IW Gazette 25

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Pleasetake one

IN THIS ISSUE:Brading’s oldest attraction: page 25

One man and his didge:

page 24

Win tickets for

Escala: page 21

THIS IS the dramatic moment, captured on camera, when terror struck the streets of the Island.

Two robbers, one carrying a sledgehammer and the other wielding what appeared to be a hand gun, jumped out of a stolen Land Rover Free-lander in Cowes High Street to raid Benzie jewellers.

Passers-by looked on in dis-belief as the robbers, wearing balaclavas to try to protect their identity, smashed their way through the window of the shop before grabbing watches believed to be worth thousands of pounds.

As an employee of the jewellers peered out of the door, one of the robbers ap-

peared to point the gun at her, but no shots were fired. After looting the shop, the robbers made their getaway, and the stolen Land Rover was later found abandoned near the en-trance to Northwood House.

A massive police hunt was launched following the daylight robbery at around 3.15pm on Friday, July 3. The amazing scenes were caught by CCTV cameras, while other people in the area at the time, including the contributor of our picture (right), captured the drama on cameras and mobile phones.

Two people arrested in West Sussex on Monday

night by police investigat-ing an armed robbery were transferred to custody on the Island during Tuesday July 7. A 21-year-old man from Worthing, West Sussex, and a 23-year-old woman, also from Worthing, were being questioned by detec-tives in relation to an armed robbery in Cowes.

Police also made a fresh appeal for two specific witnesses to come forward. Detectives want to speak with two men seen on IW Council CCTV footage while the robbery was in progress.

One man, who appeared to be wearing a white and blue

Continued on page 3

By Peter White

Terror on the high street

ISLANDERS who fear they may have swine flu are being urged not to visit their doctor’s surgery.

Fears have been expressed that anyone sitting in a surgery waiting room could help spread the disease throughout the Island.

Even so Dr Paul Bingham, consultant in public health medicine for the Island, has warned that it is inevitable we will not miss the flu strain, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on June 11.

At the beginning of the week just four cases of swine flu had been confirmed on the Island, and it is believed all the victims had picked up the disease during visits to the mainland.

But with school holidays fast approaching the Island is bracing itself for a huge influx

of visitors, which is bound to accelerate the spread of the flu, officially known as A/H1N1.

Dr Bingham pointed out: “The last thing we want people to do is spread the flu in the doctor’s waiting room. We advise that they stay at home, and either phone NHS Direct or visit the website. This is a situation where people can become good neighbours by helping out anyone who may have the flu symptoms.

“If any sufferer contacts their GP by phone a prescription can be written, and the maybe a neighbour or family member of the victim can collect it from the chemist.”

Dr Bingham added: “We have been prepar-

Continued on page 2

ISLANDERS are being warned to be on their guard against rogue traders following a spate of incidents in which residents have been conned out of hundreds of pounds.

The Gazette has learned that scores of workers are travelling over from the mainland looking to carry out a variety of jobs. But invariably they charge sky high prices for sub-stand-ard work.

Now Trading Standards officers on the Island are urging residents, particular-ly the old and vulnerable, to slam the door firmly shut on anyone they believe could be trying to make easy money at their expense.

Trading Standards officer Lucinda Molyneux warned: “To put it bluntly they will bleed a person until that particular person hasn’t got anything left.

“That is why it is so

important that anyone who has the good sense to send these traders on their way does not stop there. We urge them to pick up the phone and contact the police or the trading standards service. It is only in that way that we can prevent others from becoming victims. People need to have the confidence to say NO!”

Full story page 5

Swine flu alert as holidays approach

Doorstep traders warning

Con

trib

uted

Dr Paul Bingham

AFTER weeks of uncertainty and a Facebook campaign that has helped raise more than £45,000, it has been confirmed that the Cowes Week fireworks will definitely go ahead.

Stuart Quarrie, chief executive officer of Cowes Week Limited, said: “With less than four weeks to go we, the IW Council and the anonymous donor who is involved had to either commit or cancel. We decided to commit.”

Though they are still around £5,000 short of the target amount, the organisers will be collecting on the night, and any surplus made will be used towards next year’s fireworks.

Fireworks are go!

2

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928gazette newsthe gazette Friday JULY 10 2009

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Published by:The Isle of Wight Gazette LtdReporters: Jamie White,Peter White, Richard Collins,Justin GladdisNews Editor: Paul Rainford Features Editor: Jo MacaulayDistribution: Isle of Wight Distribution Ltd.Design: Colin Clarke, Dean Chick, Paul MercerAccounts & sales administrator: Roxy Vaughan

Supporting the Earl Mountbatten Hospice through your generous donations when

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Issue 25July 10 2009

Contact Details

the gazette

Continued from front page

ing for a flu pandemic for some time now and we have a supply of the antiviral drug, Tamiflu, on the Island.

“The symptoms of influenza A/H1N1 are similar to those of sea-sonal flu – usually a feverish illness

accompanied by one, or more, of cough, sore throat, headache and muscle aches. The Department of Health has issued doctors with clear guidance to ensure that those at higher risk – including those with chronic lung, kidney or heart disease, under fives, over 65s and pregnant

women – get priority access to anti-virals, within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

For more information go to www.nhs.uk. Information will also be updated on the council and local NHS websites at www.iwight.com and www.iow.nhs.uk.

Swine flu alert as holidays approach

AN ISLAND sailor has made it home after an epic single-handed voyage from the Caribbean – with a broken wrist!

Dave Wise, who is a member of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, set off from Antigua on May 11 and finally arrived in Fishbourne last Friday (July 3), after completing 4,000-plus miles at sea.

And, as Dave explained, it wasn’t exactly plain sailing all the way. “I had to make an un-scheduled stop in the Azores for a week because of trouble with the rigging, which involved a major diversion of my route.

“Two weeks into the journey, on May 28, I was hit on the arm by the main sheet during a Force 6 gale and that broke my wrist.”

Despite the pain and the lack of a casualty department close at hand, Dave was able to soldier on.

“I got past the point of wor-rying and feeling run-down. I

just grabbed bits of sleep where I could, be it four hours or 30 minutes,” he said.

At one point Dave almost ran over a ten-metre long whale, which dived out of the way just in time to avoid a collision.

Ironically, the worst weather he

encountered was just 200 miles before he reached Land’s End.

Dave was sailing without the aid of hi-tech communication equipment, but as he neared the UK he was able to pick up Radio 4, hearing the news of singer Michael Jackson’s death as he

entered the final straight.When he arrived back at the

Royal Victoria Yacht Club the cannons there were fired in his honour and there was a pint of beer waiting for him on the bar – a welcome sight after nearly two months at sea.

HRH PRINCE Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are to visit the Island next Friday (July 17) for a series of engage-ments that includes a trip to the former home of the Prince’s great-great-great grandmother, Osborne House.

The visit looks like being a whirlwind tour of the Island, with Ventnor, Newport and Ryde also on the provisional itinerary.

In Ventnor, the royal couple will visit the Botanic Garden, to open the Arid Garden and present The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service to the Green Gym organisation.

Newport will see them in St Thomas Square, checking out the produce at the farmers’ market and viewing the renova-tion work at the Minster.

In Ryde there will be three ports of call: Ryde Inshore Rescue, where the team will also be presented with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service; Ryde Community Fire Service in Nicholson Road, where the Prince will learn about their youth engagement scheme; and the headquarters of beauty products company Liz Earle, which the Duchess will visit.

By Paul Rainford

Pict

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by J

ohn

Eust

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Fishbourne or bust!

Charles to visit

SOME of the customers for Totland Bay post office had been waiting for nine months for the new branch to open. The queue to get into the launch of the new post office in the back bar of the Broadway Inn stretched out of the porch and down to the corner of the road.

Andrew Turner MP was on hand to open the post office and to meet and greet the

new customers, taking time to sample the tea and cakes provided by the Penny Red Tearoom, which will offer sustenance to busy shoppers when they visit.

Under the experienced management of postmaster David Filby, along with his wife Kim who will run the Penny Red Tearoom, the post office is a welcome return to the village – the last one closed in October 2008 due to staffing difficulties.

FERRY operator Wightlink is due to take delivery of its two new Fastcats this weekend, and they should be in full operation within the next couple of months.

Wight Ryder 1 and 2 are expected to arrive in Portsmouth to begin final sea trials before coming into service on the popular Ryde Pier Head to Portsmouth route.

Built in the Phillipines, the Fastcats are 40 metres in length, and will carry 260 passengers, and will replace Lady Pamela and Lady Patricia, which were taken out of service earlier this year.

The two new vessels will work in tandem with the existing Wightlink craft, Fastcat Ryde and Fastcat Shanklin.

New Fastcatson their way

Post office re-opens

Dave Wise, back on dry land at Fishbourne after an epic 4,000 mile voyage from Antigua

By Jo Macaulay

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Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928 gazette newsFriday JULY 10 2009 the gazette

Continued from front page

hoop shirt, was standing on the pavement a short distance away from the robbers as they commit-ted the crime.

As the stolen Land Rover left the robbery scene, CCTV shows this witness was joined on the pavement by another man who was wearing a pink shirt.

Detective Sergeant Gary Lyons

of IW CID said: “These men appear to have had a clear view of the robbery in progress and the moments immediately afterwards.

“Both men are potentially significant witnesses, and could have extra information vital to the investigation. I would appeal directly to them to contact the investigation team at Newport police station by phoning 101 or 0845 0454545.”

ISLAND MP Andrew Turner is still hopeful of a full Competi-tion Commission investigation into the ferry services following a meeting with officials from the Office of Fair Trading in London.

The MP (right), together with others who have been working with him on the project, met with OFT director Mary Starks and five other members of her team at the OFT headquarters off Fleet Street.

“We had a very useful and con-structive exchange of views and I now have to think about how we can help produce what they need,’ said Mr Turner.

“The OFT have made a finely balanced judgement and they are currently deciding whether to take any further formal action. In order to move forward they need robust evidence that high ferry fares cause hardship to Islanders and harm the economy.

“I do believe that with public support we may still be able to achieve a full investigation and I will let Islanders know next week how I plan to move forward.”

In its draft report on Island’s ferry services, the OFT had said that it was “not minded” to refer the case for a full investigation by the Competition Commission.

The report, issued by the OFT on June 12, said that there was only limited evidence that competition in the market was not working properly. It did, however, suggest that the ferry

companies should publish more information on prices and serv-ices on a voluntary basis.

Mr Turner added: “The diffi-culty is that the ferry companies have all the evidence and can present it however they wish – it is only with a full investigation that the background information would be properly examined. I am not giving up on achieving that.”

An OFT spokesperson said: “The OFT is now consulting on its market study into Isle of Wight ferry services, which provisionally found that it would be disproportionate to refer the market to the Competition Com-mission for further investigation at this time. We can confirm that officials met with Mr Turner and will consider his submission to the consultation alongside those of other interested parties.”

The consultation period ends on August 12 and the OFT is welcoming comments from the public on what information the ferry companies should publish.

By Paul Rainford

AN ISLAND vegetable whole-saler who has travelled from East Cowes to Southampton and back on the ferry every day for 47 years has been rewarded for his loyal custom with a surprise onboard birthday celebration.

Derek Hunt, who runs DJ Hunt of Rookley, turned 70 on July 3, and staff at ferry company Red Funnel thought it would be only fitting that they show their appre-ciation of his regular bookings.

Upon boarding, Derek was offered a complimentary breakfast. Once that had gone down he was then treated to an exclusive tour of the bridge of the Red Falcon to enjoy the views across the Solent, and to briefly take control of one of the vessels upon which he has been travelling for so long. Derek was also presented with a bottle of champagne so he could enjoy his

birthday in style once he returned to his Island home.

Derek was overjoyed by his surprise: “My wife told me to wear something smart this morning, but I didn’t know why! Red Funnel gave me a lovely breakfast and a very nice bottle of champagne. Then I was invited up onto the bridge and the captain actually let me steer the ferry! It was a great surprise for me. I’ve always enjoyed travelling with Red Funnel and this really made my day”.

Sarah Drackford, Red Funnel freight travel centre manager, said: “After working with DJ Hunt for so many years, we thought we would take this op-portunity to express our gratitude for his long-standing loyalty. I’m so pleased that we were able to make this a crossing for him to remember.”

MP holds out for full

ferry probe

Armed raid in Cowes

DETECTIVES are urging Island businesses to check their security after an armed robbery in Cowes. Officers have been visiting premis-es known to stock and sell high value items on the Island to check on existing security measures.

And they have issued a six-point plan in a bid to avoid a repeat of the robbery at Benzie yachting jewellers shop in the High Street, Cowes on Friday, July 3. Two windows at the front of the shop were smashed, and it is thought at least 15 watches were stolen by two people before they made their

getaway in a stolen Land Rover Freeland-er, which was later found abandoned.

Police have asked businesses that stock high value items are asked to ensure:• Jewellery is locked away securely during closing hours.

• Burglar alarms are activated when the premises are unoc-cupied.

• Photographs of valuable stock are taken to help trace items that may be stolen.

• CCTV is installed and kept in good working order.

• Perimeters are secure. This includes checking that gates and outbuildings are locked, and not

storing tools or other items such as ladders in visible and acces-sible places where potential burglars could use them to force entry.

• Businesses should mark and log their property. Etching, engraving, electronic tagging, website registration, and ultraviolet marking all assists police in tracing and recover-ing stolen goods, and catching those responsible.

Detectives are also appealing directly to managers and staff at hotels, guest houses and campsites on the Island to report any suspicious persons or activity they notice on their premises.

