Isle of Wight News on Ventnor Blog

A fancy new inflatable mobile cinema is making its way to Sandown Primary School today.

The iDome cinema will be at the primary school today and tomorrow and screening a new animated film about the importance of recycling.

(more…)

Looks like the Island Line service is going to be affected for the next couple of hours.

Due to electrical supply problems, there will be a reduced service of:

* 15 minutes past the hour from Shanklin
* 45 minutes past the hour from Ryde Pier Head

They say it’ll last until around 3pm.

A new support group on the Island is harnessing the power of Facebook to help spread the word of what they have to offer.

Island Wide Smiles is a new group that has been formed to provide support and advice for parents, grandparents and carers of children under the age of five living on the Isle of Wight with a cleft lip and or palate.

(more…)

Thanks to VB friend and reader, Eric for this great picture from Sandown

The BBC are reporting news of a microlight that flipped over on the runway at Sandown Airport yesterday lunchtime.

It’s thought that the two people on the aircraft escaped with minor injuries, both being taken to St Mary’s.

A spokesman from the airport is reported as saying: “[The aircraft] may have bounced.”

Our thoughts are with both the passengers, who we wish speedy recoveries to.

One of the fascinations of youth is the first time you discover that the seeds from the sycamore tree spin like mini helicopters.

As part of National Tree Week, three Island organisations – Goodleaf Tree Climbing, Eccleston George and Boojum & Snark – are getting together to help people to make their own Sycamore helicopter seeds, but from paper using origami skills. Skills that they’ll be teaching.

Goodleaf are bringing their Big Shot catapult along and if you’re lucky, you might be able to use it to fire your origami helicopter seeds skywards.

All the details at Isle of Wight Events site, OnTheWight.

image: lofaesofa under CC BY 2.0

There was a power cut over parts of Lake and Sandown this evening.

Original estimates by Southern Electric were that it would be fixed in 2-3 hours, but happily the power came back on at around 6:10pm.

Last Friday evening saw the opening of an innovative new gallery and studio space in Sandown. Yes! In Sandown.

The atmosphere at Boojum & Snark on the High Street was buzzing, as a wide variety of guests joined the founders of this social business – Tracy Mikich, Lauren Fry, Simon Avery and Joanne Hummel-Newell – in raising their glasses for the launch.

Amongst those toasting the gallery’s success was Sandown Mayor, Ian Ward. He told us “I think this new studio/gallery is really positive for Sandown. It’s good for the town and I wish it the greatest success. I will do all I can to help promote it as it’s great for the young people and great for the community.”

(more…)

If you’re looking for some firework night action tonight then there are three places we know of that you can head to.

Sandown
Due to the bad weather in the summer, Sandown’s illuminated carnival had to be cancelled. As so much hard work had gone into creation of the floats and costumes, the Carnival Committee have decided to hold the illuminated parade tonight prior to a firework display from Sandown Pier.

At 6pm The 14″ Remotes will be playing tracks from their debut album at The King’s House on the terrace overlooking Sandown Bay.

(more…)

This weekend sees the Autumn part of Isle of Wight Walking Festival. One such walk about Darwin is being lead by Rowan Adams. Ed

In the summer of 1858 Charles Darwin and his family came to stay on the Isle of Wight. They were recovering from the funeral of their youngest baby, the third of the Darwin children to die young.

Darwin had had another shock – he wasn’t the only person to have thought of the survival of the fittest.

(more…)

Adding to the fun and excitement of the Sandown Lantern Parade and Firework display on Thursday 5th November, Island Band the 14″ Remotes will be previewing their debut album.

Get yourselves down to The King’s House on the terrace overlooking Sandown Bay between 6-8pm to hear all the tracks from the band’s new album ‘Where’s the Remote?’.

Lead singer and bass player Mark Dicker said “This is a big night for the band and we want it to be a special evening for Sandown.

(more…)

Next week, as part of National Alcohol Awareness Week (more detail to come shortly), year nine pupils at the five Island High Schools will, through an educational theatre production, hopefully understand the true consequences of drinking alcohol.

The Isle of Wight Council’s Trading Standards Service and the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership are also involved in the 60 minute show, in which the cast of three re-enact night of binge drinking.

After the performance, the pupils will have a chance to question the characters ‘in a TV talk show style format’, hopefully allowing the pupils the chance to explore the issues further.

(more…)

It may feel as though the kids have only just gone back to school after their long summer holiday, but half term is almost upon us.

We’ll be bringing you details on VB of what you can get up over half term on the Island, but in the meantime, if your kids love dinosaurs, pop this one in your diary.

Dinosaur Isle Museum on Sandown seafront are preparing for the arrival of nine foot tall T-Rex, named Jumbo Dino.

The difference between this one and the rest of the gang of scary dinos down at the council run museum is that Jumbo Dino is a softer, more cuddly version.

(more…)

A new gallery space in Sandown is set to launch at the end of October with a month long residency by contemporary Island Artists’ Adrienne Wroath and Joanne Hummel-Newell.

Boojum&Snark is an inspiring new gallery space which aims to create an exhilarating blend of art, culture and design and help revitalise the Bay area.

