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WIGHTLINK CHIEF STEPS DOWN
Andrew Willson, under whose
leadership the beautiful new but unloved ferries
were introduced, has stepped down just weeks before
the law steps in to make a decision on the
controversial choice of increasing the size of the
ferries to make the crossing easier for trade
vehicles to use. Unfortunately it seems that a
miscalculation may have been made because the new
system is having an adverse reaction on both foot
passengers and cars. The ecology lobby is
deeply unhappy at the possible effect the size of
the new ferries may have both on the Lymington river
and at Yarmouth on the Island. In the
meantime, people who have paid for summer bookings
already will be panicking that their holiday
arrangements may be at risk, very problematical in a
year when people are flocking to the South Coast for
holidays at home while the credit crunch tightens
its jaws.
Oh dear, what a mess!
Let us hope it can be happily resolved, with new
homes found for the Wight boats which received such
a poor reception and something suitable found to
tide Wightlink over to ferry all those travellers
who not only want to cross over the Solent to the
peaceful and deliciously relaxing Isle of Wight but
who want to get there to work.
SELECTION OF NEW SPEAKER
On Monday next our MPs will
start their campaign of trying to clean up the
system and return to the days when men of honour
strode the corridors of power. Or not.
But there have been times in the past when
honourable men resigned of their own accord when
they failed either in their job or behaviour.
They may have been few and far between and perhaps
more managed to observe the 11th Commandment of not
getting caught, but the public view the past through
a light similar to the one in the picture above - a
rosy glow.
Whatever. They will be
voting on Monday, which happens to be the Feast Day
of St. Thomas More, a politician of strong
conviction and a man who held to his principles and
died for them. A thought-provoking
article turned up in an email today which gives one
of the best analyses of the current level of probity
in Parliament today which we decided was worth
reading. [
Click here ] if
you would like to judge for yourself.
WIGHTLINK FAST FERRY RUNS
AGROUND
News is just coming in that
one of Wightlink's fast ferries sailing out of
Portsmouth has run aground on Ryde sands with 60
passengers on board while trying to negotiate its
way through yachts finishing their
Round the Island Race.
Doubtless there'll be more interesting news as time
goes by. It doesn't sound as though anyone has been
injured - more a matter of inconvenience and a good
tale to chat about as time goes by!
BUNGALOW PERMISSION REFUSED
IN MANOR ROAD
Apropos the business of
planning permissions, we note that planning
permission has been refused to the owners of a
property in Manor Road in Milford-on-Sea. In
view of the enormous development which has been
going on in Manor Road over the last couple of years
and which is definitely, in the quoted words of the
planners, 'out of character within a defined area
of special character', whatever that might mean.
it seems that to refuse permission in a road which
has already been transmogrified from its previous
style into a 'let's build a house in the garden and
make a bit of money' road, somewhat unreasonable.
Go on, Mr. Marles, fight it and take it to appeal!
WIGHTLINK IN THE WARS AGAIN
Poor Wightlink! At the moment
it doesn't seem to be able to do anything right -
last weekend it was overwhelmed by foot-passengers -
which seems odd as the new boats look so big.
However, they brought another boat Wight Sun, which
they have used on occasion before when business was
particularly brisk. However irritated some
people may be, it is very unfortunate for people who
would like to go to and fro the Island to have to
put up with the present disembarking problems
because planning permission is being withheld.
The whole business of planning in this area seems to
be shrouded in secrecy, whether to do with building
domestic or business premises, and whether the
planners like it or not, those who voted them into
power would like a lot more transparency about the
whole matter.
THE PARACHUTING LADIES' LEAP
FOR CASH
We have sent out our reporters
to sniff around for the latest news: we do
know they survived, which is good news. If
they hadn't, it would be all over the media so we
can relax on that score. . . We'll put up some
details as soon as they are in our hands or emails!
So far we have received
promises amounting to £40 - on this site. If
you would like to add to this total [
Click here
] and send an email for further details or ring
01590 643845 quoting Pat and Val's jump.
QUIET VISIT BY HER MAJESTY
TO TANK MUSEUM
Boom, boom! Love the
idea!
The Tank Museum has been
upgraded at the cost of £10m and 10 years' work and
earlier this week Her Majesty the Queen with Prince Philip
opened the new wing. The Queen was making
a private visit to one of her regiments although she
also met people from the local area,
including families who live in the Garrison.
For details click on the picture. The Tank
Museum belongs to the Royal Tank Regiment & Royal
Armoured Corps.
World War II buffs will enjoy
a visit to this extremely interesting museum, and
little boys will be in their element, however much
one might hope to bring up a gentle and peace-loving
adult. . . The Museum are putting on a Tankfest at
the end of June with some spectacular displays of
historical heavy weaponry.
June 6th 2009 - 65th Anniversary of D-Day
General Douglas McArthur talking to British Paratroopers
June 1944
WORLD WAR II FILM REELS
American Sourced
WORLD WAR II
BBC source
flickr
collection for 6th June 1944
Some of these photographs are 'doubles'
and if you look carefully you can get an
excellent 3-D effect. It's worth trying.
For period to end of May 2009
WEATHER WAS KIND TO HIKERS
After all the miserable
weather experienced this May it did come up trumps
for the monster fundraiser walk for Oakhaven.
Hundreds of walkers, the young - and not so young -
gathered outside the Keyhaven Sea Scouts HQ on a
mild dry evening under a full moon to set off along
the spit to Hurst Castle. Mike Denny, who runs
the fundraising for Oakhaven must have felt like the
Pied Piper as he led the large group of over 800
people along the spit, crunching the way along the
shingle.
The running costs of our
hospice is around £2m a year, the Government funding
a fifth of the total. The rest has to be
raised from the good will of sponsors of fundraising
efforts and from donations and legacies.
Oakhaven has already been forced to postpone a £2.5m
expansion plan due to the dreaded 'Crunch' which has
put paid to many building improvement plans over the
last year or so.
LUCKY TWENTY CAN SOW THEIR
WILD OATS
Because of falling prices for
New Forest ponies it has been decided that only 20
stallions will be run in the Forest this year to try
their luck with the ladies. They are doubly
lucky because at one point there was pressure to put
out no ponies at all on to the Forest in 2009.
The final decision was agreed by a large majority of
stallion owners. The stallions will only be
out in June. On of the commoners, Mr. Michael
Cooper, pointed out that there were rather a
lot of jack donkeys in the Forest at the moment.
He suggested that bye-laws relating to these animals
should be strictly enforced because, he said,
". . .I believe opportunities will arise for them to
take advantage of the current situation."
It seems that nobody seriously
expects that pony sales at Beaulieu will be
favourably affected by advertising next year's crop
of ponies as 'Limited Edition' animals.
HORDLE HOUSE CAMPAIGNERS LOSE FIGHT
Efforts by local residents have failed to stop the
development of 14 homes which include a four storey
block of flats in place of the former council-run
care home Hordle Cliff House. No pictures of
the proposed plans are available but it does have to
be said that some of the more attractive recent
developments along the coast by Pennyfarthing are
more attractive than many existing ones. It
might also be said that both developers and buyers
are on the brave side, bearing in mind what has
happened over the years to the cliffs between
Milford and Barton. Good luck to them!
HOUSE PRICES BEGIN TO
RETURN TO NORMAL - ish
While we live with le
crunch it does make some sense to see
house prices tending to stop floating around in
Cloud Cuckoo land to the point where we can envisage
new neighbours moving into the empty houses
currently littered with 'To Let' signs. Even a
fashionable townhouse in the recently - well,
relatively recently - developed Grade ll-listed
White House on the sea front is now going for well
under £1m. It has two reception rooms, four
bedrooms, and two bathrooms - no suddenly finding
yourself sitting on a plastic duck in this property.
It obviously has the usual offices in the way of
kitchen etc. and is set in attractive communal
gardens. True, there are not many houses on
the market as yet but this probably reflects the
decision of many people who might like to move to
'wait and see what happens'. It is still
possible to get a mortgage. The desire for
capital gain is what got so many people into
difficulty. Instead of actively seeking a
place to make into a home perhaps weighing out
whether you now get on with your life and settle for
that instead of waiting to make a fortune while you
age or even leave the world on a permanent basis
could be a really positive approach. Among the
houses for sale locally this week are several well
under £300,000 and they haven't been there for a
long time.
AT THE WEEKEND IT WAS THE PLANT FAIR. . .
. . .and no, the flowers didn't get blown away!
Milford Gardeners' Club 9th Annual Plant Fair took
place in the village on Saturday, 16th May from 8.30
am to 1.30 pm and in spite of the wind, it was a
success - such things as the weather don't put the
sterling residents of Milford to fright.