Businesses on alert

Many happy returnsDerek receives a glass of bubbly from a Red Funnel steward

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Charity pair pedal offAS THE Tour de France gets into its mountain stages, two Islanders have headed across the Channel to complete a 400-mile charity cycle chal-lenge.

Fraser McDermott, of the Riverside Centre in Newport and Shanklin Youth and Community Centre, is raising money for the Earl Mount-batten Hospice and Mac-millan Support, in memory of his late father, Paul. His friend, Barry Read, is raising money for Help For Heroes, the armed forces charity.

The pair are pedalling through Portsmouth, London, Dover, Calais, Arras, Comp-iegne, Paris, finishing up in Coupray, Shanklin’s twin town, this weekend (July 11-12).

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the support that we’ve received from Wightlink, SeaFrance, IPC, The Bike Shed, Sainsbury’s, Kings Textiles as well as the count-less number of people that have sponsored the ride,” said Fraser.

The pair were given an official send-off on Monday (July 6) from the Clock

Tower on Shanklin seafront by the Island’s town crier, Shirley Ballard, as well as Shanklin Councillor David Williams, town mayor Lynda Fleming, along with friends and family.

“The challenge commemo-rates the first anniversary of my father’s death. He was a keen cyclist who often par-ticipated in national events

and I thought it’s a fitting tribute to a much respected and missed man,” added Fraser.

Coupvray is situated close to Paris, is the birthplace of Louis Braille and the base of Eurodisney.

If you would like to sponsor the pair then email [email protected]

By Justin Gladdis

Barry Read (left) and Fraser McDermott before the off

Ryde development opens its doors

THE FIRST phase of the new Southern Quarter housing de-velopment in Oakfield, Ryde has been finished and has welcomed its first residents.

Juri Jancek and Lenka Pekarcikova, a Slova-kian couple who have been renting a property in Cowes, are the first owners of a luxury two-bedroom apart-ment on the site.

Juri, who works as a team leader at Blackwater Mill residential home, is delighted with his new home: “I am really pleased with the final result. We really love the area and were surprised with the amount of space there is in the apartment.”

His partner Lenka, who is

a support worker at Leonard Cheshire, added: “We have bought a top-floor apartment and the views are really great. The modern style of the buildings is just what we wanted.”

Altogether 150 homes are being built, offering a mix of houses and apartments with a combination of different ways of buying and renting.

Phil Conway, regional operations manager for Southern Housing, a housing association which is selling some of the properties, said: “As an association we are really keen to get the proper-ties finished and get people

moved in, and I am delighted that the first owners have been able to do that.

“The whole site should be finished by December 2010, but we are doing a phase at a time. By September we should be able to move further down and more prop-erties will then become avail-able. We want to minimise disruption for people that have moved while the build-ing work is still going on.”

The development is set on a hillside, with green spaces and a range of planting. The developers have aimed for ‘village’ setting, using tradi-tional forms in combination with contemporary lines and natural materials.

By Jamie White

Southern Housing’s regional operations manager Phil Conway presents Lenka (centre) and Juri (right) with flowers, wine and the keys to their new home

5


person, they can then go on to say ‘well your neighbour has had it done and are satisfied’. We hear that a lot – residents telling us the neighbour had work done so we thought it would be OK.

“Unfortunately we don’t find out about a lot of cases, because people will say no, close the door and think nothing more of it. We would urge anyone to report cases to us – don’t be embarrassed, let us know.”

Lucinda Molyneux, also from the Trading Standards office, pointed out: “Usually these rogue traders con people by start-ing a job, and then saying it is going to be more compli-cated than they first thought, so they will have to charge more money.

“Or they find new jobs to do when they are at a house, or

even they come back later to seek more work. It all depends just how vulnerable they find the person.

“To put it bluntly they will bleed a person until that particular person hasn’t got anything left. That is why it is so important that people who send these traders on their way do not stop there. We urge them to pick up the phone and contact the police or the trading standards service. It is only in that way

that we can prevent other people becoming victims.”

Lucinda added: “We urge people to try to get a vehicle registration number then it makes it far easier for us to trace them. Always ask for identification, and it is better to get a landline number rather than a mobile. But if you are not satisfied with what is going on, close your door and make sure that is the end of it. People need to have the confidence to say NO!”

THEY are travelling over from the mainland in search of easy money, and are tar-geting the old and vulnerable right across the Island.

They have already conned innocent victims out of hun-dreds of pounds with their sweet talk on the doorstep, and their shoddy workman-ship at hugely inflated prices.

Now every resident on the Island has been warned: “Be on your guard against rogue traders. If in doubt, just say no, and close your door firmly in their face!”

The attempted clampdown on rogue traders comes after a string of alarming inci-dents, including one in which an elderly Newport man was charged £900 for pressure washing his drive and gut-tering.

A lady in Wootton was charged £350 for having a few branches cut off a tree, but later managed to cancel the cheque, while another Wootton resident, suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease handed over £200 for pres-sure washing a small patio. The con man later returned trying to charge another £200

to do similar work at the rear of the house.

The Trading Standards office and the Island police are working closely together to try to stamp out the wave of incidents, but they need the help of potential victoms to further eradicate the problem.

TS officer Julie Woodhouse said: “On the Island we have a lot of older people, and they are naturally trusting. So when they go to answer the door to a stranger they are not automatically on their guard.

“These people are coming

over from the mainland, and are getting the confidence of residents by showing a bit of local knowledge, like saying they know people just up the road, and have worked for them.

“If any jobs need doing around the house, they will be prepared to do it, because they are looking for an opening. They could start off with a bit of gardening, and then move on from there. It all depends on how vulner-able the person is that they come into contact with.”

She continued: “If you are sitting in your house watch-ing TV and someone knocks on your door and demands £440 for tiling a gable, why decide in five minutes that the work needs doing? If you were going to make that decision you should ask two or three different people for estimates.

“Any part of the Island can be vulnerable. The rural areas and estates where there are a lot of bungalows appear to be popular targets. Rogue traders chance their arm. They do a lot of door knock-ing, and if they find just one

Beware the doorstep conmenBy Peter White

From left to right: Lucinda Molyneux, Mike Cleary and Julie Woodhouse of the IW Trading Standards team

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gazettethe gazette Friday JULY 10 2009

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928

7


ANDY GUSTAR is perhaps best known as the smiling face over the counter at Hamilton’s, the butchers who have four shops on the Island as well as taking part in the Friday market held each week in Newport.

But Andy is also one of the founder members of the Vectis Sunrise Rotary Club in which he plays a very active part. Now he has been pre-sented with the prestigious Paul Harris Award, which is Rotary’s highest accolade given to Rotarians who have made outstanding contribu-tions to the community.

Being a butcher by trade, Andy is the obvious Rotar-ian to organise the barbecues that the club regularly holds to help raise funds for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice.

He also runs the Vectis Corps of Drums, a marching band for boys and girls from the age of eight upwards. “Youngsters don’t need to

have any musical experi-ence before coming along,” says Andy. “We teach them all they need to know to get started.” The band regu-larly takes part in commu-nity events helping to raise money for charities and other organisations.

Andy is also the sports

officer for the Vectis Sunrise Rotary Club though, as he says, “it’s not so much about winning but more about holding enjoyable social events for club members”.

So well done Andy Gustar – a Rotarian, a busy man and an Islander we can all be proud of.

Top Island butcher wins Rotary award

STATE-OF-THE-ART teach-ing facilities are being deliv-ered to an Island school that forms a central part of IW Council’s education vision.

The Church of England Dioceses for Portsmouth and Winchester and the Roman Catholic Diocese for Port-smouth founded Christ the King College in Newport in September 2008 to support the council’s proposed school re-organisation and to meet a long held community desire for denominational education for the full secondary age range.

Christ the King College was established by the amalgamation of Arch-bishop King Middle and Trinity Middle with a current age range of 9–13. From

September 2009, the college will retain its current Year 8 students into Year 9 and, thereafter, year on year, expanding to full secondary range of ages 11-19.

As part of the expansion of Christ the King College, 13 new classroom blocks will be delivered over the next month. These include new science, design and technol-ogy and art facilities.

Due to the size of the facili-ties, heavy good vehicles will be required to transport the loads. This may result in slight delays for road users on each day getting into Newport from West Wight.

The development of Christ the King by the Diocesan Authorities supports the historic decision, which was

made in November 2008 that will see the Island adopt a new two-tier education system as part of its drive to help improve educational standards.

Pat Goodhead, principal at Christ the King, said: “I am delighted to see the start of our new college project and would want to thank colleagues in the Diocesan Authority and IW Council for their work and support in achieving this development.

“The vision of the college is to build on the traditions of excellence of the previous two schools. The clear aim is to provide an education that combines high standards of academic achievement with strong moral and spiritual guidance.”

Boost for Newport school

TWO HOLIDAYMAKERS who claimed they were asked to leave a Shanklin gift shop because they were speaking Welsh have been invited to return to the Island as guests of the local tourism authorities.

The experience of Mrs Rosemary Dean and her sister generated national media coverage and now the IW Council wants to show all visitors are welcome on the Island.

Council leader David Pugh telephoned Mrs Dean and the chief executive Steve Beynon – who is himself Welsh – has also written to her offering them another trip.

Mr Beynon said: “Irrespective of the actual details of what might have happened in this particular incident, the fact is visitors left the Island with a negative impression. We on the Island pride ourselves in being friendly and respectful to all visitors. I really do hope Mrs Dean will take up our offer and come back to us for another trip without any upset.”

Welsh tourists welcomed back

Andy Gustar receives his award from Maire Reeves

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9


POLICE have unveiled their latest tool to help tackle the fight against crime on the Island.

New technology will allow police officers to view images on their digital radio sets.

The hope is that having access to images on the street will help police officers locate missing or wanted people more quickly and identify suspects or drivers on the spot.

Hampshire Constabulary, which covers the Island, has become the second and largest police force in the UK to use the IMAGIN (Images Made Available to Groups or Individuals over Networks) technology. The Northern Constabulary in Scotland is the only other force in the country using this capability.

Staff in the police control room at Netley in Hamp-shire will also be able to search existing databases such as the DVLA driver database for appropriate images.

For example, members of the public reporting a

missing person will be asked to email a photograph to a dedicated email address. That image can then be made available within seconds to groups of officers in a specific area or across both counties. It is also hoped people will soon be able to send images straight from their mobile phones.

Deputy chief constable for Hampshire police, Simon Cole, said: “This is a really good piece of technology that allows us to get pictures out quickly to officers and staff on patrol, especially in critical situations when every second counts.

“This could be a picture of a missing person or a person we want to arrest. A picture speaks a thousand words and is just so much more accurate than describing somebody.

“We have had a number of situations already where officers out on patrol have been given false details by individuals, and with the help of the picture that was made available to the officers

within seconds it was not difficult for them to work out that the person in front of them didn’t look like the person whose name they were using.

“The costs of implement-ing this technology are minimal as we have already had the radio system in place. The benefits to the public as well as our offic-ers, however, are signifi-cant,” said DCC Cole.

Further benefits of the new device include allowing police officers to spend more time on the streets – making the images available for them to view on their digital radios means they no longer have to return to the station to pick up a photograph or attend a briefing.

IMAGIN has been rolled across the constabulary during the last two months and has already produced major benefits in reducing crime and improving public safety. In more than 60 cases photographs of missing people have already been emailed to the police control room and assisted police of-ficers with the search.

By Jamie White

The new handheld device that will help officers on the streets

Digital help for IW police

No. 11: Appley TowerBy Paul Rainford

Know your WightIsland curiosities explained

VISIT Carisbrooke or Yarmouth Castle and you can imagine the sort of scenes that these impos-ing fortifications would have witnessed in days of yore: the clash of sword upon shield, the clanking of chain mail and, who knows, maybe even the pouring of hot oil upon those unfortunate enough to be under the wrong rampart at the wrong time.

If you imagined the same scenes at Appley Tower you would be sadly deluding yourself. Though undeniably shaped like a medieval castle, this beach-side outpost of the IW Council-owned Appley Park is actually a Victorian folly.

It was built in 1875 by Sir William Hutt, an MP (initially for Kingston upon Hull and later for Gateshead) and local bigwig who was educated privately at Ryde School and went on to play a large part in the colonisa-tion of New Zealand and South Australia. The Hutt river in the North Island of New Zealand is named after him, as are the cities of Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt, which stand on its banks.

The Hutt family had actually sold the Appley

Estate in about 1830 but Sir William brought it back into the family own-ership in the 1860s.

Its architect was Thomas Hellyer, who left his mark on Ryde in a number of buildings, not least the two churches, St John the Baptist in Oakfield and Holy Trinity Church in Dover Street.

Sir William also had Hellyer design and con-struct the coastal protec-tion revetment at Appley,

which led to the creation of the coastal promenade that is so popular with strollers, cyclists and buggy-pushers today.

Bizarrely, clairvoy-ancy appears to be Appley Tower’s chief raison d’etre today, offering, among other things, ‘rune readings’ and ‘pyramid readings’.

I’m not sure why, but that doesn’t seem right for a castle, not even a fake one.

ENGLISH Heritage has decided not to object to an open-air concert planned by pop group Madness near Carisbrooke Castle next month.

Madness, celebrating their 30th anniversary with a nationwide tour, now need only the green light from the IW licensing authorities for the gig to go ahead at Froglands Farm, Carisbrooke, on August 30.

There were fears that English Heritage would object to the event. But Stephen Alexander, English Heritage’s acting head of visitor operations for the Island, told The Gazette: “We don’t intend to raise any objec-tions.

