Isle of Wight News on Ventnor Blog

Despite attempts by the residents of Bonchurch to save its only shop – also its only post office – the Pond Stores in Bonchurch has closed its doors for the last time.

Many in the village felt that the loss of the shop would be a significant blow to the fabric of the area – indeed there was some discussion about them coming together to buy the shop.

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Talking of Algernon Swinburne, we see that one of his poems is the featured ‘Poem of the Week’ in the Guardian today.

We wonder whether the chosen poem, The Cliffside Path, was inspired by his time in Bonchurch, walks along the coastal path or through the magical landslip?

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This year marks significant anniversaries for two great Victorian poets with Isle of Wight Associations.

Whilst August 6th is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the former Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson, April 10th was the 100th anniversary of the celebrated poet Algernon Charles Swinburne, who grew up at East Dene, Bonchurch and who is buried in the churchyard there with other members of his family.

Professor Myers will be giving a talk for the Farringford Tennyson Society at Farringford, Freshwater on Tuesday, July 14 at 3.30pm.

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For those interested in what happens in Ventnor, you might want to pop along tonight to the Ventnor Town Council meeting tonight.

There is a busy agenda which is also followed by a Plans Committee.

The meeting starts at 7pm and a period of 15 minutes will be allowed for questions from the public. It takes place this week in the main hall.

The agenda includes the following
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There are several egg hunts taking place on the Island over the weekend, but one you shouldn’t definitely try not to miss is the one taking place at East Dene in Bonchurch this Saturday.

A whopping 2,500 eggs are going to be hidden in the ground of East Dene, so there are plenty for everyone.

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The East Dene Easter Fun Day returns in just over a week on Saturday 11th April.

This year there will be 2500 Chocolate eggs to find in the Massive Egg Hunt that takes place in the surrounding woodland.

As usual there’ll be prizes galore, face painting, a raffle, egg decorating, egg & spoon races, Easter bonnet competition (prepare your Bonnet’s in advance), food & drink, tombola and the famous cake stall.

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County Press are reporting that this year’s Isle of Wight Jazz Festival, clouded with the controversy of non payment to artistes and suppliers in previous years, has been cancelled.

The event was due to take place at East Dene in Bonchurch in April, but the economic downturn and lack of sponsors is being blamed for the cancellation.

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Ventnor residents reading the pullout in last week’s South Wight Chronicle for the Bonchurch Community Association Quiz night will most likely to have been left scratching their heads.

And that’s before the quiz has even started.

The pull out had details of the date of the event (Wed 25th Feb), how much it would cost on the door (£4) and what was included in the ticket price (deluxe ploughmans supper, bar available and a fantastic quiz)!

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Calling all Transcendental Meditators on and off the Isle of Wight.

Will Treend will be running a one day retreat at East Dene Manor in Bonchurch at the beginning of next month with the theme being “lucid living, a natural side benefit of regular meditation.”

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The excellent Souperia Lunch event returns to East Dene tomorrow as the Bonchurch Community Association gets busy in the kitchen.

We’ve been the last three or four of these annual events that provide a hearty soup, traditional English pudding and a glass of plonk all for the tidy sum of just £4.

It’s always busy, so get there early if you want to pick of the soups and puds and try your luck in the raffle with tickets at just 50p a strip.

See you there!

Image: Random Duck

For those of you who are admirers of the photographic talents of Good Fairy, you’ll be pleased to hear that she will be offering work for sale at the Bonchurch Christmas Market which takes place tomorrow (Saturday).

Good Fairy tells us that she will be producing five prints of each piece on sale and as they are the first prints made, all are Number One in the catalogue ref.

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Final reminder that if you’re looking for somewhere to eat out tonight or tomorrow night, why not try The Tiffin Room at the Bonchurch Manor Hotel?

As part of the Deepavali festival of light celebrations, The Tiffin Room, which normally operates by appointment only, is opening it’s restaurant on Friday and Saturday night, with fireworks taking place on Saturday night also.

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There are still a couple of weeks to go until the next Transcendental Meditation Retreat takes place at East Dene in Bonchurch.

The retreats are a great escape from the hurly burly of life and a wonderful way to wind down, meet some like minded people and recharge your batteries.

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The Tiffin Room at the Bonchurch Manor Hotel is an ideal location for this year’s Deepavali celebrations.

Shuba Rao will be presenting a wonderful menu of exquisite Southern Indian dishes including such items as Koli Kolambu, tender chicken cooked in spicy Tamilian style with poppy and cashewnut paste and Fish Dakshina, seasonal fish simmered in subtly spiced tomato and coconut sauce.