Another of Milford's wonderful annual treats, there
is no admission charge to this event, which raises
money for local Charities. Look out for
unusual shrubs and perennials as well as the old
favourites. There was clematis for sale and
the plants which thrive even in the smallest
gardens, the lavenders and herbs. For nature
lovers there were be Bee and Butterfly plants and of
course summer bedding, basket and trough plants.
There were garden ornaments for sale and the home
produce stalls were there to tempt your taste buds!
All we need in this excellent growing year is more
sun!
There will be no excuse to miss the chance to get
your gardens ready for the great summer promised by
the meteorological crystal ball gazers. Not even the
weather as it turned out on May 16th. . .
PARACHUTING LADIES GO FOR GOLD
Two
intrepid Milford ladies are going to jump on a date
from which many of us might shy away: on 13th
June they will leap from an aeroplane to raise money
for the devastating disease which shatters so many
lives. They will of course be supported on
their way down by parachutes! One of these
remarkable ladies is Val Asher, who looks after the
feet of those who plod the pavements - known and
loved by so many in Milford who appreciate her
tenderness to their aching feet and who has
supported the Multiple Sclerosis Society for many
years because her only daughter's husband was a
sufferer. Val will not be alone: she will jump
with another Milford resident, Pat Collard who was
first diagnosed with the disease when she was only
23. The symptoms did not become burdensome
until her little daughter was 5 years old, although
she did have spells where the disease rose up and
shook its evil head from time to time in the
intervening years. MS then struck with a
vengeance and so for the last 13 years and now a
good-looking 40-something, Pat has coped with a family
life and her current dog Josh, who takes care of
her when she is out and about on her buggy.
Josh is a somewhat soppy
animal when he has the chance - just look at the way
he's looking at Pat in the photograph - but he is
always very defensive of his 'Mummy',
Pat and Val are looking for
sponsors. Sponsorship forms will shortly be
available around the village, details will follow.
Alternatively [
e-mail ] your promises to us here at
Milford-on-Sea Online, together with an email
address and contact number. You will be called
upon to honour your promise after the jump. It
would be easy to sponsor both ladies as one, which
means they will have to divide the contribution by
two, but it would be kinder to sponsor one or the
other. However, if it is one and the
other, it would be really generous to double your
contribution!
Go on, go for it!
. . .
AND IT DIDN'T RAIN!
Well, there may have been one
or two drops but that really was all. Milford
turned out in force to support all the people who
had arranged a splendid May Day in spite of the
clouds. It was almost impossible to walk
between the stalls and the whole affair was given a
jolly background to the music of the Windmill Swing
Band who played their hearts out even if their
actual bodies were somewhat on the chilly side!
Hildah Matfumi, a little
beauty originally from Zimbabwe and this year's
Milford May Queen, was crowned as she sat on her
scarlet-draped throne and she is seen here with her
lovely attendant, Rosalind Henderson.
During the proceedings a
cheque for £1,717 was handed over to Oakhaven -
money raised by various functions organised by the
Milford-on-Sea Club.
There were other young
hopefuls - who are here on this page because they
had lovely smiles!
HOLLANDS ENTERS A BLUE
PERIOD
Like Picasso, Hollands of
Milford has launched itself into a blue period.
Of course, the new decor has done nothing to improve
the service, which remains at its former impeccable
standard, and the goods on the shelves continue to
please. We are very lucky in Milford to have
two such good providers for our needs who unlike
most of the major names in supermarkets really do
their best to look after us. The impression
this leaves us with is that we are the most
important factor in the staffs' reckoning: if the
customers are happy, their accounts will reflect it.
We should really use our own
shops before going further afield, particularly
while the credit crunch is with us. With some
of the money we save we could always splash out and
try the coffee shops which have been appearing
lately. . .
KEEP TRACKS ON THE SWINE!
Needless to say, the panic
merchants are around. Remember the Sars scare?
It seems that what the boffins learnt about creating
a vaccine to sort that out will now stand us in good
stead to organise another one to tame the swine flu
before it starts to get going in the northern
hemisphere towards the end of the year. If you
click on the flying pigs you will find the latest
government inspired info. (Did
I really write that?) Piggy
flu apparently responds to pills we already have -
just ring NHS Direct if you're think you have
flu-like symptoms and go from
there! Tel: 0845 46 47 0r click
to visit website:
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
For a really sensible view on
the current strain of flu we think we found one
today: [
Click here
] Well worth a
look if you are worried!
CELEBRITIES FLANK OUR
VILLAGE STARS
It's ahoy there and all smiles
aboard HMS Warrior asAlan Titchmarsh stands behind
Anne as she. Gwen and Michele hold the Certificate
they won, and which is displayed in the shop.
On Michele's left stands a smiling Councillor John
Rees-Evans, Head of Economic Development with
Hampshire County Council, whose special baby the
Awards were.
Our girls decided the whole
event had been most exciting and had given them all
a great deal of fun. The village enjoyed it
too!
BRAND NEW PARISH OFFICES
FOR MILFORD-ON-SEA
The Parish Offices are now
ensconced in one of the iconic buildings of Milford.
Although their web
site is somewhat out of date [
Click here
] to view it.
ANOTHER SHOP CLOSURE
Those nimble fingers and
artistic hearts who enjoyed the craft shop on the
corner of the village must be really sad to see it
go. It should be a lesson to residents that
our shops really will disappear if we don't use them
and at this time of financial retrenchment they are
unlikely to be replaced. If we start looking
like a dead village we will also lose our tourists
who do so much to keep Milford alive.
The trouble is once people
start saving, that becomes almost as addictive as
spending: we owe it to the people who work in
our village to spend some of our money and not hoard
it. Capitalism may have some bad points but like it
or not, money does make the world go around, the
world go around. . .
For period to end of April 2009
EFFLUENT UPSURGE CAUSES
STINK IN MILFORD
Parish Councillor, James Read,
is taking on the might of the New Forest District
Council in an effort to protect the southern roads
of Milford - Sea, Lucerne and Island View - from the
current upsurge during heavy rain where all sorts of
undesirable effluent is rising through lavatories
and drains giving the present local inhabitants a
very unpleasant invasions of smells and more
tangible evidence of human effluent.
Mr. Read is complaining that
the NFDC is giving out increasing planning
permissions despite the serious sewage problems
experienced in the village. The area where the
proposed extra four new bungalows in Island View
Road has some of the more expensive houses in
Milford. The proposal that the problem might
be circumvented by building a 'holding tank' in the
Sturt Pond area to pump up some of the overflow.
One has to ask where to? If it is into the sea
at that point it suggests that no one has thought of
the residents of the less expensive properties
further along the coast. Sturt Pond has
recently been designated a local Nature Reserve
(more anon: scroll down after this article. . .)
While the real problem could be overcome by
replacing Milford's connection to the Pennington
sewage works, it appears that not only is the cost
somewhat prohibitive at £3m - £4m but Milford is
rather low down on the list of priorities.
Mel Kendal, he of recent fame
as being among the highest paid local councillors in
the country and to our surprise still operating in
the NFDC, denied that allowing more houses
would aggravate the current problem. He said
it was a condition that new developments have their
own soakaways to disperse rainwater without adding
pressure to the sewage system. Alas, soakaways
can be quite a problem when they are so close to the
sea and near sea level as are all the properties in
Island View Close. In spite of protests from
people living in the area, it looks as though NFDC
is quite happy to steamroller local interests in
order to get houses built (more incoming money for
the NFDC!) because, since the area outside Milford
has been accorded National Park status where new
building is not allowed, Milford is a handy place to
put up more houses to increase income for the NFDC.
RETIREMENT OF POPULAR LOCAL
DOCTOR
After 33 years working as a GP
in Milford-on-Sea, Dr. David Badham is due to retire
on 31st March, though in fact he had taken leave in
order to fly away to the Caribbean for a celebratory
holiday in the warm sunshine. With him goes
his wife Julia, who has devoted much of her time in
Milford working with Milford Hospital's League
of Friends.
Since he began working in
Milford he has seen big changes to the work place,
which started as a small surgery and has graduated
with the expansion of the NHS to a larger and much
smarter facility - the Milford Medical Centre.
The latest phase was opened by HRH Prince Edward a
few years ago.
Popular with his patients, Dr.
Badham will be available to help out at the surgery
from time to time when he has settled down after
return from holiday. Our new doctor, Dr.
William Turner will be joining the practice in
April. He qualified from St. George's Hospital
and has been a GP for seven years, during which time
he has been mentoring medical students and trainee
GPs.