“We have held meetings with the highways department traffic management, and have had assurances that the event will be proper-ly marshalled to minimise traffic congestion.

“We have also been told that anyone wanting to visit Carisbrooke Castle around the time of the event will not be affected, and will still be able to use the castle car park.”

The concert could attract up to 10,000 fans, and plans are being made to accommodate around 2,500 cars provided the licence is granted.

Heritage gives gig all-clear

Suggs: coming to Carisbrooke

10


THE PLIGHT of rare arable plants was high-lighted by a conservation charity when it took a large party of farmers and wild-life enthusiasts into a stun-ning blue and yellow field of cornflowers and corn marigolds near Chillerton.

Cornflowers were once so numerous that they were thought of as weeds in arable fields across the UK. But towards the end of the 1970s, thanks largely to modern farming practices, the dramatic decline of this vivid blue plant was recorded in most parts of the UK.

Today it is believed that they are confined to just three small sites in Suffolk, Lincolnshire – and the Island.

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust organ-ised the event in conjunc-tion with Natural England, taking the cornflower enthusiasts by tractor and trailer to the field, which forms part of Cridmore Farm.

Cridmore was held up as an example of how farms can preserve rare arable plants while still running as hard-nosed commercial operations.

Peter Thompson, an adviser with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: “People often go round with binoculars looking at birds and other forms of wildlife and sometimes not realise that

they are standing on the rarest thing on the farm.

“Cornflowers and corn marigolds are quite in-vasive and they’re using up the nutrients and light. This farm is happy to put up with them but a lot of farms in the past went to great lengths to get rid of them.”

According to Mr Thomp-son, modern ‘seed clean-ing’ has also played a large part in the cornflower’s demise. “In former times, a lot of cornflowers would have come in from the Continent as seeds with rye and flax and then they were spread around with

the crops. “That was all great until

seed cleaning came along, which separated the weed seeds from the crop, and the weed seeds would be thrown away.”

Natural England’s Rachel Bosanquet added: “This is not a nature reserve; it is a commercially viable farm and at the end of the day the aim is to make a profit.”

She explained that under special stewardship schemes, various payments were available to farmers who looked after rare plants on their land.

Stig Garratt, Cridmore’s

farm manager, said that he and his colleagues went to special lengths to look after the flowers: “Come the harvest, we actu-ally don’t run the combine through here. We try and encourage the cornflowers to seed.”

Peter Thompson told those present that if they found rare plants on their land they should inform an organisation such as Natural England.

“They will record it but they won’t suddenly turn the place into an SSSI,” he said. “It just gives us a bit more information about where these plants are.”

By Paul Rainford

Cornflowers thriving down Chillerton way

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Vivid blue cornflowers pictured among corn marigolds at Cridmore Farm

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THE MUSIC and the crowds may be long gone, but the NHS Isle of Wight and St John Ambulance can look back on this year’s IW Fes-tival with a huge amount of satisfaction.

They were kept busy throughout the whole of the Seaclose Park extravaganza, but as usual coped with everything from allergies to blisters, sunburn, sprains, drug and drink overdoses, minor burns, exhaustion – and even a miscarriage.

Their busiest time was after Friday night headliners The Prodigy had finished their set at midnight. During the event the ambulance service

responded to 68 calls on site.Between them the main

medical facility on the site and the emergency depart-ment at St Mary’s Hospital saw 308 patients over the festival weekend, of which 56 were transported by the ambulance service and 252 self presented.

In the first aid centre on Strawberry Fields, St John Ambulance, with support from the IW ambulance service, dealt with 305 patients over the four days. On the camp site a further 447 patients were seen by the private medical contractor, of

which some were also seen and treated by NHS doctors.

Brian Martin, deputy direc-tor of the IW ambulance service, said: “The partner-ship working between the NHS and St John Ambulance volunteers in Strawberry Fields is an important part of the service provided. On the busiest night, Friday, hundreds of festivalgoers were helped with minor ailments and our colleagues in St John were kept busy until 3am. Indeed, the whole medical service provided to the festival is based on excel-lent partnership working between the NHS, voluntary and private sectors.”

Successful festival for medicsBy Richard Collins

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A WRITER from Ryde has pub-lished his first novel, described as a fantasy adventure novel for young readers.

Mark McKerracher, 22, wrote The Noble Sword over a period of seven years, with earlier drafts of the story serving as GCSE and A-level coursework pieces.

The novel, which is set in a mythical land where people and dragons live side by side, has been produced in paperback by New Generation Publishing as part of a publishing scheme run

by the creative writing website ‘YouWriteOn.com’. It is distrib-uted on a print-on-demand basis by Lightning Press, and can be ordered from selected book-shops.

A website to accompany the story – www.thenoblesword.co.uk – is now online, con-structed by Mark’s father, Ian McKerracher. The site includes a sample chapter, links to purchase copies of the book, and an ani-mated ‘dragon-lore’ page.

Ryde author makesfantasy novel debut

ISLAND MP Andrew Turner has criticised the Government’s handling of the proposed inquiry into the Iraq War.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced there would finally be an inquiry into the war, which the Conservative Party had been calling for since the invasion in 2003. Mr Brown initially stated that the inquiry would be held in private, and that no blame would be apportioned.

Less than two weeks later, he made a U-turn, saying that it would be up to the chairman of the inquiry, Sir

John Chilcot, to decide which ses-sions were heard in public.

Mr Turner said: “The initial propos-als for the inquiry were wholly inadequate. The point of an inquiry is to learn what mistakes were made, who made them and why, and most importantly how can we learn from those mistakes in future.

“Iraq has sorely tested the trust between the military and the Gov-ernment who sent them into war. It highlighted inadequate funding that

led to equipment shortages that in some cases cost lives and we cannot afford a whitewash in Whitehall on such an important issue. Less still can we afford to blunder into another illegal war.

“We owe it to the families of the servicemen who have been killed or injured since the invasion and to those are still serving in Afghanistan and across the world.”

Mr Turner added: “If this latest announcement does mean that the majority of the inquiry will be held in public, then I welcome it.”

MP slams Iraq war probeBy Richard Collins

A PROJECT to extend and refurbish a house in Totland has won a top regional prize for IW Council’s building control team.

Moons Hill House picked up the 2009 Local Au-thority Building Control (LABC) South East Best Small Domestic Project at the LABC Building Excellence Awards held in Brighton.

Situated on land adjacent to the Area of Outstanding

Natural Beauty, Moons Hill House is a Victorian country house and has Grade 2 listed building status. The project was to completely renovate, extend, alter and upgrade the property whilst ensur-ing the works were sympa-thetic to the age, style and character of the building and the surrounding area.

The works were designed by Wootton-based Rainey Petrie Architecture, and local builders JR Buckett

and Sons of Brighstone worked on the project from groundwork to completion.

IW Council’s building control team provided specialist technical advice to help the project over-come unexpected difficul-ties encountered as works progressed.

Bill Murphy, IW Council head of planning, said: “It’s always nice when good design, high quality con-struction and partnership working reaps dividends

for the environment.” The judges presenting

the award commented that the project was of “excep-tional quality, achieved without compromising regulatory requirements and at the same time fully meeting the goals and aspi-rations of the clients”.

This is another major award for Moons Hill House, which was also a winner of one of the IW Society 2009 Conservation Awards.

EMPLOYEES and customers of Sainsbury’s in Newport have chosen St Catherine’s School in Ventnor as the store’s official local charity partner for 2009.

St Catherine’s School is a resi-dential special school for young people between the ages of 7 and 19 who have speech, language and communication impairments.

Sainsbury’s employees will support St Catherine’s by giving their time to the charity through volunteer work. The store will also organise various fundraising activities throughout the year. Funds raised will go towards

the much needed purchase of specialised equipment, and help with the expansion of their vocational training project, ‘The Worx’, which develops activi-ties and projects to support their learners move toward a more independent living.

Paul Dyer, Sainsbury’s store manager, said: ”We are really pleased and excited to support St Catherine’s. The hard work starts now, but I can definitely see our store building a strong relationship with St Catherine’s and making a difference to their work.”

Left to right: Tanya Blake, Paul Dyer and Deb Davies of Sainsbury’s with Aimee Steward from St Catherine’s School

Store chooses charity Totland project wins award

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A FAMILY of sailors with a base in Bembridge have completed a gruelling 180-mile journey down the River Thames from its source in Gloucestershire to the mouth.

On their final leg they were escorted through central London by the Chiswick and Tower lifeboats and the Gravesend lifeboat met them to finish their epic week-long journey.

Siblings Caroline Roe, William Maltby and Sophie Ross have rowed and sailed their 11-foot Bembridge scow along the full length of the navigable Thames to raise funds for the RNLI’s £1m Bembridge lifeboat station appeal. So far the three have

raised £58,000 towards the appeal, well on the way to their target of £70,000.

Despite the scow’s centre-board developing a crack that threatened to end their efforts, Mr Maltby said: “The spectacular RNLI escort outside the Houses of Parlia-ment and a good breeze on the final day more than com-pensated for the frustrating balmy conditions that forced us to row our heavy sailing boat for most of the passage.”

“The lifeboat is very close to our hearts due to our long association with sailing at Bembridge,” he added.

The Bembridge lifeboat station appeal is looking to fund a replacement lifeboat

station and boathouse to provide more modern facili-ties for the lifeboat crews.

Tracey Harris, RNLI appeals manager, said: “We are so pleased that Caroline, William and Sophie are supporting the RNLI. It’s a very original way to raise awareness and money, and hopefully everyone has been following their progress on their blog. Congratulations to the three for all their hard work and effort in undertak-ing this challenge.”

• Anyone wishing to sponsor their trip who has not already done so can do so at www.justgiving.com/malt-bythamestrip.

Thames scow trip raises £58,000

The siblings pass the London Eye on the final part of their Thames charity journey

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A WARNING has gone out to benefit cheats that they could face prosecution and even jail after a woman who claimed £1,500 to which she was not en-titled was successfully prosecut-ed by the IW Council at Newport Magistrates Court.

Elaine Bonnick, 41, of West-bury Place, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, was found to be claiming both housing benefit and council tax benefit from IW Council despite claiming income support and housing benefit from another authority from an address in Hertfordshire.

It was discovered Bonnick had left a property in Sylvan Drive, East Cowes, without informing the letting agent, and continued to claim benefits from IW Council.

Bonnick had previously been found guilty of illegally claiming benefits she was not entitled to at a hearing at Newport Magis-trates Court in July 2008. She

was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to repay the money.

During her latest sentenc-ing hearing, the conditional discharge was revoked for the previous offence and Bonnick was given a 12-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years, with a supervision order of a year.

For the current offence, Bonnick was also given a custodial sentence of 12 weeks suspended for two years, with a supervision order of 12 months, both sentences to run concur-rently. Davina Fiore, IW council director of corporate services, said: ‘This successful prosecu-tion shows the council will crack down on benefit cheats as this is public money that is being illegally claimed. The sentences also show those who continue to offend, despite previous warn-ings, could go to jail.”

Benefits cheat caughtTHERE has been a significant reduc-tion in the number of cases of the C. difficile infection on the Island over the past year, according to a report published on the NHS Isle of Wight website.

The report also highlights the con-tinued efforts being made to further reduce healthcare-associated infec-tions and maintain standards of care at St Mary’s Hospital in Newport.

One of the major successes in the year, according to the report, was achieving compliance with Na-tional Standards for the prevention of healthcare acquired infection (HCAI).

Following a visit by the Health Commission in January 2009, the Commission reported very favour-ably overall, with no breaches of the Hygiene Code identified.

The big breakthrough appears to have come in the battle against C. difficile with a near 50 per cent reduction on the previous 12 months – 176 cases in 2007-08 down to 94 in 2008-09.

A raft of measures has been introduced throughout the hospi-

tal to further reduce C. difficile and improve patient safety. These improvements have included more rapid laboratory diagnosis, and improvements to the way in which patients with diarrhoea are identified and tested for C. difficile.

The report also reveals that 10 cases of MRSA bacteraemias (blood stream infections) were reported, which was higher than the locally agreed limit of eight cases for the Island. As a result, further priority has been given to reducing risk, with policies in place to prevent contami-nation and reduce risk from intrave-nous drips.

From 31 March, MRSA screening was implemented at St Mary’s Hos-pital, whereby all elective patients are screened for MRSA prior to being admitted.

Environmental cleaning was improved as part of the nationwide ‘deep clean’ strategy. The infection prevention and control team carried out regular environmental cleanli-ness audits on inpatient care areas

to ensure ward cleanliness stand-ards were high and compliant with national standards.

Dr Suzanne Chapman, consultant microbiologist and infection control doctor, said: “The high standards of practice put into place have proved that good infection control clinical practice measures, cleanliness and prudent antibiotic prescribing really work in tackling healthcare acquired infections.

“We have seen a real reduction in C. difficile and must continue the momentum. The challenge for 2009/10 is to reduce risk for MRSA bloodstream infections even further. We want to be able to assure our patients and the public that St Mary’s provides clean, safe care”.

Carol Alstrom, chief nurse and director of infection prevention and control, added: “Patient safety is of paramount importance to NHS Isle of Wight and we continue to work hard to reduce healthcare associated-infections. We are not complacent with the successes we have had this year, and we continue to strive for high standards in all areas.”

By Peter WhiteMRSA cases down on Island

CLOUDS dispersed and a hot sun came out to show the ‘secret gardens’ of St Helens to best effect on the afternoon of the village fete.

