Ventnor Blog

It may a while off yet, but this is one definitely worth sticking into your diary.

Near the end of June, St Catherine’s School in Grove Road, Ventnor will be holding it’s Annual Summer Fair.

If you want to see the Island’s High Sheriff, Alan Titchmarsh open the event make sure you are there by noon. (Door will be opening at 11.30am)
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A new market place for local produce and local products will be launching at the end of May.

The location for this wonderful new opportunity is Small Hope Beach in Shanklin.

Local artist, Ruby, has been in talks and secured deal to be able to sell anything created, painted etc by our Island’s creative people.
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Don’t forget that Friday is free home delivery day at the Ventnor Brewery.

Plan your weekend now by placing an order with the Brewery and they’ll deliver anywhere on the Island free of charge on orders over a tenner (price list below).
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Police investigating a possible deception targeting shops around Ventnor are appealing for information.

At around 4.50pm on Thursday, March 6, a woman entered the Post Office on Church Street and asked for £700 to be changed into £10 notes.

She changed her mind over the denomination three times and each time she gave back only half the money. Each time, the cashier queried this and the money was returned.
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Anyone walking down Pier Street over the last couple of weeks will have noticed French Affair clearing out their stock from the shop.

Our initial thought was that the shop was closing down, but we heard from Mark on Friday night that the owners, Carol and Steve have decided to change direction slightly.
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Don’t forget that tonight sees the Travelling Trends Fashion Show come to the Ventnor Winter Gardens.

The event has been organised by St Catherine’s and St Wilfred’s Schools and is great opportunity to buy clothes from major high street stores and a selection of designer clothing at 50% off the usual store price. (more…)

Well known Island company, Hurst have joined the list of supporters of our forthcoming art show, VentnorBlog Presents.

Following Simon’s call on the forum for picture rail hooks, Hurst have agreed to lend us 80 for the duration of the show.

We’ve always been really impressed with the service provided at Hurst, whatever branch you go to - you can be sure of informed and friendly advice from the assistants. (more…)

Thanks to Mark for sending through this photo of the blackboard outside Noah’s Ark.

In case you can’t read Steve’s writing on the blackboard, it states that as of 1st Feb his shops (the pet store and the greengrocer) will no longer be supplying plastic bags, but instead, will be offering cornstarch bags at a cost of 5p each.

Steve commented on the forum over the weekend that he’s been amazed by how Ventnor residents had embraced the drive to go plastic bag free.

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This coming weekend sees the return of the annual Christmas fair at St Catherine’s church in Ventnor.

The celebrations kick off on Thursday evening at 7.30pm with a concert of light entertainment, this is followed on Friday lunchtime by another concert.
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Although some people find it easier shopping online if they cannot get out much, do try to remember to shop local this year for all your Christmas presents. There is great variety on the Island. Ed

WITH MORE and more Christmas shopping being done online, IW Council Trading Standards officers will be out and about giving advice on how to steer clear of possible pitfalls.
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Last month we received a worrying email from a Ventnor shopkeeper.

In a nutshell, it said ‘Start using us or we’ll all be gone by the end of the year’, so we thought that it was time to remind our readers of the wonderful variety of shops that Ventnor has to offer.

Many people believe Ventnor town is just full of charity shops and estate agents, of which there are quite a few, but in between these, there is a rich variety of small independent shops, who rely as much on local support throughout the year, as they do on holiday-makers during season.
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Having the ‘From the Archive’ function (found in the right hand column under the weather forecast) is great for revisiting old articles.

Considering how long we’ve been going, there’s quite an archive and it’s interesting to see the variety of pieces that pop up from either one or two years back.

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We received a very worrying email yesterday from one of the town’s shopkeepers.

Over the past few months, it appears that less and less people have been using the small independent shops in Ventnor, preferring instead to do their shopping in one place - the supermarket.

Many of the shops are now really struggling to keep going, some of them having to borrow heavily, just to pay the bills each month.

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