. . . BOOTS ARE GOING TO
WALK ALL OVER YOU!
Ah, those old words!
Don't they just bring back the old music, shades of
Frank and
Nancy Sinatra?
Today's boots though are a
different sort - more Boots than plain boots.
While many of us have been hibernating over the
winter and keep our pence and pounds in our purses,
the chemist Boots has been munching its way through
the smaller chemists so that all that can be found
in most chemist shops lately is what Boots wants to
sell us. Individual choice is shrinking.
For example, 'Fisherman's Friend', a tried
and trusted relief for the sort of cough that has
been plaguing many of us this winter, is now reduced
the a choice of one: the strong original. Over
the last several years the Lofthouses, owners of the
famous firm, have introduced several new varieties
of 'Fisherman's Friend', a selection or all
of which were stocked in many of the smaller
chemists in the area, most notably in Milford-on-Sea
which carried the full range.
Our former chemist carried a really interesting
range of goods and it was also a pleasure to walk
round the shop making discoveries either for gifts
or for personal use. Now, it's full of Boots
products. It has obviously taken notice of Tesco's
unfortunate habit of look-alike goods. Recently one
of our staff arrived home from one of new versions
of a local chemist with a tried and tested
indigestion product, selected from a shelf below
waist-level surrounded by other indigestion
remedies. It wasn't until the package was opened
shortly afterward in a hurry that she realised the
shape was different - round instead of square and
definitely not what the customer ordered - but at a
quick glance perfectly satisfactory. Same cannot be
said for the taste or effect, alas! The pharmacy at
Waitrose isn't exempt either - later in the year it
will be going the same
way.
'HAMPSHIRE NOW' MAGAZINE -
Spring Issue
Hampshire County Council have
recently distributed - presumably to all households
for which they are responsible and need votes - the
Spring Issue of their magazine. While we do
appreciate it is not a glossy extravaganza it does
seem like something of a waste of money in these
cash strapped days when you don't get out for nowt.
Still, maybe 16p per household doesn't sound very
much even if it does amount to £80,000.
Never mind, we do get to see
how much money is coming in to the Council although
that isn't altogether clear on p.8. It says
'We plan to spend' £1,749,000,000 - or, you prefer
and they're so much more fashionable now, £1.749
billion on services this year, compared with nearly
£100 million pounds less last year. They don't
actually say where this money comes from, but they
do say that on top of that they get money from the
government and from other sources here and there
which will give them a budget of £675,000,000 - an
increase of £14,000,000 to spend on services.
We are not very clear what that actually means but
we're plumping for the fact they are going to spend
nearly £2,500,000,000 on us this year - £2.5bn in
modern-day parlance. That doesn't look quite
so impressive without all the zeros does it?
Maybe that's why they've shortened the format.
In their PR Magazine,
Hampshire County Council sets out how much money
goes in all sorts of directions from a Band D
property council tax, the highest amount they quote
goes to - guess what? - social care for the aged and
adults with disabilities (sympathetic chorus of
ooohs and aaahs heard offstage) and the
next highest amount goes to - who do you think?
The children of course (excluding school costs).
More ooohs and aaahs. . . There
follows a list of other items, headed by recreation,
heritage, including libraries, museums and other
services, all very worthy causes. Recreation
etc. cost just a quarter of the amount spent on
social care for the aged etc.
All the figures they quote for
expenditure add up exactly to the Total Band D
Council Tax. Are those items the only
expenditure the council has? It's arranged to look
like that. . . brilliant!
We are all wondering how much
money goes to council members' salaries - or are
these expenses? Whatever. They don't
appear anywhere in the list nor anywhere else in the
magazine. But Hampshire, as we recall from
last year's news, has one of the highest paid
councillors in the country, and we don't expect he's
standing there all alone. What do the
councillors take from our taxes in remuneration of
various kinds? Wouldn't it be fascinating to know?
Perhaps it's worth a hunt on the internet on an idle
afternoon . . .
Or is it a State Secret?
PARISH COUNCIL OFFICES MAKE MOVE TO BIGGER
BETTER ACCOMMODATION
A photograph will appear here
in the next day or so to ensure those whose sit at
their computers and drive through the village
actually notice the new developments in the Parish
Council life of Milford-on-Sea. Walkers will
probably have seen it but those whose pins are not
in their prime may well have missed the new
premises. Painted on their front door is the
url of the Council website in all its glory which
will keep everyone posted about the current work of
our parish councillors.
CONGRATULATIONS TO GWEN'S!
On a beautiful April evening
which was warm enough to enjoy a glass of wine on
the top deck of HMS Warrior, our ladies from Gwen's
gathered in their finery to meet Alan Titchmarsh and
discover whether they had been successful. Of
course they were! They were pipped to first
place and they are now the runners-up - bar none -
to the title the Best Village Shop in Hampshire!
Congratulations to the Gwen and her ladies who help
to keep the feminine half of Milford among the
best-dressed villagers in Hampshire! Thank you
for all your hard work for us.
GWEN'S RIGHT THERE WITH A
HIGH CHANCE OF GLORY
Commander Dave Davies, RN (Retd),
Chair of the very excellent Milford Parish Magazine
nominated our Gwen's for the Hampshire Village Shop
of the Year and on St. Patrick's Day this year Gwen
heard that her - and our - shop is in the last
three. It has caused great excitement and
pleasure as you can see from the photograph of
(L to R) Michele, Gwen and Anne, Gwen's sister when
they were interviewed for our web site. On
Wednesday next they will be off to a truly glamorous
black tie Reception aboard HMS Warrior, where they
will meet their 'competition' for the Hampshire
Village Shop of the Year. They take with them
our best wishes for a wildly successful evening
where the presentations will be made by Alan
Titchmarsh!
'Gwen's', whose name is known
to regular visitors of this site through 'Gwen's
Diary', is situated right in the middle of the
village. It has survived two other excellent
dress shops whose owners retired, two 'New to you,
Madam' shops, and now reigns supreme. It is
always an exciting shop to go into - rather like an
Aladdin's Cave., You never know what
delightful new additions to your wardrobe you might
find, what new jewellery designs will twinkle at you
in from their display, and you always know where to
find your favourite regular buys. Combine that
with excellent and cheerful service at all times and
you will know why Gwen's has become a loved and
cherished part of Milford's life.
While we are absolutely not
surprised to find Gwen's on the list of best
Hampshire village shops, it has to be said we
wouldn't be surprised if the other two also turned
out to be situated in Milford-on-Sea! This is
an outstanding village which owes much of that
accolade to the standard of its shops and everything
else in Milford.
The Awards Competition for
various classes is run by 'Hampshire
- The County Magazine', not to be
confused with the magazine referred to in the
following article . . .
MILFORD'S WEB SITE BACK UP
AND RUNNING WITH STUPENDOUS NEWS!
What a splendid day to get the
news of the Lottery Award of £500,000 to our
wonderful Community Centre on the day that Milford's
website totalled 500,000 hits on its website which
has been running for almost 10 years. Both of
them were set up to mark the Millennium and it is
due to the work of volunteers that both have lasted
all this time and borne fruit. Isn't it
wonderful to be living in such a wonderful village?
The 'Pop-in Coffee' had also celebrated its ten
years . . . the whole business of the Millennium
certainly injected something into village life which
energises its people. Long live Milford-on-Sea! [
Click here ]
PRINTER'S ERROR - ONE
OTHERS - ONE!
There was a small printer's
error in the leaflet indicating Easter services in
all the Milford churches and at St. Mary's in
Everton. Unfortunately it involves the timing of one
of the most popular Masses for both visitors and
parishioners on Easter Sunday which is held at the
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Mount Avenue, New
Milton. Late risers will be pleased to learn
that there is a 10.30 am Mass held there and not
just one at 8.00 am!
And, alas, alas, there was
another one from another source, at the moment we
are not sure which. The Easter Vigil Mass at
New Milton on Saturday, 11th April, actually starts
at 8.00 pm, not
8.30.
Well, none of us are perfect,
but we are working towards it . . . Have a
wonderful Easter!
SPRING COMES TO MILFORD
OK, we pick one of the coldest
starts in a few weeks to welcome Spring to Milford
but it is true there is a green veil round the
branches of the trees which by the end of next week
should have turned firmly to leaves. The
daffodils have been around for some time - though
this year they did appear to be coming out later
than in recent years when they were almost over by
the time Easter arrived.