A dozen private gardens were opened up to raise money for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice, and scores of people took the opportunity to take in the riot of colour and profusion of home-grown vegetables.

Dahlias, begonias, globe artichokes, kiwi fruit and a host of other plants and produce jostled for space amid the village’s clipped lawns and cooling water features.

One garden, at Hillgrove Cottage, even had a couple of pet sheep to add to the interest.

The event, organised by the St Helens Horticultural Society, raised hundreds of pounds for the hospice.

The secret gardens of St Helens

A QUIZ night at the Folly Inn in Whip-pingham raised £100 for the Friends of St Mary’s Hospital.

The quiz, run by Fred Richards, chair-man of Whipping-

ham Parish Council, and his wife Jenny, is a regular monthly event at the popular waterside pub.

The Friends raise money to provide extras in the hospi-

tal and in the wider community that are not provided by the NHS.

Next month’s quiz will be in aid of the Earl Mountbatten Hospice.

Margaret Moglione, chairman of the Friends with Fred Richards

Folly quiz helps hospice

A garden in St Michaels Road displays its charms

Lifestylegaz

ette

10 July 2009

Sponsored by

40s fun atSteam RailwayHavenstreet goes back in time

Fashionable Freshwater

A close-up on the West Wight town

Cream TeasHome-made goodness

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928lifestylethe gazette lifestyle Friday JULY 10 200914

WHEN YOU eat at the Cricket-ers Rest, in the pavilion of Ventnor Cricket Club, you’ll find that the view over the pitch is quite breath-taking. Nestled in the dip beneath you, the green of the cricket pitch echoes with the thwack of leather on willow and the sky opens up like an enormous blue dome, often speckled with clouds, with nothing obscuring the view.

And the food is fantastic. Fresh beer battered cod is particularly popular, for Friday lunch or dinner – you might even be lucky enough to catch it on a Saturday lunchtime if there’s any left. Your chef and host, Graham Clow, only buys what he thinks he’ll sell and as it’s fresh from the sea, when it’s gone, it’s gone.

In fact all the food is fresh and locally sourced whenever pos-sible, so Graham doesn’t print a menu – boards advertise the dishes of the day and sometimes change twice daily. Sunday lunch is a buffet carvery – just help yourself and find a seat or vice versa. The restaurant seats between 50 and 60 and tables for the small terrace are hopefully arriving shortly.

The annual cricket match between Ventnor Cricket Club and the

Lashings International eleven is a particular draw. This year on August 23, the pig roast will again return to the clubhouse end of the pitch. “Last year I was constantly carving pork for about six hours,” said Graham.

Cricket matches are held every Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer from about 2pm. “People don’t realise that we’re open to the public,” said Graham. Although it is, of course, a working cricket club with committee members and meet-

ings (for which Graham supplies the catering along with sumptuous high tea for the matches) you don’t have to be a member to use the restaurant.

Weddings, anniversaries, christen-ings and other large gatherings up to 100 covers are welcome although Saturday and Sunday functions are a problem during the season (May to October). Graham also has a thriv-ing outside catering business, which can come to you. Tel 852506 for bookings.

Food fit for Lords

Famously fit to serve youNAMED for his son-in-law, Jay Morris (30) who is a professional boxer, the Knockout Bar and Grill in the Palmerston Hotel, Shanklin, run by Pete Leeway, pulls the punches with good island sourced steaks, lamb and gourmet burgers.

Professional athletes run in the family for Pete who was a circus performer, an acrobat and a strongman, playing top clubs worldwide. “I was one of the first entertainers into the Faulk-lands after the conflict and I also worked with Bob Monkhouse

and Michael Barrymore,” said Pete who toured with his ex wife Christine Marden until retiring to run his Island hotels 15 years ago.

Christine’s father Colin Marden was an ABA champion boxer and Pete still keeps his hand in with charity stints doing clown-ing, unicycle and stiltwalking.

The Knockout is the ideal place to drop in for bite to eat or a rea-sonably priced pint of beer. Or you could opt for Pimms in the garden – the lovely old boat style swings are ideal for kids.

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928 lifestyleFriday JULY 10 2009 the gazette lifestyle 15

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FRESH Fish Evenings at the Beach Hut Diner, on Ventnor sea-front last summer, proved to be such a hit that owner Carole Parks is reviving them for this summer too. She’s also changed the name to the Beach Hut Café, Diner, Bistro to emphasis the wide range of this well established beach front eatery, which has been in business since the sixties.

Taking over the diner five years ago, Carole moved to the Island nine years ago when she had a successful cleaning business. So it’s not surprising that she has been five-star rated for food hygiene and cleanliness.

Now the interior has a beach theme with raffia roofing and tropical plants, along with canvasses of movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn on the deep crimson feature wall. Boards display the wide range of food on offer: “Fresh homemade crab, chilli and sweetcorn cakes,” or “home made carrot and coriander soup.”

Home made crab soup is always on the menu. “I’m known for my fresh crab, which I get from a local fisherman,” said Carole who has a fantastic range of fresh fish for the Friday and Saturday fish themed evenings through-out July and August. Sea bass, sea bream, tuna, salmon, trout, mussels, lobster (to order) and of course crab are on offer depend-ing on availability and all are, “totally fresh and straight from the sea.” No fuss, just fish, served to your taste. Live music is planned to accompany your meal on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Chips on the beach? No problem. Or any dish you wish. “If I’ve got a container for it, you can take it away,” said Carole who also sells ice creams and take away cuppas from a window to the left of the ter-racotta coloured shopfront. Sit outside at one of the five tables and you’ll have fantastic views of the beach beyond the quirky vintage beach huts.

The plaice for fish

ALL THE movers and shakers of Ventnor society were at the opening of Goodmans Bistro at the new Ocean Blue building on Ventnor Seafront on July 1, and were welcomed with free pink champagne and an enormous paella.

If you weren’t invited it was just because there just wasn’t enough room to invite everyone, but you’ll be welcomed with fantastic food and Mediterranean style hospitality anytime you care to drop in.

The restaurant, ‘Goodman’s Bistro’, is run by Ed and Stacey Goodman who already run the popular Goodman’s Deli in Ventnor town. “We love Ventnor and we are committed to Ventnor,” said Ed. “We will also be using local goods and services. Ventnor is such a strong

community, it is vital we all support one another. I think that the Cheetah Marine development has continued the regeneration that Ventnor has seen in recent years. Stacey and I are delighted to be part of it.”

Cheetah Marine boats are already being built in the work-shop and launched from the slipway. “People gather around the top of the slipway and cheer,” said Stacey. “Sometimes they go straight on to their destinations or they can be loaded onto trucks for delivery. They’re getting bigger and bigger – we’ve just sold a boat to a guy who owns an Island off of Ireland.”

“This new facility is going to be to Ventnor what Sunseeker is to Poole Harbour,” prophesised former town councillor Maureen Cawley.

Goodmans Bistro opens at Ocean Blue


CREAM teas are not only in season but they’re bang smack in fashion. No longer merely the staple diet of our perenni-ally welcome tourist population, cream teas are the crème de la crème of fashionable society. Even pop stars have been known to sample a cream tea or two on their jaunts to the Island for the festivals, and many establish-ments tell of famous visitors – but are far too discrete to divulge names.

But where would you head to sample a superb example of this delicacy with genuine homemade scones? Not surprisingly there are dozens of establishments offering cream teas but those fea-tured here are the only ones who make their own scones – you’re guaranteed a fresh home made fluffy scone with jam and cream at any one of these eateries.

Godshill is traditionally the home of the cream tea and we will be featuring the village in our next issue, but you can find a cream tea in practically every town and village now. Even a few pubs are offering them, and many hotels have beautiful lawns

for taking tea and scones – again we’ll be featuring a selection in our next issue.

But walking down through Shanklin Old Village your nose would lead you in the direction of Pencil Cottage, opposite the Crab Inn, where not only will you get an excellent cream tea but an opportunity to view all of the lovely must-have items in the pretty thatched shop, including antiques, unusual jewellery and unique gifts. Afterwards you can laze in the sunny garden, or under the shelter of the outdoor room, and watch the world passing by. You could even try traditional Isle of Wight ‘nammit’ for lunch or tea.

And for a totally different experience, The Old Thatch, winner of Island Life’s tearooms and gardens award this year is next-door and has a real cot-tagey feel with pretty pink, blue and green themed rooms, and a sweet cottage garden that even has fairies at the bottom of it – if you’re lucky you might spy a squirrel in either of these sunny gardens.

Home-made heaven

Below and right: some of the

spectacular views from the Grand

View Tea Gardens in Shanklin


CARRY ON down the road that wends its way past Pencil Cottage to the Chine and you will be on the way to the two ‘secret’ tea gardens we’re featuring in this issue – if you’ve already found them you’ll know exactly what we mean, as both are not that easy to find. But once you’ve found them you’ll definitely be back for more and each has it’s own unique appeal.

Walk down Chine Hollow and then up the steps to your left (or drive down Priory Road from the Luccombe end, turn left down Popham Road and park towards the end) and Rylstone tea gardens are in the southernmost end of Rylstone Gardens. You wouldn’t even know they were there from outside, but the minute you walk into the tea gardens you will be completely bowled over by the riot of colour.

Flowers, that bloom from pots, troughs and hanging baskets, surround nine vintage and brightly painted pitch and putt holes and you can play the course for just £2. Tony and Linda Buckett have run the gardens for over 14 years and Tony’s mum and dad, Ken and Kath, look after the flowers, which frequent-ly win Shanklin In Bloom.

Open till tale in the summer, the area was a dancefloor after the war and the teagar-dens are at least 50 years old. Visit on a day that the nearby bandstand is hosting a swing band and you could be transported back to that era.

Linda has customers who return year after year and say that their holiday wouldn’t be complete without a visit to her flower filled teagardens. “We’re Shanklin’s best kept

secret but once you’ve found us you never forget,” said Linda.

Not very far from Rylstone Gardens, if you take the cliff path from the end of Popham Road, and just before the steps to the beach, you’ll spy the Grand View – not only the view, which is very grand and stretches down to Culver Cliff, but the teagardens of the same name to the right as you look down. If you want to find it from the beach you take the steps ascending from the beach about 100 yards beyond Fisherman’s Cottage pub.

The tea gardens were overgrown when John Harrington took over the business two years ago but now the deftly cut hedge allows an amazing view over the Bay from almost any part of the gardens along with

views of the imposing cliff towards the Luc-combe end of the beach below.

Cherry trees overlook the tables, offering shade, and parasols and a gazebo offer further relief from the sun’s rays. Butterflies flit from flower to flower around the chalet kitchen, and you may even see a peregrine falcon hovering above the cliff edge only feet away. In the corner a Victorian stone folly stands sentinel, peering out over the static empty car container ships sitting far out to sea.

Home made scones or Island made cakes are available from 10am till evening teatime.

Best kept secret tea gardens


Fashionable Freshwater

FRESHWATER is fast becom-ing more fashionable these days. Farringford is again returning to its role as a salon of the arts; poets, musicians and thespians visit as they did in Tennyson’s day, and Dimbola is attracting a bevy of illustrious photographers and artists just as it did when Julia Margaret Cameron was in residence.

The drive to Freshwater from any location on the Island is beautiful, but along the military road from Brook must be one of the best views on the Island. If you’re reading this and you’re on holiday here – don’t miss it. These pictures give you an idea of what you have in store, and although horses being ridden

down the hill down into the Bay are not always in evidence, they would have been in Victorian times.

Once in the Bay area make sure to make your way up Gate Lane to Dimbola Lodge to see the latest photographic exhibitions and the brooding sculpture of Jimi Hendrix, a memorial to the Pop Festival of 1970. Permanent collections of JMC’s work and a Pop Festival exhibition are always on show along with a re-construction of Julia’s bedroom, and a history of photography.

From the grounds of Far-ringford Hotel, in Bedbury Lane, bearing left at the next fork in the road, you can just about see the fields in which the festival

was held and you could take tea on the small terrace. Look down to the croquet lawn and imagine Amy Winehouse playing a game with some of her other band members and friends – apparent-ly she did just that back in 2007 when she stayed here whilst playing the pop festival with the Rolling Stones.

Freshwater has all of the local shops and amenities you would expect and more. There’s a good local pub, with large beer garden. Chris and Wendy Plucknett have run the Prince of Wales for 35 years. A real traditional pub it has lager and cider on keg but also six draft beers, IOW ale on sale and it is CAMRA recommended both locally and nationally.

Want to try your hand at catch-ing a fish in the Bay? Ron Do-binson at the Tacklebox has all frozen types of bait along with Island dug ragworm – no farmed bait. In Whittingham Place off the High Street, Ron took over the business last May and also hires out rods, sells crab lines and kayaks and has beach ware and body boards.

Is your hair washed-out after a day on the beach? Make a trip to Annabelle’s for a wash and blow dry or a complete new style for the summer. And if you need dental treatment, Avenue Road Dental Surgery are able to serve you and your smile, whether is be emergency or cosmetic treat-ments.

Julia Margaret Cameron Amy Winehouse


AT A PACKED poetry recital at the Farringford Hotel, on Wednesday July 1, Sir Andrew Motion read his new poem - the first he’s written since retiring from his post as poet laureate - and it’s set on the Island: mostly at the Farringford.

“I’ve been to stay here before, under the last owner – it smelt very much of cabbage. It doesn’t now, it smells lovely,” said Sir Andrew introducing the poem. “I first came here when I was writing a book about John Keats. I felt I was always missing him – I just saw the heel of his shoe. This is about the house and trying to catch up with the dead.”

