Isle of Wight News on Ventnor Blog

A new Youth Gym session starts at West Wight Sports Centre this coming Monday (8th March).

This will be a special session for young people aged from 14 upwards and will run every weekday afternoon from 4.30 – 6.30 pm.

Anyone wishing to take part will require an induction (even if they’ve used other gyms).

(more…)

Many thanks to David Champion for his review of Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou’s trip to the Island a couple of weeks ago. Ed

Freshwater Memorial Hall played host to London’s Lantern Society folk music group on Sunday 21st of February. The evening was the final date of the ‘can’t wait for the spring’ tour, and featured a superb mix of Lantern Society regulars and local talent.

The evening kicked off with a mesmerising performance from Swedish born, London based Benjamin Folke Thomas.

(more…)

The 18th Annual IW Hedgelaying Competition returns next weekend, this year being hosted Mr and Mrs J Sheldon at Kings Manor Farm, Freshwater.

We’ve been going along to these events for a few years now and are always so impressed with the skill and dedication of those taking part.

(more…)

Staying in the West, we hear that the Wight Surf Photographic Exhibition that was recently held at Dimbola Lodge has now found a permanent home.

If you weren’t lucky enough to see the collection of superb surfing photos back in January you can now see them at the Sandpipers Hotel in Freshwater Bay.

(more…)

Sounds like most of the Island is experiencing a visit of the soft white stuff again.

Reports are coming in that there’s snow in Freshwater, St Helens, Newport, Ryde, Shanklin, Sandown, Shorwell, Cowes and even here in Sunny Ventnor.

Update: Wootton and Seaview also seeing snow.

Let’s hope that we don’t get quite as much as last time.

Image: Little Rotten Robin under CC BY-ND 2.0

A new exhibition at Dimbola Lodge got off to a great start last month with a very special guest attending the launch party.

Families, artists and supporters of the No Man Is An Island project were welcomed to the exhibition along with Cat Lorigggio from London2012, who travelled down from London especially for the occasion.

‘The Camera & Beyond’ the latest exhibition from the No Man is an Island group.

(more…)

If you missed our regular Thursday lunchtime slot on IW Radio yesterday, worry not, as you can listen again below.

It was that time of the week again when we head up to the IW Radio studios to have a chinwag with mid-morning show DJ, Tom Stroud.

With a bumper number of events on the Isle of Wight over the weekend, there was lots to get through but we started with details about arty events.

(more…)

Andy Newnham, the 22-year-old motorcyclist from Freshwater Fairlee Road, Newport, that was involved in the crash on the Military Road on Sunday, has sadly died yesterday.

The long stream of memorial messages from his friends left on his Facebook page pay testament to how many friends he had and how popular he was.

Our sincere thoughts are with his family.

How about this for a fundraiser and a half!

Next month, the Isle of Wight Schools Under 15’s football team will be taking part in a ten hour football challenge to help raise much needed cash for a trip to Spain.

(more…)

If you’re into surfing or if you’re into photography you’re going to find this new exhibition at Dimbola Lodge of great interest.

Pulled together at very short notice, Islander photographers, Jason Swain and Paul Blackley will be exhibiting the very best of their amazing Island surfing prints.

Regular readers will recognise Jason (aka S0ulsurfing) from many of our Picture of the Week awards.

(more…)

The decision on the proposal to expand the Brighstone conservation area to include parts of Brook, Freshwater Bay, Hulverstone and Mottistone has been made.

(more…)

Remember that we reported a raid by Island police on Monday, where members of the Priority Crime Unit (PCU) entered a flat in Silcombe Lane, Freshwater with a drugs warrant?

(more…)

We heard a while back that residents of Pixley Hill, Freshwater and the surrounding area weren’t too happy about Southern Vectis after they started running the Number 7 route up and down the hill.

Indeed, 15 individual letters of complaint and a petition with ‘multiple signatures’ (not sure how many were on it) were sent to the Isle of Wight Council and the local member, Cllr Sutton, officially asked that the IWC look into it.

(more…)

A VB reader got in touch with us this morning after having just seen a number of baseball cap-wearing police leaving flats in Silcombe Lane, Freshwater with equipment like large hammers.