Gwen's Diary will shortly be
updated but there are a whole lot of goodies about
to burst on the Milford scene to liven things up as
we all start to come out of hibernation. Don't
forget to keep up with what is going on in our
splendid Community Centre (see above). This
Thursday the film is one of the most talked about
over the winter with Keira Knightly as
'The Duchess' - in
a story based on the life of Georgiana, Duchess of
Devonshire. If you would like to know more
about what films are coming to Milford Movies in the
current season send
an email to our
stalwarts at the Community Centre or ring James on
01590 643 393.
As well as films, of course,
there are lots of other fascinating things to do at
Milford's Community Centre, which has added so much
of pleasure and interest to our village. As we
often say, major thanks are due to those people who
set it up in the first and to those who have
continued to work so hard to make it the success it
is.
MINI-DISASTER TIME
This year's chance to play an April Fool joke disappeared
under a serious attack of Scottish Blues, a dread disease which
occasionally attacks our websites. Today is also the day
when we expect to notch up 500,000 visits to our pages since
October 1999, almost ten years ago when we set up
Milford-on-Sea Online.
We are hopeful that all will be well later today and that this
message will not go unread before we come to the end of April
2nd.
BIRD-WATCHING HIDE TOO WELL
HIDDEN
In January there was a report
in the local press dealing with the establishment of
a bird-watching hide in the new Sturt Pond Local
Nature Reserve. [
Click here ] for details.
We recently received an email
from Ms. Karen Quantrill, a keen
bird-watcher and frequent visitor to Milford and
Keyhaven, has been searching in vain for this
splendid facility. Is there anyone out there
and reading this article who can help? Please
email us
here
and let us know!
Surely Karen can't be the only keen ornithologist to
fail to find the hide. Great for the birds of
course, but not for those fascinated to know more
about them.
DEPUTY HEAD TO TAKE OVER AT
MILFORD'S SCHOOL FOR SUMMER TERM
Christian Malone, at present
Deputy Head of Milford's C of E Primary School, will
pick up the reins as Acting Head in the absence of a
new Head who has been appointed for September.
We don't know anything about him/her yet but as soon
as we have some news you will be able to read it on
this web site!
In the meantime we extend our
best wishes to Christian: it is never the best news
to know one is appointed as an Acting Chief on a
temporary basis. In our time the best example
of a job extremely well done under these
circumstances has to be Margaret Beckett, who did a
first-class job during the interim period between
the death of John Smith and the winning of the
leadership of the Labour Party by Tony Blair in
1994. She didn't complain and her
support of the new leader and subsequent Prime
Minster was never at fault.
WINDFALL
FOR MILFORD
The urgency of
repairs to Milford's sea defences has been
recognised by the Government which has approved
advance funding after the violent storms which
affected the sea wall under the promenade during the
summer. Such an injection of money into the project
- £700,000 + a 20% Contingency Allowance means that
the initial works will be completed much earlier
than anticipated. This short-term solution to
on-going problems with Milford's battle with the sea
should b e completed without cost to the NFDC by
April next year. Other funding from the Environment
Agency has protected NFDC's pocket.
It is hoped
that these precautions will, among other
depredations, save further loss of any beach huts
after three fell into the hole which resulted from
the summer's adverse weather conditions.
Longer term
protection is estimated to cost something in the
region of £3m - £4m and would take a year or two to
implement.
For period to end of March 2009
MILFORD'S HEADMASTER TO RETIRE AT EASTER
Many
will have read with dismay that Martin Pitman, who
for the past 8 years has led Milford's Church of
England Aided Primary School to academic, artistic
and spiritual excellence, has now decided to
widen the scope of his work for children from beyond
a purely educational sphere to become the Community
Fundraising Manager for the South of England for
Bernados. Martin's resignation will take place
at the end of the Easter term and we can only pray
that we shall be able to find a replacement of
similar calibre.
The
children of Milford who have been lucky enough to
find themselves in such capable hands have been
given an excellent start to their academic studies
and more. The Head of a school is not only
responsible for the children, but even more his
responsibility to his staff marks the standard of
the school as he is primarily involved in the
selection of retention of his staff, and this
is another part of his career in Milford which has
paid dividends to the community.
There will be other tributes as the days and weeks
go by but we on the Milford website would like to
offer our thanks for everything Mr Pitman has done
for the village in the time he has served as the
Headmaster of our school. Not only have the
academic standards have been praised time and again
by the Ofsted inspectors but the buildings,
equipment and furnishings have been upgraded during
his time here in Milford. Martin Pitman will
be leaving behind him a splendid monument of the
love and care he has invested in the school, a
school of which everyone in Milford-on-Sea can be
very proud.
MILFORD'S HISTORICAL
SOCIETY BECOMES HISTORY ITSELF
The Milford Historical
Society, established 100 years ago opened its year
of celebrations with a mix of descendants of who set
up the society in 1909 and together with other who
are also associated with the Society today.
They met in All Saints' Church Hall together with
120 of the current membership for the Annual General
Meeting and a lecture about the founders of the
Society which everyone enjoyed. After the AGM
there was a ceremonial cake-cutting to mark the
occasion with, of course, something with which to
wash it down!
How fortunate we all are to
live in Milford - it might have been a big, bustling
seaside resort had a few residents not caught
typhoid! If you don't yet know that story,
Milford's Historical Society will be putting on a
special exhibition telling its story.
There will be several other
events to mark such a landmark, including the
exhibition in the first week of August. The
Society's Diary has recently been updated.
BOY FRIEND DELIGHT!
It is now becoming obvious to
anyone who enjoys live theatre in the local area
that if you see a Sonia Collyer production
advertised, just go!
Her recent production of 'The
Boy Friend' by Sandy Wilson, in the Performing Arts
Centre at the Ballard School in New Milton,
first seen in the London of 1954, is a delightful
tribute to the mad years of the 1920s. Set in
a Finishing School - ah, how many of us are left who
went to such an establishment? - in the South of
France, it was the perfect vehicle for a young cast,
many of whom are already studying drama at
Brockenhurst. The choreographer, Stephanie
Constantine-Smith, had a splendid opportunity to
direct the actors in the exciting dances of the
period, notably of course the Charleston and the
mature adults strutted their stuff in splendid
style. It was sheer pleasure to those who
attended, and in view of Sonia's record, attendance
was as high as it should have been for an excellent
piece of theatre.
Well done, everyone! And
what a piece of luck to have such a gifted producer
who can deliver the goods without reducing the
players, the backstage crew and the front of house
staff to tears and angst. Everyone enjoyed not
only the hard work but the pleasure of reaping the
reward of giving the audiences a series of wonderful
and memorable evenings.
THIEVES TARGET MILFORD OVER
WEEKEND
Police have revealed that an
entire safe full of valuable jewellery was stolen
from a house near the Church in Milford over the
weekend. Although the police are actively
working on the case and a 23-year-old man has been
arrested in connection with the theft and is
currently being held in Lyndhurst, they are not
divulging any details about the missing items.
Enquiries, however, are being made round jewellers
and antique shops to see whether any of the missing
jewellery has been offered for sale.
As usual, of course, many of
the items are of great sentimental value and the
loss is causing a good deal of distress.
People are advised to check that everything is
securely locked when they are away from the house
though sadly, and this appears to have been one of
them, a break-in is always more difficult to avoid
unless a burglar alarm is fitted to protect the
property.
THEFT OF GIANT FLOWER POTS
Worshippers arriving at the
Church of St. Francis of Assisi on Sunday morning
found that their flowerpots had been stolen during
the night. Mrs. Anne Croll, who has been
tending the flowerpots outside the church for over
40 years, was distraught when she arrived at Mass
around 9.00 am. and found they had disappeared in
the interval between inspecting them on the Saturday
evening around 5.30 pm when she last checked that
everything was growing well to ensure their
flowering for Easter. Anyone who saw anything
strange going on during that time is asked to inform
the police. {Tel 0800 551 111 or 0845 045 45
45). It would have certainly have needed more than
one person to hoist such heavy pots on to some form
of transport. At the same time the posts along
the front of the church received another attack and
the chain between them had been undone.
The pots, roughly 2 - 3 ft
diameter were the traditional hooped wooden variety,
stood either side of the main door. Over the
years they have bloomed according to the seasons and
given a great deal of pleasure to members of the
congregation and to Anne herself, who has worked
tirelessly to brighten the outside of the Church
surrounded by so much stonework.
These large pots were
purchased several years ago to replace a pair of
smaller ones which had also been stolen.