The poem will be published in the next issue of Island Life.

Down to earth and approach-able are the qualities that Sir Andrew exuded in his recital, making each poem accessible by giving a setting and a reason for their composition.

“When did you know you were a poet?” asked one member of the audience. “When I was at school, careers advice started to happen. I was summoned and I said “I am a poet”,” said Sir Andrew, to laughter from the au-dience. Definitely a poet for the people, it sounds as if he’s likely to return for more inspiration in the future.

Wight Wash can valet and clean your car, with their mobile Islandwide service. Established in 1996 by Gary Holmes, Wight Wash bring their own water supply, pressure wash the outside, vacuum the interior, wet vax if required for stub-born smells or stains and clean your car, caravan or boat until it gleams.

Do you want your own water supply? Peter Hanley of West

Wight Drilling could drill you your own well in the garden. He will shortly be able to drill to install geo-thermal loops for ground source heat pumps too – power and water from your own back yard!

Need the plumbing for that water you’ve now got from the garden – or maybe you want a kitchen or bathroom installed? Steve Hadley has been estab-lished for 25 years, takes no call

out charge, can offer free esti-mates and charges very reason-able prices.

And do you need a flat roof for an extension that will not let you down? Simon Smith is a flat roofer with over 30 years experi-ence and he now uses Elasto-meric felt, the newest material for flat roofing which expands and contracts with the changing temperature.

Once you’ve got your house

shipshape then you’ll need some flowers to offer that finishing touch. Gardenia, in The Avenue, are real village florists, support-ing local people in all of their life events such as christenings, birthdays and celebrations with Champagne, wine and port, helium balloons, banners and beautiful flowers of every kind. If you visit Farringford the stunning displays of lilies are all Gardenia’s handiwork.

Tracking Tennyson


Barton ManorBARTON MANOR will be opening their grounds once again for the Island’s Hospice on Sunday July 19 from 10am to 4pm. This time the theme is “A Traditional Summer Fayre” so visitors can expect lots of fun and games as well as a wide selection of stalls, gift shop, coffee shop and live music. Stalls can still be booked for this event by calling the Hospice Fundraising Office on 528989.

Sunflower Classic Car Run 2009IT’S NOT too late to enter your prized possession in this year’s Sunflower Classic Car Run. Taking place on Sunday July 12. This year’s run will begin at Osborne House and take you around the Island finishing at Brown’s Golf Club in Sandown.

The entry for each car is £10 and there is no absolute definition of ‘classic.’ If you think your car is a classic then so do we!

To enter your car in the Sunflower Classic Car Run please just give the fundraising team a ring on 528989 to let them know you are coming and then be at Osborne House by 9.30am on Sunday July 12.

Horse and dog showstall available

THE FIRST Hospice Horse and Dog Show at Northwood on Sunday August 9 at 9am is offering the opportunity to businesses to have a stall. Those having stalls should have ‘country themed’ enterprises. The cost of each stall is £25. If you are interested call the office on 528989 to book your place.

This event is brand new to the Hospice and entry on the day will be by donation to the hospice. Visitors can expect to see a variety of classes in the horse show and schedules can be obtained from all the usual outlets or from www.iwhospice.org.

The dog show will be a companion dog show – a fun dog show. There is no need to book your dog in, simply bring him along on the day and enter then and there.

Quiz at The Folly for EMHA QUIZ to raise funds for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice will take place at The Folly Inn, Whippingham on Tuesday July 21 at 8pm. The entry fee is £2 per person and the average size for a team is four players.

The top three teams can expect a prize and a certificate and the team coming last will take away the coveted “Folly Wallies” prize and certificate. There will be ten regular rounds plus three Marathon rounds. The event will also have a raffle on the night.

To play simply turn up with your team on the night in time for the 8pm start.

Be rescued by a Newfoundland dog

YOU HAVE the chance to be rescued from the River Medina by genuine Newfoundland Rescue Dogs on Saturday September 5. There are strictly 40 places available and we are asking that each participant raise a minimum of £100 for the Earl Mountbatten Hospice. The hospice is most grateful for the support given by Wightlink to this event.

The rescue dogs are part of “Newfound Friends”, a pack of rescue dogs that have raised over £500,000 for different charities.

If you would like to take part you should be over 16, of average fitness and a good swimmer. Call the Hospice team on 528989 for more details.

Hospice News

Hospice Fundraising: Telephone - 528989

EEEK! I’ve been squeezed. My articles have been scattered in all directions and I’m afraid our ‘columns’ will not be appear-ing this week, but hopefully they’ll make their way back in the future.

I was going to tell you how I’ve lost weight over the past four

months – since joining the paper and having my session with Den Clare – but now it seems that I’m not the only one.

It’s a summer thing – we all need to shed a few layers in the heat. Next issue our Lifestyle supplement will become a guide to what to do during the summer holidays.

Whether you’re a visitor to the Island or a local with time and kids on your hands. A Week in the Wight will give you options for each day, including any special events that are occurring over the two-week period, and inexpensive ideas for those on a tight budget.

There are loads of exciting things happen-ing on the Island this summer. The 1940s weekend at Havenstreet Steam Railway was a big hit last weekend, see our cover.

And if you hop over to Lulworth Cove you could take the whole family to Camp Bestival for the weekend of 24, 25, 26 July – I’m taking just over half of mine. Last year it was brilliant.

Jo MacaulayFeatures EditorTHE LATEST Jack

Whitewood play, The Button Box, premiered at The Anthony Minghella Theatre in Quay Arts on Saturday June

27 to an almost full house. This was the third play that Jack (18) has written and directed, with the acting, set design, artwork, photogra-

phy and grant ap-plications being done entirely by young people from across the Island.

A massive under-taking for such a young group, this play centred on the Teak family; mother Edith (Elisa Jones) who has a fondness for spaghetti, her three sons, (Edmund; Bill Holland, Ben-jamin; Alex Welsford and Jack; David Jowitt), two of whom

are in love with Jenny Penny (Holly Roberts) the café owner. Lucia Rava-potti (Jess Rann) had a wonderful accent and visiting trouba-dour Albert Button (Alex Turner) played a mean concertina.

The play continues its tour around the Island, opening at Whitwell Village Hall this Saturday 11, and Trinity Theatre in Cowes on Saturday July 18.

Button Box tours Island

21

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928 gazette competitionFriday JULY 10 2009 the gazette

Anastacia ready to rock AMERICAN singing star Anastacia admits she has been brushing up on her ‘Isle of Wight Knowledge’ ahead of the concert she will be headlining at Osborne House on Saturday, August 1.

In an exclusive Gazette interview, Anastacia roared with laughter as she recalled the couple of gaffes she made after she learned she would be performing on the Island.

When told her appear-ance coincided with Cowes Week, the 40-year-old from Chicago admitted she

thought she would be singing close to an agricultural show!

And when told the gig was at Osborne House, she imag-ined she would be appearing at the IW residence of zany rock star Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon!

But Anastacia now knows all about Cowes Week, and is disappointed she has had to turn down an invitation from Dame Ellen MacArthur to do a bit of sailing in the Solent.

Anastacia’s trip to the Island is part of a European tour she is undertaking. She said: “I am having a blast! I

have really enjoyed coming back to work. I have only ever toured once before in my life, but I don’t remem-ber enjoying it this much.”

She added: “The people on the Isle of Wight can look forward to a concert that will be more or less ‘Anastacia’s Greatest Hits’. Usually fans want to hear the older songs rather than the newer ones, and if I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do, then it’s not suffering because I love them as well. I’m kind of lucky I like my own songs.”

IZZY JOHNSTON, one-quarter of the stunning classical music group Escala, vividly remembers her first visit to the Island.

She was just 11 when she came here on a school trip to Little Canada at Wootton.

“I was very excited because it was one of the first school trips I had ever been on, and travelling over to the Island on the ferry was great fun,” Izzy recalls.

Now Izzy, who with fellow violinist Victoria Lyon, viola player Chantal Leverton and cellist Tasya Hodges, make up the multi-talented Escala, can hardly wait for her next visit to the Island.

The quartet will be appearing at the same Osborne House outdoor concert as American singer Anastacia and X-Factor winner Leon Jackson on August 1. It is the latest phase of an incredible 12 months for Escala, who swept to fame after demonstrating their contemporary take on classical music on the popular TV show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

Izzy was also here for the IW Festival to support boyfriend Harry Judd, the drummer in pop group McFly. She smiled: “It was quite funny because on the way back to the ferry we found a little fish and chip shop in Ryde and all piled in there for

something to eat. They seemed delighted to see us, because the Festival was taking place on another part of the Island and I don’t think they had had too many customers!”

Escala’s first album, released earlier in the summer, shot straight to number two in the charts, and their live gigs have included a guest performance at Wembley Stadium for last year’s Community Shield between Port-smouth and Manchester United.

Izzy continued: “We are really looking forward to being on the Island because the best thing for us is performing live as a string quartet. I have not been to Osborne House, but to be on the same bill as Anastacia will be amazing.

“As a group we work hard to entertain, because as we are not vocalists we have that bit more of a challenge. We are delighted that we have had such a good response from younger children, who have written to us and told us they are taking up the violin. But we all really get a buzz when we are out there performing live.”

Izzy added: “We just can’t wait to come over and perform and visit the Isle of Wight, and we just hope all our fans enjoy the concert.”

The winner of our Simply Red competition

in our June 12 issue was Mrs Greenhouse

(pictured), from Medina Park, Whippingham.

Izzy’s return trip

Izzy (second from right) with the rest of the Escala girls

IT PROMISES to be a music weekend to remember for Islanders at Osborne House on August 1 and 2 – and thanks to The Gazette YOU can be there.

We are offering readers the chance to win tickets in a FREE, easy-to-enter competi-tion to see the big name acts lined up for the two concerts.

On Saturday, August 1, Anas-tacia will be joined on stage by classical music quartet Escala and former X-Factor winner Leon Jackson. The following evening, Sunday August 2, world renowned group Simply Red, fronted by Mick Huck-nall, will take to the Osborne House stage.

We are giving away SIX pairs of tickets for the Anastacia/Escala/Leon Jackson concert and a further FIVE pairs of tickets for the Simply Red gig to add to the pair already won.

If you want to win tickets for the Saturday night gig, then please answer this simple ques-tion:

Escala shot to fame after appearing on which TV talent show?A) X-Factor.B) Britain’s Got Talent.C) Opportunity Knocks.

Please send your entries to the address below clearly marking the entry ‘ESCALA CONCERT’.

If you want to win tickets for the Simply Red concert, then please answer this simple question:

Simply Red had a massive hit in the 1980s with which of these songs?A) Holding Back the Fears. B) Holding Back the Tears.C) Holding Back the Years.

Please send your entries to: Osborne Competition, IW Gazette, Spithead Business Centre, Newport Rd, Sandown, PO36 9PH, clearly marking the entry ‘SIMPLY RED CONCERT’.

The prize will be awarded to the first correct entry opened after Monday July

WIN! Tickets to Osborne House gigs

20, 2009. Terms & condi-tions apply. Employees and the immediate families of Solo and The Gazette are not allowed to enter. The editor’s decision is final. No cor-respondence will be entered into. The names of the winners will be published in our July 24 edition, and tickets will be sent directly to the winners by Solo, the concert organisers.

22


The Island’s supercar

From left to right Ken Prescott, Dan Blowers. Marcus Boxall,Willam Shepherd, Jon Benton and Christopher Horne

A MOCK-UP of a car that has the potential to reach a mind-boggling 1,000mph has been constructed and painted on the Island – with the ‘real thing’ also being launched here next year.

The Bloodhound SCC pencil-shaped car has been designed to break the land speed record, which currently stands at 763mph. Powered by a Eurofighter jet engine and a rocket, it is anticipated that the car will reach speeds of over 1,000mph (Mach 1.4) in just 40 seconds.

The project director is Richard Noble, who first broke the land speed record in 1983 behind the wheel of Thrust II. In 1997, the Thrust SSC team, headed by Noble and driver Andy Green, pushed that record through the sound barrier.

As part of a sponsorship arrangement, Island-based company Aero-Composites has provided a full aerospace-quality paint finish using its state of the art facility at Bembridge Airport, which is designed to accommodate helicopters and aircraft up to and including the size of a Twin Otter. The chosen paint supplier, Akzo Nobel, is also giving support by providing all materials at no cost.

The project started with the spraying of the large-scale model of Bloodhound, which arrived at Bembridge in June and was com-pleted in time for the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend (July 3-5).

Apart from achieving record-breaking velocity, one of the main strands of the project is to inspire children across the UK to pursue careers in science, engineering and technology.

Jon Benton, Aero-Composites’ paint shop manager, said: “We relished the opportunity

to work on such a prestigious project and also help youngsters to be inspired. Aerospace technology has played a large part in the engineering of the Bloodhound SSC.

“Being part of Bloodhound gives the team a chance to be a part of something that we hope will be a truly great British project.”

Conor La Grue of Bloodhound SSC said: “Approaching Aero-Composites to paint Bloodhound was the obvious choice for us. The combination of advanced technology, a highly skilled team and a dedi-cated facility is ideal for the Bloodhound project.”

Bloodhound SSC has been painted in its own unique colours, ‘Bloodhound Orange’ and ‘Bloodhound Blue’ using specialised paint created to withstand extreme speeds and temperatures. The construction of the final working model of the Bloodhound SSC is expected to be completed in the autumn of 2010. Aero-Composites will then be painting the actual vehicle set to break the land speed record.