(more…)

Two schools are recommended to be changed into Academies in the report by the IWC officers – Ryde and Sandown.

The IWC officers are recommending that the closure of those schools are knocked back a year from 2010 to 2011, as will be the opening date of their academy replacements.

Quite why this is, isn’t apparent. Perhaps we’re not important enough to know?

(more…)

The Isle of Wight council decided that it didn’t like the idea of running the schools on the Island a while back. They thought it would be a better idea to get other organisations to run the schools instead.

They put out a specification describing what they wanted to happen at the schools and invited organisations to tender.

Some organisations were local, others national.

Today, the Assistant Director of the Schools department of the Isle of Wight Council, who has been intimately involved with the process, Keith Simmons, issued a paper which makes recommendations to the councillors as to which groups should be running which schools.

(more…)

If you’ve ever had to stay for any length of time in hospital you are sure to have views on same sex wards.

The Privacy, Dignity, Respect road show makes it way to the Island at the end of the week and the IWNHS team want to hear your views, be they good or bad about mixed sex wards.

The road show starts on Friday at St Mary’s Hospital.

It then moves into the town centre (St James’ Square) on Saturday and up to Cowes Parade on Sunday.

If you miss the chance to visit the roadshow over the weekend you can always try Ryde on Monday when the team will be outside Somerfield or at Sandown Heights on Tuesday.

(more…)

The Save Vestas Campaign continues to raise awareness and support tonight as some of the ex-workers take part in the Sandown Carnival.

The Save Vestas campaign will be making a guest appearance in the Sandown illuminated carnival from 9pm.

They tell us that they’ve built an 8ft tall wind turbine with rotating blades which will be sitting gracefully on the back of a trailer, whist others walking alongside helping to spread the word.

Thanks to Tony Kelly for sending through this photo he took of eight turbines in a group of about 50 or 60 windmills off the North Welsh coast.

This coming weekend sees an amazing event take place on the Wight – or should we say ‘just off the Wight’.

Men of Wight Morris Dancers will be flown over the Solent to Bramble Bank (halfway between the Island and Southampton) by Hovertravel for a spot of Morris dancing!

It’s all part of grand tour around the Island that the Men of Wight will be taking part in between 21-23 August.

There’ll be displays around the Island with a massed display on Sandown Seafront at 4pm on the Saturday and 12:30 pm on Sunday on Cowes Seafront when the Men of Wight will be joined by 100 Morris Dancers from around the UK.

(more…)

Following on from last nights presentation from competitors hoping to take on the running of Fairlee Secondary School, tonight sees the turn of those pitching for Sandown Secondary School.

This looks set to be one of the most interesting with the East Wight Educational Trust competing against the other organisations.

The East Wight Education Trust, based at Sandown High School, is made up of Hampshire Constabulary, IOW NHS Primary Care Trust, Hovertravel (with Hoverworks) and the University of Portsmouth.

(more…)

Music fans could be in dilemma tonight. There’s a plethora of live gigs lined up around the Island leaving you in the difficult position of having to choose which one to go to.

First up is Live and Local at Ryde Theatre, featuring The Sessions, Papa Do Plenty & Disturbia.

As always the event will be recorded with interviews and live performances broadcast on Glyn Taylors Liv and Local show on Sunday nights on IW Radio 102/7fm between 7-10pm. £3 to get in. Bargain!

Next up, just down the road Eureka machines and Shush make their way across the water to hit the Wight Rock Bar. Only £3 to get in, this should be a good’un.

(more…)

Following an inspired walk through Queens Bower on Sunday afternoon, we set ourselves a task heading out of Chez VentnorBlog at the end of each day and going in search of bluebells.

Yesterday we had a lovely walk up at Luccombe and although we didn’t find great swathes of bluebells, we did find many small groups looking beautiful against the lush backdrop.

We were pretty surprised to read this morning however on the Ranger’s Blog that he has spotted some bluebells on Sandown beach.

Yes, bluebells on a beach – they are hidden away behind some huts, but on the beach all the same.

Read The Ranger’s article in full.

Image: The Ranger

News reaches us that X-Directory are back again later this month at The Tap In Sandown.

Make 8.30pm on the 24th April a date in your diaries if you want to hear classic anthems from the punk and new wave era.

If you’re a fan of Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones, The Jam, The Ruts, The Damned or The Undertones then you know where you should be.

The Tap, 2 Avenue Road, Sandown

Not long now til the Isle of Wight Waking Festival is upon us.

Some very special walks have been organised including three around Charles Darwin.

It’s 150 years since the publication of an astonishing lifetime’s research that had a profound effect on our understanding of life, and which caused a controversy on the meaning of life that continues today.

The Festival celebrates 200 years since the author was born and of the place the research was committed to paper.

That publication was the Origin of Species, the author was Charles Darwin, and the place was the Isle of Wight.

(more…)

We stopped to have a quick chat with Cliff from Revolver (Ryde Skate Shop) at the weekend when we popped in his shop to buy another copy of Wight Trash Transitions Vol 2 (makes a great present for friends on/off the Island).

Cliff told us about a charity skate that is going to take place next month.

(more…)