LITTLE BLUE PARAKEET GOES
HOME
Little Tweak, who turned out
to be a male with a green-cheeked parakeet waiting
for him at home, was safely reunited with her owners
on Friday. Needless to say they were delighted
as Tweak had been missing from home for a whole week
and they never expected to see him again. It
seems that the two-year-old bird was so adept at
undoing the catches to his cage that they finally had
introduce a padlock to make sure that when he was in his
cage, he stayed put. Used to a fair amount of
freedom he obviously took the chance when it became
possible a week ago to stretch his wings and go
exploring. Before Tweak was captured by
Katy and David, he fed happily with pigeons and
pheasants in their garden. Subsequently Tweak
enjoyed very chatty sessions with his feathered
companions in their cages while he was spending time
with the parrots in captivity at the home of the
Brigadier who looked after him until he was claimed
by his owners.
Around the same time a tabby
cat was found after being hit by a car on the main
road between Lymington and Brockenhurst, not far it
seems from the Hobler. It was still alive and
taken to the vets, where he was operated on and now
continues to make a good recovery. It is hoped
that he too will soon be reunited with his family.
CENRED TO THE RESCUE
When one
of the brand-new ferries was damaged while docking
in Yarmouth, little Cenred was called out of
retirement to do the donkey-work after the
glamourous new multi-million pound Wight Light was
withdrawn from service for repairs.
It's such
a pity the new ferries are running into problems
like this, though there will be those who are
rubbing their hands with glee. However, for
the sake of those who have family and friends on the
Island and for those whose businesses on the Island
are being ruined in the current downturn, we can
only hope that Wightlink will get its act together
very soon. Timing in all things is of the
essence, and Wightlink do seem to have made a
major boob in their planning.
CLIFF PATH LATEST
An extremely helpful telephone
call was received in the absence of our compositor
explaining the reason for the closure of the cliff
path between Milford and Barton. It appears
that at the Taddiford Gap end of the path, just
beyond the car park, there had been a severe
slippage. However, we are assured that all
efforts will be made during this week to make
sufficient repairs to enable to path to be reopened
by Friday next.
What a pleasure to receive
such courteous help from our local council and a
special thank you to Kate in the office!
MILFORD-ON-SEA MEMORABILIA ON E-BAY
The postcard
above was apparently taken in 1908 - over 100 years
ago! A click on the picture will take you to
E-Bay's page on some of the items for sale relating
to Milford, of which this is an example. If you are
interested in the the history of Milford-on-Sea,
it's also worth letting your mouse click [
Here ].
LITTLE LOST DICKIE BIRD!
This charming little bird
belonging, we think to the parrot family and about
the size of a pigeon, flew into
a relative's garden in Boldre over the
weekend.
It was gently captured on Sunday morning and is
lodging with something of an expert in the area.
Do you know anyone who has lost a bird like this?
He seems to be a fairly tame little chap but I
expect he would like to be back home. If you
know who he - or she - might belong to, please ring
01590 6*0*6*. He needed to be moved, as he
had flown into a pussy cat house - indeed, a hungry
moggie stood gazing hungrily while a temporary cage,
which happened to be a cat cage, waited to house the
bird after a possible successful capture.
WHY IS THE CLIFF PATH
CLOSED?
We have received an enquiry
from one of our visitors enquiring about the
apparent arbitrary closing of the cliff path.
A regular walker along the path, Pamela
Stevens noted that without notice the path from
Hordle Cliff to Barton-on-Sea had been closed.
As she explains, she had walked the path the
previous day and had been unable to see anything
which might account for the closure by the following
morning. Yesterday there was a barrier across
the path, and the foot path from Taddiford Gap car
park was also barred and taped.
We have contacted the local
council and hope to receive a prompt answer.
Miss I'm-the-only-Kate in the Office promised
to contact the right department and let us have the
information so that we can circulate the news.
Unless, of course, it's a
State Secret. . .
CYCLING AT DUSK OR EARLY IN THE MORNING
There are still people who cycle round our
roads - and who walk - who continue to be invisible
to drivers, particularly in the early morning and at
dusk. If you are
out at night, wear something that
drivers can see. In this area, where a
preponderance of drivers are older, bear in mind
that their eyesight is not as brilliant as the eyes
of a young person! So, particularly if you are
young, bear this in mind if you too would like to
find out what it is to feel like as a granny or
grandad! If you aren't careful you may never know
what fun it can be!
Cyclists, young and old, and even with very small
children carried on the back of the cycles, are
exposing themselves or being exposed to serious
injury and even death in an area where there are
many drivers who do not see as well as they might
have dome some years ago.
If
you know anyone who travels on cycles, whether
motorised or run by pedal power, any one who walks
at night, particularly schoolchildren on their way
home in the early evening, do make sure they are
aware that wearing dark colours and carrying no
lights exposes them to the risk of death. And that
indeed is dreadful.
However, also dreadful is the guilt and remorse felt
after an accident by anyone who drives into them
because they are invisible.
Good
heavens! They give luminous collars to the forest
ponies and people are worth more than ponies.
Please remember the old adage, 'Wear something
white at night!' but yellow will be fine.
For period to end of February 2009
FAIRTRADE BREAKFAST IN ALL
SAINTS' CHURCH HALL TOMORROW MORNING
Fairtrade Fortnight started on
Ash Wednesday and tomorrow, Saturday, 28th February, is the day when
you can get up, dress and go out of the house to
Breakfast at All Saints. This takes place from
8.30 to 9.30 am. It may be a bit late to
suddenly decide to go, but it's worth a try and you
can always contribute something to the donation box
if you can't get anything to eat! It'll
buy a breakfast at another time for someone else in
a place where breakfast isn't really on the menu
every day.
If you have never heard of
Fairtrade, click on the logo above and find out
about it. One of our staff was in Tesco today
and sadly the only available Fairtrade bananas were
still green: come on Tesco - you can do
better.
Oh,
maybe everybody's bought the rest - so Tesco needs
to order more with ten days of Fairtrade to go . . .
NEWCOMERS' SUPPER THIS
SATURDAY
This year's Newcomers' Supper
arrives on the scene tomorrow, having moved
from its previously established timing in November.
It was felt that too many things on the party front
happened in November and December and it would be a
good idea to brighten up what is often a rather
dreary month - 'Can anything be drearier than
November?' ' Yes! February!' - so tomorrow Milford offers its
welcome to all who have moved into the village
during 2008.
The evening kicks off at 6.00
pm at All Saints' Church Hall. The evening is
organised by Churches Together in Milford, and is
for people who have moved into Milford since
November 2007. Bon appetit to everyone who is
going to be there. . .
MUGGER ON THE LOOSE IN MILFORD - POLICE SEEK HELP
Late last
Saturday afternoon, 24th January, a
mugging occurred in Carrington Lane. A man in his
70s was returning home after shopping in the village
when someone crept up behind him and hit him. He
demanded money and the pensioner concerned simply
said he hadn’t got any. The attacker then ran up
Carrington Lane and is described as wearing a pale
grey hooded jacket and light-coloured track-suit
bottoms. His victim was more shaken than hurt but
it was an unpleasant thing to happen to anyone.
Police
are now appealing for information and are hoping to
contact a man seen walking his dog around that time,
between 6.30 and 7.00 pm. It is thought this man
may possibly have been approached by the attacker.
The mugger appeared to be aged around his late
teens/early twenties and to be about 5ft.10in tall.
Anyone
with information is asked to contact CID at
Lyndhurst Police Station on 0845 045 4545 or on the
anonymous Crimestoppers line which is 0800 555 111
250th ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATED BY MILFORD RESIDENTS
Nothing like the skirl of the
pipes to set the pulses racing in anyone who has a
drop of Scottish blood and the clans and their
supporters gathered enthusiastically to celebrate
the 250th anniversary on 25th January of the
birthday of Rabbie Burns himself. The Burns
Night supper and dance was organised by John MacLean
while Jim Garrioch did a Captain Mainwaring and
piped in the mighty haggis after it had been
honoured with the address by Charlie Robertson.
Sue Ramsay and the Bournemouth Caledonian dancers
were there to encourage the dancing while Kate
Carpenter and Skara Brae provided the music. A
worthy tribute to the Bard of Ayrshire, or as he is
simply known North of the Border, The Bard.
The profits went towards the Church Hall
Refurbishment funds and an amount of £400 will swell
the coffers.
BRAVE NADAL FIGHTS LOSING
BATTLE IN
ROTTERDAM FINAL
After a great first set where
both players made amazing shots and efforts to get
the ball out of their court, Rafa's knee again gave
trouble and in spite of a fall-
off in the standard
of Andy Murray's service in the 2nd set - or perhaps
because of it - Rafa managed to retain the benefit
of his good start before he was treated by the
trainer for further damage to his troublesome knee.