The first attempt will be aiming to achieve 800mph; the car’s performance will then be reviewed and modifications made if neces-sary before the team go for the 1,000mph target in 2011.

The car will be driven by Wing Command-er Andy Green. If successful in achieving its record attempt, Bloodhound will travel faster than the current low altitude speed record for aircraft.

By Jamie White

The wedding of Jason Harris and Sarah White

ALBERT COTTAGE in East Cowes was the venue for both the wedding and the reception when Jason Mark Harris married Sarah Elizabeth White on May 30. Solo artist Linzy Bonnick accompanied by Harry Fletcher, on guitar, played throughout the ceremony and drinks reception, and cover band Switch played in a lantern-lit marquee on the lawn in the evening, giving the wedding a mini festival theme.

The groom’s parents are Raymond Harris and Lesley White of Marymead Close, Ryde and the bride’s parents are Roger and Sally White of the Mall, Brading.

Maid of honour Esther Dietrich-sen and bridesmaid Elizabeth Nears both wore chocolate brown Monsoon dresses. Twins Tilly and Nancy Morrall, aged five, were flower girls in ivory dresses and pageboy was the groom’s nephew, Reece Harris aged

ten who wore a pin stripe suit. Best man was Dean Julian and the

ushers were James Middlemiss and Jonathan White and the bride was given away by her father Roger White.

The bride wore a strapless ivory dupion silk dress with beaded back-laced bodice by Elisabeth Smith and carried a bouquet of ivory roses and mango calla lilies with bear grass and pearls.

The couple met whilst out with friends in August 2005 and Jason moved to Brighton in February 2006 whilst Sarah was studying at Brighton University. They will take their honeymoon after the wedding season as the groom has his own photography company Chique Photography, although they did enjoy a mini break to Brighton.• Photographs were by Chique’s newest photographer Kenzie@ Chiquephotog-raphy.co.uk

Friday JULY 10 2009 the gazette 23

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928 gazette feature

VISITORS are drawn to the Island for a variety of reasons – the beaches, the sailing and the walking being three of the most obvious.

But in recent years another special Island feature has been proving very effective at attract-ing a whole new crowd – its artistic output.

The IW is home to 65 artists’ studios, some of them full-scale galleries, others small rooms in ordinary houses.

For the past five years, the Open Studios scheme has seen these artists throwing open their doors to allcomers for a couple of summer weekends. Visitors are welcomed into their studios – and in many cases their homes – to view their work and maybe even buy it.

The scheme divides the artists into two camps, South & West Wight being one and North & East Wight the other. This year, the SouthWesters are opening up first (on July 17-20), with the NorthEasters following suit a week later.

According to Nina Cullinane, arts development officer at the IW Council Arts Unit, there were more than 5,000 visitors to the Open Studios last year, provid-ing a lot of good feedback to the artists and, more importantly, making a not inconsiderable number of purchases.

Though artistic talent is spread throughout the Island, one of the current hotspots, certainly in terms of numbers of artists living and working there, is the eastern tip that incorporates Bembridge, St Helens and Nettlestone. No less than 16 artists will be taking part in Open Studios, one of them, Penelope Walford, display-ing her landscapes, seascapes and quirky jewellery in one of the railway carriages turned beach huts by St Helens Duver.

Another seascape specialist, Charlotte Hodge Thomas, is hoping that her show, at her home in Walls Road, Bembridge, will repeat the success of past years.

“My actual studio is a very small, unglamorous ‘shack’ at-tached to the side of the house – so for one weekend a year I strip my lounge of furnishings to display my work,” says Char-lotte. “For me, the Open Studios are the most important event on the Island’s artistic calendar and the highlight of the year in terms of exhibiting my work.

Three-dimensional art also figures largely in the Open Studios scheme. In Gurnard, sculptor Jamie Vans will be demonstrating why he has gained such a following in his 20-year career.

In Ryde, Sue Paraskeva will be showing her finely thrown porcelain that includes a range of tableware and contemporary vessels.

Down south, in Ventnor, Sophie Honeybourne is hoping to sell lots of her distinctive jewellery from her shop in Church Street over the Open Studios weekend. Sophie, a graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, opened the shop in her home town in 2007 after building up a considerable following in the capital.

“People seem to love the fact that I make the jewellery in the shop itself,” says Sophie.

Anybody interested in visiting some of the Open Studios will need to equip themselves with a free copy of The Isle of Wight Arts Directory 2009/10, which gives full details of the exhibit-ing artists, where to find their studios and their opening times. You can pick up a copy of the directory from libraries, tourist information centres, the Quay Arts Centre in Newport and some local restaurants and shops.

Home’s where the art isTHE ANNUAL Open Studios scheme has proved a hit with artists and art fans alike.Paul Rainford previews this year’s event

Charlotte Hodge Thomas’s Open Studio last year

LUKE HOLBROOK, who has a wonderful leather workshop in Shanklin Old Village’s Mews, between the Village Inn and Holliers Hotel, is a fearsome warrior on the re-enactment field, although meeting him it’s hard to believe. Obviously no one gets intentionally injured, but these mock skirmishes can get pretty heated apparently.

“If there’s a boar snout I’m usually at the front of it,” he told me. A boar’s snout is the shape of the group of warriors who ‘aim’ themselves at the opponent’s ‘shield wall’ – a line of soldiers holding their shields aloft to deter such an assault. “I throw myself in and usually come out in pieces,” he contin-ued – obviously not literally.

A leather worker by trade, Luke (below) makes armour for re-enactment groups both nationwide and across the world specialising in the arm guards, belts, pouches and other leather items that would have made up Viking or Medieval dress both battle and day to day wear. He can even make shields, using rawhide to ‘face’ the shields, which is stretched and dried.

Luke’s knowledge of his craft is extensive and it’s not surpris-ing that he was picked to work on a recent feature film ‘Faint-heart’. Items he made include drawstring pouches, boar tusk necklaces, “the closest you can get to the original boars come from Papua New Guinea,” and authentic Viking belts.

More recently Luke has been supplying work to another film company, who are shooting in England at the moment, for a major release next year. On a par with big budget films such as Gladi-ator, the details are, unfortu-nately, unlikely to appear in the press as Luke has been asked not to use the name of the film in any of his publicity.

Inside his shop you are taken back in time to the dark ages: benches strewn with sheepskins, a Viking helmet on the top shelf with a cow horn drinking vessel, a large arrow quiver made of shiny oxblood

coloured leather, small leather bags and change purses in as-sorted colours. Belts with beauti-ful embossing have buckles cast from originals found by hobbyist metal detecting societies.

Luke’s love of all things ancient began growing up overlooking Carisbrooke Castle from his bedroom window. Dad, Andy, took him to all of the historical events up at the castle. “When I was a kid I wanted to be a Roman, but they didn’t do re-enactment,” he explained. Re-enactment started as a hobby for Luke when he was around 18, and he was a member of the Island’s Wolfguard Viking and medieval re-enactment group but left to concentrate on the dark ages with his present group Glepnir.

“I love working with my hands and I also love travelling across the UK, having access to histori-cal sites when other people don’t see them,” he explained of his re-enactment sorties. “Old Sarum is amazing at sunset – you can stand at the top of the battle-ments and see the old cathedral beneath you. And Corfe Castle is another really nice one – we’ve done Viking events there in the past two years and they’ve been really good.”

The business grew from his passion, starting in his dad’s shed in 2005, which he quickly outgrew. Moving to the Mews in 2006, he now shares the small group of converted stables with ‘The Village Workbox’ who sell art and ceramics; ‘The Village Idiot’ who sell original and

Passion leads to film workquirky gifts; ‘Ceramic Crafts’ who make their own unique ceramic wear and ‘Su-zanne’s’ which is on the corner as you enter the mews, who have a wide range of Island-made jewellery, gifts and artwork.

By Jo Macaulay

the gazette Friday JULY 10 200924

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928gazette feature

IN ONE part of the Island our most high-profile event – Cowes Week – will be drawing to a close. In another, a completely different kind of gathering will, hopefully, be getting into its stride.

For on the weekend of August 7-9, the DidgHead-Radio Music Festival is taking over the land-locked loveliness that is Calbourne Mill. West Wight could be in for a bit of a culture shock.

The DHR Festival is aiming to be a family-friend-ly extravaganza, with fire-eaters, Japanese drummers and a whole range of other attractions. Above all else, however, you can expect to hear a very distinctive sound wafting over the River Calbourne: the sound of did-geridoos, and lots of them.

The festival is the brain-child of Gerry Priddle, a Freshwater-based ‘didge’ player and enthusiast. Three years ago, Gerry’s love of the instrument prompted him to set up DidgHead Radio, a web-based radio station that broadcasts didgeridoo-based music around the globe.

He is convinced that the Island is ready for a didgeri-doo festival, and he is hoping to attract around 2,000 people to Calbourne to share his vision.

Gerry is keen to empha-sise that this is not just a hippie love-in for didgeridoo ‘anoraks’. “This is a really family friendly event. If you’re on the Island as a holidaymaker or if you live here and you want a lovely weekend, or just a day, with

your kids at something com-pletely different to Black-gang Chine or whatever, come here.”

The plan is to create a scaled-down version of WOMAD, the world music festival on the mainland that has been pulling in large crowds for many years. As well as didgeridoos, expect to see and hear jaw harp players, throat singers and whole lot of other niche sounds that you are unlikely to catch on the Terry Wogan show.

Gerry acknowledges that there may be some prejudic-es to overcome. “The biggest hurdle is getting people to understand what we’re doing and to change this into an attractive event that brings more than 50 people in.”

The site certainly feels right. In partnership with Tony Chaucer, owner of Cal-bourne Mill, Gerry has got it all planned out: main stage right by the restful waters of the Calbourne at the bottom of a natural, grassy amphi-theatre; woodland trails festooned with atmospheric

lighting; and a level area set aside as a camp site for those who want to stay for the whole weekend. Even on the wet day I visited it, it was possible to envisage how magical this could feel on a warm summer’s evening with hundreds of people relaxing to the sounds of the ‘didge’. As a festival venue, you can’t help but feel it has the edge over Seaclose Park, massively successful though the main IW Festival is.

Gerry has certainly con-vinced his project partner that this is an event that could really take off. “This is going to be how festivals used to be,” says Tony.

But aren’t the locals nervous about the possibility of thousands of didge fanat-ics coming into their midst? Not a bit of it, says Tony. “The Parish Council have been brilliant – they think it’s wonderful for Calbourne and West Wight. They said they are fed up with all the major events going to the north-east side of the Island.

“IW Council have also

THE ISLAND’S first ever didgeridoo-based music festival is coming soon to West Wight. Paul Rainford met its promoter

A bit of a ’doo

been supportive in as much as they think it’s a wonderful idea,” he adds.

Health and safety wise, there are clearly still a few loose ends to be tied up before the festival opens its gates. When I arrived, Gerry had just been told by a man

with a clipboard that some new hard standing had to be created near the stage in case a fire engine had to attend during the event. The wood-land trails needed finishing off. Understandably, he seemed a little stressed.

But, after a quick blow on

his didge, everything was right with the world once again.• For full details of the event, including ticket prices, visit www.didgheadfestivals.co.uk. Free camping is available to festivalgoers, and day tickets are available.

Didge facts• The didgeridoo is a wind instrument of the Aborigines of Australia’s Northern Ter-ritories. It is traditionally made from living eucalyptus trees that have been hollowed out by termites, though modern versions come in yew, fibreglass and plastic.• A modern didgeridoo is usually cylindri-cal or conical in shape and can measure anything from 1-3 metresin length. Gener-ally, the longer the instrument, the lower the pitch or key of the instrument.• You can expect to pay between £600-£1,000 for an authentic didgeridoo.• ‘Didgeridoo’ is actually the colonial set-tlers’ name for the instrument – the Yolgnu people call it a ‘yirdaki’.

Above: Gerry Priddle shows his ‘didge’ technique. Acts performing at the festival in-clude Aleksander Kostyuchenko (below) and DUbravko (left)

Friday JULY 10 2009 the gazette 25

Send your news to [email protected] or tel. (01983) 409928 gazette feature

FOR MANY Islanders, Brading is just one of those places that you have to drive through to get somewhere else, scraping your tyres on the kerb as you try to avoid oncoming buses in the narrow high street.

But this, of course, is to do this little town a disservice. A significant port in Roman times, Brading is steeped in history and full of interesting corners.

And there is no corner more interesting than the one on which stands Brading The Experience. Still known to most Islanders as Brading waxworks, this attraction has been pulling in the punters since 1965, when it was founded by Graham Osborne-Smith.

Now under the ownership of Ryde busi-nessman Robert Ball, it has been much extended in recent years, with a ‘World of Wheels’ exhibition devoted to classic cars, motorcycles and steam engines being just one of the additions.

But it is the waxworks that still predomi-nate, with a roll-call of historical characters that includes Henry VIII and Queen Victoria. For all the figures displayed, some sort of genuine connection with the Island is made – for example, it is revealed that Sir Winston Churchill, who is depicted with trademark cigar, used to holiday in Ventnor in his early years.

Jeanette Smith, the attraction’s general manager, believes that the spirit of the attrac-tion’s founder still shines through after 44 years. “Some of those things you’re seeing now, Osborne-Smith created, which is some-thing that always amazes me – the detail of it all and the imagination that went into them.”

The founder’s sense of humour is still very much in evidence in the signs that are dotted around the exhibition. No po-faced ‘please don’t touch’ orders here – off-the-wall quirkiness is the order of the day.