Deepavali (or Diwali) celebrations are a grand affair in India, as Shuba explains below, and Bonchurch Manor is no exception.

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Do come along to hear The Bonchurch Village Singers who are holding a Variety Concert in the St Boniface Church (update: the new one, not the old one pictured here), Bonchurch starting at 7.30pm on Saturday, 1st November, 2008.

This will be a mixed programme of popular music, some old favourites and some new, from Andrew LLoyd Webber to Queen and interspersed with comedy items that are sure to tickle your fancy.

Refreshments will be served in the interval.

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Will Treend will be running another of his excellent TM Retreats at the beginning of November in Bonchurch.

Commencing on Friday afternoon and running throughout the weekend, the retreat offers a great escape from the stress of daily life and also an opportunity to meet like minded people.

The health benefits of Transcendental Meditation are vast and you can read more over at Will’s Web site.

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London based fine artist Kerry Brewer comes to the Wight later in the month and will be running a series of life painting classes in Bonchurch.

Over the weekend of Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September between 10am-4pm, Kerry will be sharing her knowledge and techniques in the art of life painting.

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Following on from the successful VentnorBlog Presents … held at the Bonchurch Manor Hotel in February this year, we’re pleased to hear that the walls of the hotel are once again adorned with Island art.

The Rostrum 4, made up by Annik Cullinane, Judes Crow, Mary Flynn and Gerry Price met through The Isle of Wight Open Studios event last year and have worked together since then to promote their professional practice as individual artists and as a group.

A statement from the group tells us that

All four artists respond to their environment painting land and seascapes, people and places, and making sculptures from found objects.

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It’s that time of year again when several gardens in Bonchurch will open to the public.

If you fancy a good nose around someone else’s pansies, then head over to Bonchurch on either Saturday or Sunday between 2-5pm.

There are usually around 11 gardens open and you can buy a programme from either the Post Office (that quaint little one opposite the pond) or from St Boniface Church where you can also stop for a cream tea – open between 2.30pm and 5.30pm.

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The Bonchurch Village Singers will be holding a concert at St John’s Church in Wroxall next month.

This is a free concert and there’ll be refreshments available on the night, plus a retiring collection.

Programme
There’s a wide selection of music being covered by the Bonchurch Village Singers including West Side Story, The Music’s always there with you, Shenandoa, I Believe, I’m always Chasing Rainbows, Moonriver, Sing a Song of Sixpence, Unchained Melody, Boehemian Rhapsody and Irish Blessing.
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Many thanks to Mike Vokes from the Ventnor and District and Local History Society for getting in touch to let us know about a blue plaque unveiling that takes place next week.

The latest “historical plaque” to go up in the Ventnor area will be at Seaside House, Shore Road, Bonchurch which was a popular destination for many well known early watercolour artists during the 19th century – with the area dubbed as “the St Ives of the Isle of Wight”.
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The weather might be a bit grey, but 2,000 (yes, that’s 2,000) easter eggs have been hidden in the woods at East Dene and are just waiting for the kids to come and find them.

But the fun doesn’t stop there.

Throughout the fun packed day there will be prizes galore.

As usual expect face painting, a raffle, egg decorating, egg & spoon races, Easter bonnet competition (hopefully you haven’t forgotten to prepare your Bonnet in advance) and a Tombola.

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Anyone who came along to VentnorBlog Presents … last weekend will have been thoroughly impressed with our choice of venue, The Bonchurch Manor Hotel.

Some of those who visited the exhibition might not have realised that the space which housed Julian Winslow’s fantastic photography, is normally home to The Tiffin Room.
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A big Thank You from us to everyone who contributed to the success of VentnorBlog Presents … held at the glorious Bonchurch Manor Hotel over the weekend.

Shuba and Mark, owners of the hotel, not only lent the much-praised venue for the event, but provided a huge amount of help, as well as staff, to ensure the event went smoothly. Thanks also to Shuba for her fabulous peanut pakoras, which went down a storm on Friday – not to mention the teas and coffees to keep us all going over the weekend.
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You all know how much we love Island talent (natch) so we felt it was about time we helped showcase some of it in the real world, rather than just online.

If you missed the previous posting of details, take a look at it now, but the jist of it is that Shuba and Mark from the Bonchurch Manor Hotel (and Tiffin Room) have very kindly invited us to use their hotel to host the exhibition in.
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