At one point in the same set Andy Murray's ankle
showed more signs of his trouble, trouble which has
forced him to withdraw from the upcoming ATP match
in Marseilles. The last set was a bit of a
heartbreak for all concerned, including the full
house who had come to support these two great
players. Towards the end there was virtually
nothing Nadal could do and the effect on Murray was
easy to see. It is hard to play against an
injured opponent in any field, and the final of a
top international tennis match offers particular
difficulty. Well done to both players under
such unfavourable conditions. . .
MILFORD 'ENHANCEMENT' PROGRESS
At
the beginning of the road works which still clutter
the village, residents looked on and thought how
nice the pavements looked, all clean. Very
nice!
Then
people began to notice the sharpness of the kerbs,
and the height of them. Visions of falling and
cutting open heads recurred and people started
walking much more carefully. There have
already been falls and lawyers are doubtless eyeing
them with hope: in a litigious society they could
see their income get a bit of an 'up'? It
seems that one driver has already had a couple of
burst tyres as a result of perhaps not the most
brilliant manoeuvring of the steering wheel.
One
does have to wonder who designed these new
pavements: every so often they spread out into
the road, offering their monster kerbs as car
hazards, either to drive into or prevent parking.
Now only one car can park outside the chemist.
As Milford is full of senior citizens collecting
prescriptions they should be able to improve their
health a great deal by using the car parks now
instead of parking close to the chemist. They
will be able to have a more adventurous life coping
with the chances of tripping on lots more kerbs and
if they find walking any distance difficult, it will
become an opportunity to tackle a new challenge.
Parking outside the Co-op is another interesting
field of activity: there is space for three
cars but on the off-side, away from the shop,
there is an island. This virtually precludes
the use of this stretch for three cars since from
time to time one will be stranded in the middle and
have to drive up and over the 'kerbed island' in
order to escape. It will no longer be possible
to stop for a few seconds to post a letter in the
letter box because again the pavement juts out
into the road. It will be necessary to park
the car first. get out, post the letter, avoiding at
all times tripping on the kerbs, return to where the
car is parked, manoeuvre into the road and go. The
alternative now is to stop the car, blocking those
behind or being lucky enough to find a good soul who
will post the letter for you so that you can almost
immediately get out of the way.
What
do planners have between their ears? We
only ask . . .
COUNCIL
PLANNERS DON'T KNOW WHY CAR PARKS ARE NEEDED
We do have to
wonder where they're coming from, particularly when
this ignorance regards the parking at the much
trumpeted new hospital in Lymington - our
hospital. How can they ask for 'further
information to justify the car park numbers
proposed'?
Having
recently been made aware of the size of salaries
available in local council employment for those in
the upper echelons, maybe the decision makers don't
actually use the NHS. Maybe they don't know what
the parking has been like at our new hospital
since it opened but anyone who has any experience of
it will know that the parking facilities there for
staff and public alike are at present lamentable.
All these people, which of course includes 'us',
have been having a terrible time finding somewhere
to park and are very knowledgeable about the
requirement for a much larger number of car-parking
spaces. We, of course, do know the reason for
applying for additional parking. . .
It was such
good news to know that the land had become available
for additional parking after the mistake made in the
original plans! It is now very disappointing to
find that the abysmal ignorance of planning people
will entail a further continuation of driving round
and round, wasting petrol, as it is a question of
'No change - still no more parking'. For at least
eight weeks longer than we needed to have waited it
seems: apparently the turn-around time for a
change in council decision making - every time? - is
eight weeks.
When do we
have a chance to vote again?
MILFORD BYPASSED BY MASSIVE WINTER STORM
A
large and unexpected rise in the barometric pressure
overnight has ensured that Milford has escaped the
ravages of the storm forecast for the south of
England over Monday and Tuesday, though the heavy
rain on Monday certainly cast gloom over its
residents' spirits. This morning looks equally
grey but there is a definite hope of sunshine later
today for which we can give a rousing three cheers.
If you don't believe us, go and have a quick look at
the Satellite weather chart (see above) and have a
nice day!
As
promised, the sun arrived but it also revealed that
a good deal of flooding had gone on through the
night. Milford Road, between Milford and New
Milton, was flooded at the junction with the road to
Downton, just where the overflow to relieve Milford
flooding crossed the main road. The water was
too deep to drive through and cars were diverted
past Shorefield to the A337.theroad from Everton to
New Milford. A couple of hours later the
Milford Road was still closed. Drivers were
fortunate to have the little car park to turn round
to return to the New Milton roundabout to take the
alternative route to Lymington.
The
forecast is looking rather better - for the moment.
. .
MILFORD MENACED BY MASSIVE WINTER STORM
Monday morning is forecast to be icy while the
weather starts its deterioration into a wild storm
at present boiling up in the Bay of Biscay, which
apart from threatening Milford does not look to make
an easy finish for the Vendee sailors making their
way home to Sables d'Olonne.
We
will first get very heavy rain with the danger of
flooding but over Tuesday night there is a strong
possibility that this will end up as snow. While the
very strong winds continue, blizzards will be high
on the agenda and drivers are advised not to set out
except in extreme emergency. If you have
to drive make sure to take blankets, a garden spade,
torch and mobile phone - well charged - and a
thermos or two of something hot to drink. NO,
forget all that: stay at home!
'CONSERVATION ARE REVIEW'
Well, you might ask: "What on
earth does that mean? 'Conservation Are
Review'? And what is such a hilly place
doing in the Milford web site? Can't be local,
we don't have any hills, except shopping in
Lymington - it can't be Milford!"
The answer is to click on the
picture and find out. It really interesting to
find out what's going on in our National Parks which
still seem to have money to fling around!
Editorial Comment:
Having heard the latest edition of 'Any Answers' I
acknowledge that some people of African descent may
have taken offence at the article on black rag dolls
which was recently published on these pages.
It is obviously the case that many younger
supporters of white rag dolls have been very upset
by the use of the word 'golliwog'. Perhaps
because the toy was banned in their youth, they
never got used to the idea of accepting that people
of a different colour were, in fact, just like them.
Actually I have personally to admit that as a little
girl I thought we pink/white and often spotty young
people weren't nearly as physically attractive as
they were. I particularly admired two young
refugee girls who may or may not have been
Polynesian, with their long, long hair and big, dark
eyes. I wanted them as friends but have to
admit the idea was frowned on by my parents, which
to this day I have never really understood, and that
was nearly 70 years ago.
In
all my life I have been fortunate enough to have
friends from almost all races - with the notable
exception of the Inuit. I have a beautiful and
loving Chinese daughter-in-law, an adopted very
black priest-son in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and one of my husband's and my best friends
over more than forty years was the son of a Ghanaian
father and an English mother. He died shortly
before our 46th Wedding Anniversary and we arranged
for a Mass to be said on that day, as we had been
unable to attend his funeral. My dear husband
then died, five days before the anniversary, and the
Mass was said jointly for the repose of the soul of
our dear friend Geoffrey Dove and for that my
husband David, his friend over many years. I always
loved the idea of the two old friends keeping each
other company. . .
TENSION GROWS IN NURSERY
RACE ROW
A serious race row has erupted
in the English village of Milford-on-Sea. This
newly married couple, who have so far declined to
give their name for fear of being further picked on,
are feeling unloved and claim they have been put on
an unequal footing with the pink and white rag dolls
which white children are free to enjoy loving and
cuddling. Any black rag doll these days is
considered to be insulting to black people, even
though pink/white rag dolls are free to dominate the
nursery populations of this country. This
means that black children are being deprived of a
cuddly toy which has been loved for years. Ask
anyone who had a golliwog as a child what they
thought of them and the answer will be the same:
'We loved our golliwogs!'
A song in South Pacific comes
to mind which points out that children have to be
taught to hate. It's the heart that should be
involved in teaching people to love and not mere
political conscience which ends up doing little more
than give birth to the most ridiculous hypocrisy.
It might be worth finding out whether adults who
loved their black rag dolls/Golliwogs as children
are the people who grew up to accept people for what
they were and not the colour of their skin.
In the meantime, the
sanctimonious BBC can welcome cruel and tasteless
comedians which spout their pseudo-wit on the radio
as they poke fun at those whose politics are not
theirs, Jews and Christians, the middle-classes with
standards which the BBC considers complacent and
corrupt. . . How has the BBC managed to get away for
so long sitting in judgement in such a lop-sided
fashion? Look in the mirror, folks!
SNOW II
Milford woke on Monday morning
to a thin layer of snow and a rather delicate dawn.
More snow is forecast for later in the day but at
least we're off to a fairly gentle start.
We'll see. No doubt though - it is pretty and
it does add a magic to the day.