The Island police confirmed to us that their Priority Crime Unit (PCU) executed a drugs warrant at a property in Freshwater today.

image: katielips under CC BY 2.0

We’re hearing reports of what sounds like a police raid on flats in Silcombe Lane, Freshwater a short while ago.

(Now updated from information from police)

(more…)

There’s a proposal to expand the Brighstone conservation area – originally designated in December 1969 – to include parts of Brook, Freshwater Bay, Hulverstone and Mottistone.

The decision will be made by Cllr George Brown under a deligated decision following a public consultation was held by IW council between 31 July – 25 September.

The new areas each have their own designated zones, which are detailed below …

(more…)

There are some great exhibitions at Dimbola Lodge, at the moment.

As well as The Graduate Show, there is also an exhibition by Nurit Yardeni.

She has been involved in photography for around thirty years ago, and has made photographic expeditions all around the world to places such as Ghana, Nigeria, Tunisia, Gabon, Togo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Brazil, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, China, India, Burma,Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

(more…)

Did you know that every three hours, one person in the UK dies of mouth cancer? Add to that, the fact that incidence of mouth cancer has risen by 25% over the last ten years and it makes for quite shocking statistics.

So it’s encouraging to hear that the Island’s NHS Oral Health Promotion Team will be carrying out Free Mouth Cancer Screening across the Island in a couple of weeks time.

Mouth Cancer Action Week takes place during 15 – 22 November and a mobile dental screening unit will be touring the Island offering free screening as well as advice and information.

(more…)

This coming weekend sees the Festival of Traditional Skills take place in the West Wight.

Taking place on both days between 10am-4pm at Afton Park on the Middle Road, Freshwater is an opportunity to watch demonstrations by the expert.

Learn about hedge laying with Dick Pulleine, fruit tree pruning with Irene Fletcher, hurdle making with Richard Bolwell, wood turning with Arthur Weller, walking stick carving with George Thompson and pulhamite artificial stone consultation bu public artists, Ecclestone George.

(more…)

The excellent local artist Barry Ecuyer has a new term of Life Drawing Classes starting next week.

There are still a few places left if you fancy giving this a go.

The fees are the most reasonable fees on the Island, just £60 for 10 weeks or £7 per session.

The Dimbola Life Drawing sessions start again on Monday Sept 7th 7-9pm.

We understand that they will have some new models joining the regulars.

For more info check the Dimbola Lodge Website and don’t forget to say where you heard about it.

The Theatre’s Trust arrived on the Island yesterday, touring around between Ryde, Shanklin, Ventnor; Medina; Freshwater; Apollo and Trinity theatres.

They have been keen for quite some time to come down to find out what can be done to help the Island theatres, but have encountered difficulties in finding times convenient to senior IW council officers.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

There’s an interesting exhibition coming up at Dimbola Lodge at the end of the summer.

David Suff is an internationally acclaimed artist whose work has been exhibited around the world.

David specialises in works on paper, and is well-known for his remarkably rich drawings in coloured pencil and for intricate hand-coloured etchings.

He has a very particular vision – a combination of an introspective and autobiographical truth with a search for a common spiritual enquiry.

(more…)

Regular readers will remember our article last week about The Adventurists, Sam and Dan who will be cycling around the Wight this week playing gigs in unusual places on their solar powered pop up stage.

The tour kicks off at a fixed venue, Dimbola Lodge on Tuesday evening where you’ll be able to enjoy the delights of this twosome as their fingers caress the Celtic Harp, Steel Pan, a homemade drum kit and electric & acoustic guitars.

(more…)

If you were thinking about organising a music tour, but wanted to do something a bit more exciting than just playing at a handful of venues over a several nights, you’d need to dig deep and bring out the more adventurous side of your personality.

That is just what Sam Walker (John Watts, Turning Green) and Daniel Clark (The Hat, Lou Rhodes) have done with what we predict, will be amazing results.

The lads have joined forces to create ‘The Adventurists‘, a band where the Celtic Harp, Steel Pan, a homemade drum kit and electric & acoustic guitars are embraced and caressed to bring their songs and stories to life.

The Adventurists tour takes place on two bicycles towing a mini mobile pop out stage and a small solar powered P.A. How cool is that?

(more…)