“We hardly changed any of the original signs – we just have to update them from time to time,” says supervisor Ralph Eder-maniger.

Ralph acknowledges that being based in Brading rather than one of the more ‘obvious’ holiday destinations such as

Sandown or Shanklin, they have to work that bit harder to keep the customers coming through the doors. The sales patter comes thick and fast from Ralph as he persuades customers to invest in a brochure, offering them a complimentary cup of tea in the ad-joining Carousel Café, which also forms part of Brading The Experience.

The heart of the site is the Old Rectory Mansion, which dates from the thirteenth century and includes a beautiful Early Tudor galleried courtyard. There can be few houses in the country that have been associated with so many significant historical characters and events, not least the reputed murder of nobleman Louis de Rochefort, which is reconstructed, medieval Crimewatch-style, behind one of the glass panels.

At one time, when the sea still lapped the quayside of the town, the mansion was used as a brewhouse by German Richards, the then vice admiral of the Island. He sold his local beer to the British fleet, which fre-quently lay at anchor off Brading Harbour, and made a small fortune for himself.

Across the courtyard from the mansion lurks what is perhaps the attraction’s most famous – or infamous – corner, the chamber of horrors. Even in these days of computer-generated scariness, the displays of fiendish torture devices still have the power to shock.

“What we say to the customers is that this is reality; it really did happen, and some of it happened not that long ago,” says Jeanette. “Perhaps if they still had some of this today there wouldn’t be quite so much nonsense!” she adds, laughing.

As the attraction prepares for the tourist hordes of high summer, Jeanette admits that this year will be a period of consolidation after the additions and extensions of recent times. “We’ve got enough to be getting on with here now,” she says, adding that she also finds time to oversee the business of the nearby Bugle pub, which forms another part of Robert Ball’s empire.

And if you spend too long in that chamber of horrors, a stiff drink at The Bugle might be just what the doctor ordered.

Waxing historicalIn the latest of The Gazette’s series on Island attractions, Paul Rainford ventures into Brading The Experience, where history and horror have been bringing in the visitors since 1965

26



ISLE OF WIGHT Motorcy-cles sponsors the under-80cc youth trials rider Ellie Attrill, who had an excellent second year after winning both championships in the Isle of Wight Motor Cycle Club and in the VIPMCC trials events. Ellie, who started competing in trials in March 2008 on a Yamaha TY 80, practised hard throughout her first year to win both Island championships. Ellie is the grand-daughter of the legend trials champion Aubrey Attrill – who won numerous championship trials from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Ellie has now built up a good record, and is progress-ing well, looking to win this year’s championship trials in both the Isle of Wight Motor Club and the VIPMCC Trials Club. Ellie has won 12 out of the 14 trials she rode in this year.

Ellie now excels in her class on her new Beta 80, which was supplied by Isle of Wight Motorcycles. Her new bike was a big step up from her 80cc Yamaha TY 80 in terms of riding as the Beta is a much bigger bike.

Since riding the new bike she has improved well over the past couple of months.

It looks like Ellie is fol-lowing in her grandad’s footsteps as over the course of the year she has collected a great deal of silverware and has won countless individ-ual trials, with the help and support of her sponsor.

Isle of Wight Motorcycles runs sponsorship deals with a wide range of individuals and organisations throughout the year. They also supply a wide range of products, anything from trials clothing to motor-cycle parts and accessories.

Ellie follows in grandad’s footstepsAdvertising Feature

FROM the outside, the Vauxhall Insignia is a smart and sophisticated looking car. And when you sit inside the spacious cabin, it’s just as impressive.

The model I tested was the 2.0CDTi, which throws out 130bhp and can run on the best part of 50mpg – which is pretty good for a car of its size.

The Insignia replaces the Vectra, and it is a new design from the tyres up. It certainly looks the part. Cleverly proportioned, and just slightly taller than the old Vectra, it still manages to look as low as a coupe. The bold grille on the front and the coupe-like profile certainly make it stand out.

Inside, there is ample room for up to five people. Every model in the range has a height-adjustable driver’s seat, with four-way lumbar adjustment, and the seats are very comfortable.

The ride is smooth and as I drove it I felt exceptionally secure, with responsive steering that feels firm but without undue weight. As I eased onto the dual carriageway

heading towards Cowes, I could feel the turbo kick in, which produced an impressive level of acceleration and torque.

The sloping rear windows add a sense of importance as you sit in the back seats in complete comfort.

The Insignia has been tested by EuroNCAP and emerged with a solid five-star rating. All models get six airbags and electronic stabil-ity control as standard.

There are several optional extras that can be added – at a cost. Satellite navigation does come as standard on ‘Nav’ variants of each trim level. There is also a Sri version available, which gets sports suspension, sports seats and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Vauxhall’s new family car comes as a hatchback, saloon and an estate, with prices for the hatchback starting from £17,125. For more information you can call Hartwell Vauxhall on 537007.

By Jamie White

VIRTUALLY every IW car dealer will have a presence at the Island Motor Show, which takes place next weekend (July 18-19) at Havenstreet’s steam railway.

In all, 24 franchises will be there, offering the public a chance to see around 150 of the latest models all on one site.

Admission is free, and the show opens at 10am on both days, closing at 5pm on the Saturday and 4pm on the Sunday.

Annual motor show revs up

for Havenstreet

Insignia’s marks of quality and style

The Insignia’s good looks continue with the spacious interior


27

gazetteFriday JULY 10 2009 the gazette

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Advertising Feature

STRANGE though it may sound, in many ways the depth of a recession is an ideal opportunity for starting or taking over a business. Rents are lower, property prices are at their nadir, it’s cheaper to borrow money (if you still have your credit rating) and there are a number of floundering companies coming on to the market.

And it’s a buyers market, as the Boatshed.com have discovered. This world-wide yacht brokerage company are expanding daily, sell over 100 yachts every month with more boats coming on to their books every day and have

buyers travelling from far and wide. The Boatshed’s USP (unique selling point)

is that they aim to be totally transparent in their marketing. Every boat is

stringently inspected and up to 70 photographs of each vessel are posted on

their website with details on all aspects: the wiring, the fittings, the hull, the rigging, the engine, the plumbing - everything.

At the launch of their new Bembridge office at the Duver on Satur-day June 27, owner and founder Neil Chapman introduced the Boatshed in Bembridge’s new agent Jane Royle to the assem-bled throng of customers, agents and press repre-sentatives, before cutting the ribbon to officially open this newest office. The Boatshed in Bem-bridge joins the Cowes and Yarmouth franchises and becomes the 63rd office of Boatshed to open since Neil launched the business, ten years ago.

Bigger Boatshed hits Bembridge

EQUEST internet café/pc gaming centre, has been in its Scarrots Lane loca-tion for seven years, but the recession has meant more people are coming in to use the computers – whether it’s kids wanting to play games or adults needing to check their emails. Owner Matt Harthill has decided that now is the time to expand into his first floor space, dedicat-ing upstairs to gamers and downstairs to internet users; business people needing to contact customers and associates or students and tourists wanting to network or contact friends.

“We opened on July 4, because I was getting queues

of people waiting to use the machines,” said Matt. “The regulars now love the new layout and having the space to themselves. It’s so quiet in the shop downstairs now (internet users), and the kids like to have their own space upstairs to play their games.”

The shop has between 20 and 30 games to choose from which can be net-worked between the com-puters. Internet customers have Microsoft 2007, MSM Messenger, Yahoo Mes-senger, can print and scan and hopefully soon Equest will be able to offer business

services such as photo-copying – you could practi-cally run your business from Matt’s shop.

A proper launch of the new extended premises is planned in a couple of weeks’ time.

Equest for larger premises

COWES-BASED renewable energy spe-cialist Engenius has commissioned what it claims is the Island’s first commercial hydro turbine in Ventnor.

The turbine uses surplus spring water to offset the electricity use of new public con-veniences on the seafront. The spring, which once served only the famous cascade, is now also piped for toilet-flushing to save mains water, and to the adjacent paddling pool and harbour fishing pontoons.

IW Council incorporated the turbine into the specification for the new toilets, which were designed by Biggs Talbot of Newport and built by Mountjoy. Engenius specified and sourced the turbine itself, together with its power convertors, which are housed inside the toilet building, and installed it during the recent refurbishment of the cascade and paddling pool areas.

Laurie Tennant, director of Engenius, said: “This is a significant first for both IW Council and Engenius. There aren’t many places where a hydro turbine is viable, so we were delighted to be asked to provide this unit. We are now able to offer yet another renewable resource to complement our solar and wind power systems and it fits well with our work in rainwater harvesting.”

The turbine is expected to produce over a year sufficient energy to balance the power consumption of the toilets, which have ef-ficient lighting, water heating and hand-dry-ing. The Canadian design was the only unit suitable for the pressure and flow conditions at the cascade, and had to be specially built prior to final adjustment on site by Engenius.

Engenius’ turbine solution

WITH a new menu, a new chef and a new bar manager the Marine on the seafront in Ryde is moving up to a new level.

Alberto Da Silva, previ-ously of Osbourne House and The Farringford, has devised a mouth water-ing menu, where all dishes are cooked fresh

using only Isle of Wight produce, including freshly caught mussels served in a creamy garlic, white wine and parsley sauce with crusty bread, which is quickly becoming the Marine’s biggest seller.

New bar manager,

Luke Lewis, is a cocktail supremo. The bar is now fully stocked with all your favourite spirits and liqueurs and a new wine and cocktail list is being introduced. Saturday nights a two for one deal on cocktails operates between 8pm and 10pm.

It’s not just Isle of Wight produce that The Marine is keen on promoting. Every Friday and Satur-day there is live entertain-ment from the best bands the Island has to offer, as well as Marine regular DJ Tim Boogaloo, rocking out all the best sounds from the 60s and 70s.

The Marine has a

particular draw for scooterists visiting the Island and is a popular venue for ride outs. Scooter memorabilia has a subtle presence in the large creamy yellow themed interior with its beautiful arched windows overlooking the seafront. New chocolate leather sofas and seating make

this a comfortable location to sit and watch the world go by – there are also tables on the pavement for warmer days. Food is served from 10am.

You can find The Marine on Facebook for all the latest on which bands are playing, and upcoming events as well as special offers.

Advertising Feature

Massive changes at the MarineAdvertising features by Jo Macaulay

Advertising Feature


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30



THE FIRST fixtures for the Island’s Wessex League teams have been released by the Hampshire F.A. Newport start with a home match against Wimborne Town in

the Premier Division, with East Cowes Vics also starting at home against Amesbury in Division One. Cowes Sports’

first fixture sees them travel to Laverstock and Ford, with Brading kicking off at Romsey Town.

Below: The fixtures for August.

FA CUP Extra-Preliminary Round - August 15New Milton v COWES SPORTS

Bitton v NEWPORTBRADING v Fairford Town

BRADING TOWN08/08/09 Romsey Town v Brading15/08/09 Brading v Lymington Town19/08/09 Brading v Fareham Town22/08/09 Brading v Bournemouth29/08/09 Alresford Town v Brading31/08/09 Brading v Newport

NEWPORT08/08/09 Newport v Wimborne Town11/08/09 Newport v Moneyfields15/08/09 New Milton Town v Newport18/08/09 Totton & Eling v Newport22/08/09 Newport v Lymington Town29/08/09 Hamworthy Utd v Newport31/08/09 Brading v Newport

COWES SPORTS08/08/09 Laverstock & Ford v Cowes Sports11/08/09 Cowes Sports v Lymington Town15/08/09 Wimborne Town v Cowes Sports18/08/09 Blackfield & Langley v Cowes Sports22/08/09 Cowes Sports v Alresford Town29/08/09 Cowes Sports v Poole Town31/08/09 Cowes Sports v Totton & Eling

EAST COWES VICS08/08/09 East Cowes Vics v Amesbury15/08/09 Tadley Calleva v East Cowes Vics18/08/09 East Cowes Vics v AFC Portchester25/08/09 East Cowes Vics v United Services Portsmouth29/08/09 Verwood Town v East Cowes Vics31/08/09 East Cowes Vics v Horndean

Island’s big four kick off

THE WIGHTLINK Islanders produced a scorching per-formance in the summer heat as they beat the King’s Lynn Barracudas 59-36 in their National League match.

Captain Nick Simmons and his men had promised to avenge the heavy defeat they suffered in the away match against the Barracudas last month-and they did just that.

Simmons led by example dropping just one point out of a possible 15 in his five rides and setting a new National League track record of 68.9 seconds for four laps around the 385-metre Wave105FM stadium circuit at Smallbrook.

There was some superb

racing served up by both sides throughout the match- the highlight coming in heat seven, when the visitors top rider Adam Allott had blasted from the tapes leaving Simmons behind. The Island-ers’ captain knew he had to find a way past his opponent both inside and outside, before finally squeezing through a narrow gap on the last bend to grab the win by a wheel.

Joint team manager Chris Hunt was delighted with the performance. He said: “Make no mistake we have moulded a very good side together here, and whilst we

aren’t being tipped by most to emerge as league cham-pions this year, that suits us fine, for we’ll just continue winning matches and picking up the points with no pres-sure.

“The whole team were simply awesome and never looked in any danger of being beaten, from the time Ben Hopwood and Tom Brown scorched to a maximum 5-1 victory in the very first race of the night.”

However, the Islanders’ fortunes changed in their following game as they went down 54-39 against Derby-shire side Buxton Hitmen.