SNOW HEADING FOR MILFORD
For the first time in several
years snow is forecast for Milford and this time it
is reckoned to be much heavier. Coming from
the East, the snow flakes are heading thick and fast
in this direction but are unlikely to reach us till
this evening. In the meantime icy winds are
making it feel even colder than the current
-1°C/31°F registering on outdoor thermometers today.
When the snow comes it will be pretty to look at but
dangerous underfoot. If you ever bought 'moon
boots' it might be an idea to dig them out.
They do hold firm if you have to go out.
Probably better though to stay indoors for the next
couple of days. If you're short of something
it would be the good idea to ask a neighbour if they
can help. If they can it'll make them feel
good and anything's better than broken bones!
For period to end of January 2009
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
Reports from all the Churches in Milford express
their pleasure that all the work the organisers put
into this week were really well supported by the
different groups in Milford and Everton. The
choice of the final weekday service at The Community
Centre was a real success and considering the change
in venue every day, it is really gratifying to see
people made a real effort to fulfil the plans of
Christine Luxon and her colleagues from the Milford
and Everton Churches. Well done to all who
took part and may we all enjoy the fruit!
CAEDMON IS NOW RETIRED
The first of the smaller old ferries which has taken
so many people from Lymington to Yarmouth over the
last 26 years retired on 22nd January and we thought
you'd enjoy seeing a really good picture of her
coming up the river into Lymington. We may at
present dislike the replacement ferries - even very
much - but probably in time we shall grow to like
them as they whisk us back in time to the simple
pleasures of the Isle of Wight, and with minimum
time allow us imagine we are going overseas. . .
Certainly in many cases it costs more!
However, we shall always have a place in our hearts
for Caedmon and her companions who are still plying
between the mainland and the Island. Click on the
picture for further details in 'The Shipping
Times'.
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
Fr.
Gerrit Vervenne welcomed those who attended the
opening service at St. Francis of Assisi Church in
Milford to mark this annual celebration this afternoon. It was based on the work of
Churches Together in Britain and put together by
members of all the Milford Churches together with
St. Mary's Everton. The theme was
reconciliation and unity, based on the heartfelt desire by the
Christians of North and South Korea whose country
and the families living within both halves have been divided
since the end of World War II. Occasional
meetings are now allowed and there are glimmers of
hope on the horizon. Although the original
ideas came from Korea because of its particular
situation, the service itself embraced wider
divisions throughout the world, in particular of
course between different groups of Christians
The
service itself was very well attended Rev. Michael
Welch gave a moving homily on the theme of unity under the
care of Jesus, the shepherd we all follow. The service
was followed by a delicious supply of tea,
cakes and sandwiches in the Maryland Room.
During the rest of the week there will be a
half-hour prayer service each morning at ten o'clock in each of the
participating churches (see below) with the final one in
our Community Centre in Sea Road.
If you need
transport to any of the venues talk to your church
link or phone Christine on 642 453
Tuesday 20th Methodist
Church, High Street
Wednesday 21st Baptist Church, Barnes Lane
Thursday 22nd All Saints Church
Friday 23rd St Mary’s Everton
Saturday 24th Milford Community Centre
FREQUENT VISITOR TO MILFORD GAINS SIXTH DAN IN
IAIDO
David Passmore, the notable teacher of traditional
Japanese Martial Arts, already held Sixth Dan in
Karate and Aikido before his recent visit to Japan
with some of his local students when he was awarded
his Sixth Dan level in Iaido. Where pretty
well everyone knows about Karate or has at least
heard about it, fewer people have heard of
Aikido
or
Iaido,
so you can click and
find out. David Passmore's students, from the
New Forest, are David Golding and Darren
Waghorne who received their Fourth Dan at the
magnificent Butokuden where the arts have been
practiced since the 12th Century.
David holds classes at the
Lymington Health and Leisure
Centre
or
telephone 0845 659 0845 for further details.
Three of his Lymington students have just acquired
their Black Belts in Aikido, Karatedo, Iaido and
Zazen.
Left to Right:
Mike Clapham, Richard Cozens and Nick Singleton
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY - MONDAY 19TH
JANUARY
These posters now appearing round the
village so it will be easier to read all the
details! In Milford the opening Service will
be held in St. Francis of Assisi Church, Park Lane
and starts at 2.30 pm on Monday, 19th January.
Refreshments will be served afterwards in the
Maryland Room.
Joint services, which rotate annually round the
churches in Milford and Everton, do a lot to
strengthen links in our village community and we are
now in that time of year - the darkest time of the
year - when such social groupings meet together for
prayer. These meetings light the darkness
through the period after Christmas and New Year
festivities to the joys of Easter and Spring.
This
year the week of Prayer for Christian Unity this
year was designed this year by the women of
Korea
A
few weeks later the Women's World Day of Prayer
takes its format for 2009 from an ecumenical mix of
women in
Papua New Guinea.
A fundraising lunch for this day, celebrated
throughout the world, will be held in All Saints
Church Hall on 11th February followed by a
Powerpoint Presentation. Tickets will shortly
be available from the churches taking part. The day
of the actual service, as usual, is the first Friday
in March
and this year the venue for the afternoon service will be All Saints' Church
(2.30 pm) and for the evening at St. Mary's, Everton
(7.30 pm)
DO THE BIRDS KNOW SOMETHING WE DON'T?
With the tree is this photograph covered with
couples of birds, is it just wishful thinking that the birds
seem to be thinking of and pairing up for Spring. .
.well, love anyway. We can always live in hope and
this morning the temperature has shot up to 40°F/4.5°C,
the warmest it's been for quite a while.
The photograph was taken yesterday - so maybe the
birds know things earlier than we do. . .
ALLURE CLOSES . . .
After the closure of Turn Around who
dealt with tired clothes and transformed them into
newly-owned garments, Allure's hopeful
opening on Church Hill last year to fill the gap has
just announced its closure.
Unsold garments have been moved to Coco in
Christchurch. The details are available in
Allure's window. There is a time limit, so it
would be worth getting to find out as soon as
possible. Uncollected garments will be given
to charity when the time limit expires.
FURORE IN LYMINGTON OVER FATE OF R C
CHURCH BUILDING
Diocesan plans for the future of the
Catholic Church in the Portsmouth area are far-reaching and have
been actively pursued since 2004. There have been meetings
in groups all over the area, and while they were taking place
local parishioners, not truly aware of what these new ideas
entailed, did their stuff, went to meetings, workshops and major
conferences.
Nitty-gritty time has now arrived: with
the shortage of priests. Where there used to be one or two
priests per parish not so long ago, in the next few years there
is likely to be only one for an area which formerly included 9
parishes. At that point the question arises of how does
one priest cope with all those churches, all those people?
Naturally, in an area like Lymington
where, after years of being banned from having a church, 150
years ago Catholics were finally allowed to have their own place
of worship and here they celebrated by building the pretty
church at the bottom of the Hill in Lymington. To hear at
the meeting that current proposals included demolition caused a
wave of anger.
The great Diocesan plan was to put all the
parishes, which were formerly grouped as Deaneries, into a
larger grouping to be called a Pastoral Area. Alas for the
plans of men! The parishes were not at all keen to lie
down and die and wished to continue to operate as single
entities. The aim of amalgamating the parishes in the
Larger Pastoral Areas, which appeared to be gently running
along, now seems to have ended with a crash on the
buffers. . .
Other local 'parishes' (which title
remains the standard identification by their members) are not
happy that they weren't invited to the meeting which took place
on 20th November, a meeting at which Mgr. John Nelson, a senior
cleric in the committee set up to direct the reorganisation, was
due to speak. These include Milford's St. Francis of
Assisi Church which shares its Parish Priest, Fr. Gerrit
Vervenne, with New Milton's RC Church, Our Lady of Lourdes, the
biggest church in physical terms in the new grouping.
A blow-by-blow account of the meeting
appears in this week's Lymington Times (Advertiser & Times) p24.
Such fundamental changes may have seemed
ideal five or more years ago, but now? At that time it
would have been easy to sell the land on which the churches
stand but who will want it for development now? And who,
in the meantime, will be responsible for necessary maintenance?
Aren't you glad you're not a bishop?
'A VERY SPECIAL BABY' GETS A GREAT WELCOME
All those who were able to get to one of the
three performances of this Christmas play by Heather Lewis were
delighted with the production. The story centred round two
modern couples expecting a baby and was un-costumed, which might have
surprised some who were expecting something on the lines of a
traditional nativity play. There were some notable exceptions:
the angels were dressed in angel costumes, and the premier Angel - who
else but the Archangel Gabriel - made a startling entrance. The
Magnificat duet neared perfection while later, the dancing to 'Silent Night' fitted the music beautifully and created a dramatic
interlude while
Congratulations to everyone involved with the
production, which showed off to great advantage the new performing
space which has been allowed by the re-ordering of the Church.
