-downs. They managed to get a short break in Lincoln. Luke used the time to try out exciting new recipes using black garlic and other exotic ingredients. 

Christmas Day 2020: 

Segaran family - a year in pictures 2019

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

2019 family highlights

Jane and Seggy spent 2 weeks in January helping Amma with her move to her new flat - the culmination of a 6 month project.

In March & April we spent 6 weeks in Sri Lanka promoting solar and haybox cooking followed by a holiday with Joseph and Richard.

Joseph and Richard are engaged and getting married in March 2020 in Amsterdam.

Emily graduated from York University as a teacher in July and is now working at York St John University.

Luke and Sarah are both busy in their respective fields of programming and staff welfare at an NHS trust. At Easter, they traveled to Las Vegas for Sarah's sisters wedding and managed to get to the Grand Canyon.

January

Last stage of our 6 month project in helping my mum move from a large 3-bedroom semi into a spanking new flat. Jane and my mum waiting for a taxi after all the furniture has gone.

My mum settled in her new flat

February

Fountains Abbey - a good spot for a walk on a winter's day

March

Off to Sri Lanka promoting Solar and Haybox Cooking. Click here for a video summary.

April

Joseph and Richard join us in Sri Lanka for a holiday.

May

A short break in the Lake District

Luke and Sarah on holiday

June

A walk in Levisham with Jill and Ian Souter

Northumberland in June

At Durham Miners Gala

July

Engineering projects with my apprentice!

Garden Party - with competitive games

Emily graduates as a French and Spanish teacher

August

We are at Green Gathering in Chepstow again - our 3rd year

September

Family get together to remember Jane's mum

We run workshops at the Festival of Thrift at Redcar

October

Visit to Beamish open air museum