Wightlink Islanders joint team manager Kevin Shep-herd was left totally bemused by his side’s performance as he watched them slip to defeat at the East Midlands circuit. He said: “I really thought on my way up to Buxton that we had a great chance of winning there, es-pecially after the way we had totally demolished King’s Lynn-but alas it wasn’t to be.

“Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong starting with a phone call from Rikki Mullins the day before the meeting saying that he’d blown his engine up in his workshop

and would not be able to get the problem fixed in time to ride in the match.”

That meant a call up for Welsh youngster Scott Meakins again, but he strug-gled a bit around the tight 240-metre circuit, which is hardly surprising given his relative inexperience.

“We suffered a series of falls and engine failures that cost us dearly in the end. I’m afraid that you could say it was ‘one of those days’ but I was disappointed to say the least that we didn’t pick up at least a point from the match,” added Kevin.

The Islanders’ talented teenage duo of Brendan Johnson and Ben Hopwood are both celebrating their call up to the British Under 21 side.

They will be taking on Australasia’s Under 21 side in a five match test series, the third of which takes place at their home track at Small-brook Stadium on Tuesday July 14. Action is set to get underway at 7.30pm.

Both 17-year old Brendan, and 18-year old Ben have been in excellent form the Islanders so far this season, and are playing a key part in the team’s push to finish in the top four of this year’s

National League.Both are included in the

seven man British side for that third test match, with the first taking place at Wey-mouth today (Friday July 10), and the second tomor-row (Saturday July 11) at King’s Lynn.

The pair are hoping they can help the young Brits emerge victorious on their home circuit. Brendan has also been selected to ride in the fourth and fifth tests that take place at Plymouth and Buxton on July 17 and 19.

Wightlink Islanders chair-man, Mike Bellman, said: “We are delighted to be

staging the third test in this five match series. I am also thrilled that both Brendan and Ben have been called up to ride in it, and really hope folk on the Island turn out in force to cheer them and their fellow young Brits to victory!”

The Wightlink Islanders get their National Trophy campaign underway away at Plymouth tonight (Friday July 10), but will have to go to Devon without both skipper Nick Simmons and Tom Brown, both of whom will be riding for Somerset in the Premier League against Glasgow.

By Jamie White

By Jamie White

Pict

ures

by

Dav

id V

alen

tine

Brendan Johnson

Ben Hopwood

Teenage duo are true Brits

Ventnor are back in familiar territory at the top of the Southern Electric Premier League Division 2 after hammering struggling Hambledon by 103 runs at Steephill. The Islanders returned to the summit after leaders Rowledge lost at Hartley Wintney while Greg Lamb’s third placed Burridge side came unstuck at Hursley Park.

An understrength Ventnor side made an uncertain start with debutant Rueben Friend and Neil Westhorpe dismissed with just 15 runs on the board as Hambledon’s James Scott made early in-roads. After Richard Wilson departed for an impressive 32, it was Ian Hilsum who held the innings together with a superb, undefeated 97, enabling his side to reach 229-6 from their 50 overs. It was the second week running that Ventnor’s stand-in skipper had come within three runs of a century, following his unbeaten knock in the Twenty20 win over Fareham.

After James Scutt fell to Marc Allen, Hambledon’s response had progressed to 50 before Blake Dean (27) was trapped lbw by Zanzima ‘Nono’ Pongolo.

From there, only Chakrabarti with 24 held up the home team as Hilsum completed another man of the match performance with 2-12 while Pongolo (2-24) Rob Snell (1-18) and David Beven (1-46) also assisted as the

visitors were dismissed for 126.Ventnor take on Bournemouth in the

Twenty20 cup quarter final, and the Dorset side will be a tough nut to crack for the Islanders, who will be unable to call on Danny Briggs. The young left arm spinner is on ‘Test’ duty for England under 19’s. The winners of the tie will progress to the semis on August 2, with the final taking place under the Rose Bowl floodlights on August 19.

A second team including nine players under the age of 18 fell to a 72 run loss at Ham-bledon II. The defeat was enough to knock Ventnor off the top of Hampshire League Division 4.

Hambledon’s former Hampshire player Ian Turner hit 49 in the home team’s total of 248-7, then took 2-19 as Ventnor replied with 176-9. Adam Hose dominated the visi-tors’ innings with 92, but only Mark Wood-house offered meaningful support with 36 as the Islanders fell short. Earlier, George Parker took 4-49 for Ventnor in his first ap-pearance of the season.

Joe Cotton hit a splendid, unbeaten 104 for Ventnor’s third team in their seven wicket win over Cowes Centurions in the Har-wood’s League. With Mark Price hitting 35, Malc White’s side comfortably overhauled the home team’s total of 188 all out.

Ventnor take over at top


31


Island Games IW medalsGOLDThomas Wade (3000 Steeplechase Men)Andy Frost (Hammer Men)Helen Davis (Javelin Women)Matthew Barton (Triple Jump Men)

SILVERJoseph Wade (2) (1500m and 800m)Amy Church (Hammer Women)Richard Talbot (Laser Radial Rig)Isle of Wight (Team Sailing Event)Mikael Popov (100m Breaststroke Men)

BRONZEFaith Norster (100m Women)Isle of Wight (4 x 100m Relay Men)Isle of Wight ( 4 x 100m Relay Women)Thomas Wade (5000m)Paul Cameron (Half Marathon Men)Emily Young (Long Jump Women)Mikael Popov (50m Breaststroke Men)Rosemary Gard (100m Individual Medley)

A VERY slow start due to fickle wind condi-tions delayed the special RNLI Pennant Race at the Brading Haven Yacht Club by half an hour.

Race Officer Steve DeBoise set a triangular course outside of Bembridge Harbour with the fast handicap sailing an Olympic and the slow fleet, a double triangle. Even though the wind kept changing up to 180 degrees at times there was always a decent beat some-where along the course.

After a bad start, Wayfarer sailors Gordon Osborne and David Cotchin sailed a tremen-dous race to claim a victorious win of 17 seconds on corrected time from the Europe of Chris Wilkinson in second place. Richard Coleman who actually took the line honours in his Contender, had to accept a third place

on handicap.The slow handicap had problems with

retirements, leaving the stubborn tenacity of Dave Mitchell to earn a well deserved win and claim the fleet’s special pennant.

An evening race followed at the yacht club, held in sunny conditions but with only a slight breeze from the south. David Cotchin acted as race officer, setting a course close to Silver Beach but with plenty of beats and reaches.

The fast handicap had Martyn Davies leading all the way in his Contender, to be the first over the finish line but unable to take a winning place on corrected time. This was earned by Chris Wilkinson sailing his Europe making a fine win of 44 seconds on handicap from Roger and Gill Herbert second, and

Peter and Camoron Hudson a close third, all sailing Wayfarers.

The slow handicap field had to be drasti-cally shortened due to a drop in the breeze but congratulations were given to cadet member, Isobel McInnes who sailed a ter-rific race to cross the line a winner in a Pico. Anne Barlow was second in her Scow with the Pico of Josh Hill third.

Martyn Davies took over as race officer on Sunday with a Committee Boat start in the Garland Area holding two races of about an hour each. Ideal racing conditions were the order of the day with a fairly strong south-westerly breeze pushing the dinghies along without too many problems.

In the first race of the fast handicap class, Tim Sansom sailed a blinder in his Wayfarer

to earn a win, but not without strong attacks from John Carter and D. Cheek also in a Wayfarer who made a second place just 33 seconds behind. Veteran sailors, Graham Love and Shaun Burden, enjoyed a well deserved third place in their so-called Haven.

In race number two, Jonathan Hoare sailing his first race of the season, claimed a very clear win in his wooden Finn, 114 seconds ahead of Ben and Milly Stitt in their RS200.

Graham Sutton had the first race sewn up in the slow handicap, by taking both line and corrected time honours in his Scow. Mike Toogood made a well earned second place with David Earee third.

It was then Mike Toogood’s turn to hear the winning gun with Graham in second and Matthew McInnes crossing third in a Pico.

WIN!THIS ISSUE we are giving you the chance to win four tickets (2 adults, 2 children) to the Island Speed-way’s Smallbrook Spectacular on July 21 at 7.30pm. It features both solo stars of today and yesteryear, sidecars, quads, motocross and much much more - 34 races in total for all

to enjoy and much much more besides - a real fun night out for all! It is so easy to enter, just answer the question below, then send your entry to: Speedway competition, IW Gazette, Spithead

Business Centre, Sandown, IW, PO36 9PH. The closing date is July 20 2009.

Question: How many wheels does a quad have?

Answer:

Name:

Address:

Tel no:

The prize will be awarded to the first correct entry opened after Monday July 20, 2009. Terms & conditions apply. Employees and the immediate families of Island Speedway and The Gazette are not allowed to enter.

The editor’s decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.

Weather plays part in Haven racing

A set of four tickets to the Smallbrook Spectacular!

Above: Emily Young (far right) receivingher bronze medal for the Long Jump

Andy Frost (centre) collects his gold medal for the Hammer

Above: action from a charity match

between Newclose XI and a Hospice XI at Newclose

County Ground to raise funds for the Earl Mountbatten

Hospice

the gazette Friday JULY 10 200932

ORGANISERS of this year’s West Wight Triathlon, which takes place on September 20, are reporting that entries are already much higher than for the same period in previous years.

So far 59 individuals and eight teams have entered, meaning the event is well on its way to exceeding its target entry of 250.

The triathlon consists of a 600 metre swim, 35 km cycle ride and 7.5 km run. The competi-tion, say the organisers, tends

to attract many attempting their first triathlon.

This year the event has teamed up with the Ellen MacArthur Trust (www.el-lenmacarthurtrust.org.uk) to give entrants the chance to raise sponsorship money for the trust if they wish.

Anyone interested in entering can do so at www.westwight.co.uk, where there are also training tips and results from previous years.

sportthe gazetteSend your sports news to [email protected]

TOP ISLAND golfer Mark Bell is being given the chance to hit the big time after a group of golfers from Shanklin and Sandown Golf Club joined forces in a bid to launch his professional career.

Bell, 22, is the current SSGC club and former Island champion, and it has been his dream to gain a place at the European Tour School. But the difficult financial climate has left him looking in vain for sponsorship – until fellow members came up with a plan.

They have put together a financial package, and will also be holding a Mark Bell Golf Day at Shanklin

and Sandown’s picturesque course on August 15.

Teams of four, paying £15 apiece, will compete in a shotgun start, and the event will be followed by a pig roast and auction. That should raise sufficient funds to allow Bell, who plays off plus-1, to take part in the Tour School qualifying events, which begin in October.

He said: “It has always been my goal to play on the European Tour, and I very much appreciate the help I am being given. I just hope I can find the form to repay the faith people are showing in me.

I believe I have a chance of making it.”

Bell will begin his quest for a Tour card in the first stage over 36 holes at either the Oxfordshire or the Charthills course in Kent. If successful he will then progress to the second stage in Spain, before attempting to reach the finals, also in Spain, and played over six rounds.

Anyone interested in sponsoring or part-sponsor-ing the Mark Bell Golf Day can contact SSGC secretary Andy Creed on 403217.

Bell is expected to figure prominently this weekend when he defends his Shanklin and Sandown title. He will be playing

off scratch and can expect fierce opposition from the 2007 champion Chris Reed, who plays off 1.

They will be among a field of 75 vying for the title, and many members warmed up for the event by taking part in the Monthly Medal. The best gross score was recorded by John West with 73, followed by Martin Rouse (76) and Greg Hammond (77).

Rouse, with a nett 62, won Division One, fol-lowed by West (nett 65) and Des Mander (nett 66). Barry Simpson (62) took the Division Two honours, followed home by Neil Doble (65) and James Mc-Clelland (65).

Club champ’s Euro Tour hopesBy Jamie White

Triathlon entries up

THE COUNTDOWN to the 2011 NatWest International Island Games on the Isle of Wight has now offi-cially started following the end of the 2009 competition in Aland (Finland).

The biennial competition, which is one of the largest participation events in the world behind the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, ended on Sunday July 5.

Team Isle of Wight finished a respectable 11th out of 25 in the medals table in Aland with four gold, six silver and eight bronze medals.

Among the highlights were Andy Frost again dominating the Hammer Throw competition while Helen Davis won the women’s Javelin gold.

Matthew Barton won gold in the Triple Jump, while the Wade broth-ers of Thomas and Joseph took home four medals between them.

Thomas Wade came home first in the 3000m Steeplechase while also picking up a bronze in the 500m. His brother Joseph Wade picked up silver medals in the 1500m and also the 800m.

Mikael Popov picked up two

medals in the pool, winning silver and bronze in the 100m Breaststroke and the 50m breaststroke respec-tively.

With Cowes being the home of sailing, Richard Talbot in the Laser Radial Rig picked up a silver, while Team Isle of Wight came home second in the Team event.

Several bronze medals were won on the athletics track with both the men and women 4 x 100m teams winning bronze while Paul Cameron came home third in the half mara-thon.

IW Council Chief Executive Steve Beynon said: “I offer my congratu-lations to every athlete who have given their all representing the Isle of Wight on this prestigious interna-tional stage.

“Once again the Island has dem-onstrated it has some top sport-ing talent, winning 18 medals and finishing 11th out of 25 competing islands.

“We now have the honour of hosting the NatWest International Island Games in 2011 in the year

before the Olympics take place in London. Preparations are well underway and we’re already looking forward to the 2011 games being the best and biggest yet”

• See page 31 for how IW athletes fared in the medals table.

Island success at Games

Shanklin and Sandown golfer Mark Bell

Helen Davis, who won gold in the women’s Javelin

Documents

IW Gazette 25