Surely future drama presentations bringing different views of
the Christian faith to upcoming generations will be enhanced by the
forward vision of those who were brave enough to insist on the
alterations.
'A VERY SPECIAL BABY' IN
ALL SAINTS' CHURCH
'...and the Angels look on.'
Among all the very special babies due any minute
now, Heather Lewis's play had its premiere at All Saints' Church on
Friday evening with two more performances on
Saturday 20th December, a matinee at three o'clock and another evening performance at
seven
o'clock. This production will give everyone a chance to
see the effective new stage bought from donations. Tickets are
available at Gwen's at £5 for adults, £1 for under 16's and for 5
years and under, no charge.
Heather wrote the very well-received 'Passion to
Pentecost' and uses words and songs to contrast the stories of two
very different babies. Put the date in your diaries now: the
run-up to Christmas is so busy you wouldn't want to miss the chance of
seeing one of the five-star events in Milford in 2008!
GOOD TO
BE BACK
After a somewhat traumatic week Milford-on-Sea
Online is practically back to normal. If things aren't quite
right as you use the site please be patient. It will all be
fine as time goes by. Ed.
Settling down to the start of the carol singing
and an original account of the Nativity of Jesus, the children of
Milford Primary School, initially disguised as the Milford Junior
Choir, presented their annual performance at Milford's Baptist Church
off Barnes Lane. It was a triumph, and congratulations are most
definitely in order for the children and their teachers who between
them held the rapt attention of the audience - and that wasn't
composed totally of parents! There were people present with no axe to
grind and at the session for tea and biscuits after the singing and
the play, entitled 'A Wriggly Nativity', so called because young
children can find it famously difficult to keep still, everyone was
talking about it. Actually the children behaved with plenty of
gravitas except when they were required to move in a wriggly fashion,
and that they did really wittily and well.
Although of course, the children were the stars,
close runners-up were the animals who added enormous charm to the
production. The singing was excellent and it is only possible to
feel very sorry for people who were unable to be present. On
behalf of all those who were there, a big thank you to all who made
everything possible and gave us such a good afternoon.
And many apologies to all the other paper stars
- the lambs, the chickens, the crowns and the stars themselves for
which there isn't room for any more photographs.
CHRISTMAS CONCERT AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE
Regular supporters of the fundraising for our
Community Centre will know that this afternoon a Christ Concert starts
at 3.30 pm where world class entertainers are ready to add joy to the
festive season in Milford. To find out exactly who is on stage,
around the stage and generally in front of the audience [
Click here ] for details.
Colin and Pippa are, of course well-known in
Milford as they are residents and often lend their talents to village
do's when their professional engagements permit. Will Scarnell
is the son of Paul, based in Milford since 1953, who recently
announced his engagement to Leah Shaw who moved to Milford from
Scotland nearly ten years ago. Will has had an interesting
career in the theatrical and television world and continues to be
sought after.
Milford extends its welcome to Diana and Luke
and looks forward to hearing them perform for us this afternoon.
Visitors to this site can view Colin's web site,
which has recordings of four songs which you can access with a mere
click of your mouse. Start your visit to Colin by clicking [
Here ]
TUESDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE BAPTISTS
(1)
On 9th December at 2.15 pm there will be an
event to which all are invited at the
Baptist Church in Barnes Lane: the Milford Junior Choir will sing their way through the 2008 Christmas Concert. The
performance will be finished at 3.00 pm so that parents can meet their
children from school.
The Baptist's Women's Circle have asked us to
give our support to the pupils, staff and Head Teacher of our local
community school which does so much credit to Milford. So go,
folks, go!
CHRISTMAS IN MILFORD STARTS ON MONDAY FROM
5.30 pm TO 7-ish
Carols - Brass Band - Father
Christmas to visit!
Late-night shopping takes place this year today,
Monday 8th December. This year we must give a hand - preferably
full of money - to our shopkeepers who open every weekday in shopping
hours to serve us while most of us go off and shop out-of-village.
If we don't want to have our own shops, OK. But we do! We
won't always have time, money or even be physically able to go
wandering round to buy what we need, so now is the time for all good
residents to come to the aid of our shops!
We know all shops are having a hard time as the
credit crunch tightens its munch, so let's support our own and
make sure our neighbours in the local shops have a chance of a good
Christmas.
Come and sing, celebrate Christmas which lights
up the winter and our lives - whether it is fine and moonlit or damp
and moist or even if it's wet air the brollies if you have to!
See you there!
THE MOON AND VENUS EMBRACE OVER MILFORD
This is a perfect night to go and star-watch but even better is the
lovely new moon with a bright light underneath - which is Venus!
We did think it might be the space station but a quick look at the
Planetarium on the Goggle Flash Earth site shows that it really is
Venus - down on the right-hand corner (South West) where you also see
the tiny moon! [
Click here
] The planet up to the right is Jupiter. This conjunction is
only visible on 1st December, but if you are reading this after we
have moved on from 1st December, you can change the date by flicking
the arrows up or down, to left-hand corner. Absolutely
fascinating!
IN A GLOOMY WEEK, A WONDERFUL BIT OF
NEWS!
A knight in shining armour has arrived. . .
Regular visitors to this site, who have
read about Ben's predicament in the last ten days or so, will be
thrilled to know that a match has been found for a bone marrow
transplant and the operation is now scheduled for the second
half of January.
We are aware here, at Milford-on-Sea
Online, that prayers have been offered for this cause and it
would be lovely if those who now find themselves involved with
Ben through prayer would continue to thank God and pray.
We will be happy to put further news on Ben up on the site as
things progress.
We know we can thank you all on behalf of
the family - and of Ben, of course!
A BONE MARROW MATCH SOUGHT FOR BEN
The
following email was received in our post today. Ben is the great-nephew of
a local Milford resident who is doing
her best to help. I have decided to print the email
Ben our eldest son is in
need of a bone marrow transplant. Some of you know Ben well and others
not so well, but I am sure
you know him well enough or know of him, to know he is charming and a joy to
be around. Unusually, Ben has inherited a
condition whereby he is low in blood platelets and the condition has worsened
of late. He has been having transfusions of
platelets on a daily basis but we now have it down to just twice a week.
To meet him you would think nothing was wrong, he
is currently at Oxford Brooks in his last year and studying hard, but the
fear is that he starts to reject the 'imported' platelets.
Southampton General
Hospital have been terrific and are poised to carry out a bone marrow
transplant once a donor has been
found. The problem seems to be that I am Irish and my wife is English,
the genetics are bizarre to say the least. Therefore we
ideally are seeking a donor who is a product of an Irish /English union. So
please read the following paragraph which is an
extract from an article about the 3 Hampshire brothers who are all suffering
from the same disease: two have been sorted but
there is still a problem with their last child.
'Despite a search
among the family and of the international donor register the doctors have so
far failed to find a matching donor for the third cousin.
Bone marrow transplants can only be carried out where the donor and recipient
have matching "tissue types". The doctors think that the problem
may be because he is half English and half Irish. You have probably heard that
bone marrow donors can be hard to find among ethnic minority
groups, and it seems that this is also true in cases of "mixed" descent.'
We have been informed
that a deluge of blood donors ticking the willing to be a bone
marrow donor box would be difficult t
o handle but if individuals go along, as and when they can, there is a good
chance that not only may Ben be helped but also
other people waiting for a donor may suddenly find relief from their
suffering.
Thank you for reading this. [
Click here ] for
further information about bone marrow donation. If you would like to
email a
family contact [ Click here
] and we will arrange it for you.
SILVER
THREADS & GOLDEN NEEDLES
Over the last
ten or fifteen years full of shopping for cheap ready-made
clothes from developing countries have been available many
material and yarn shops shut down, but recently they have
started opening again. There is a little one in Early Court in
Lymington where some material by the yard is available and now
another shop seems to be opening in Hordle.
Called Silver
Threads and Gold Needles - of course - it is in Stopples Lane
(Tel 01425 610461) and will b e retailing Haberdashery and
Wool. In addition to retailing, clothes and curtains will be
made, altered or repairs. All work will be done on the premises
and there are free estimates for such work, collection and
delivery will be done by arrangement and it appears there is
plenty of Free Parking.
Period to end November
2008
MILFORD NOW HOME OF NEW FOREST BRANCH OF
ALZHEIMERS
David High, the Branch Manager of the new
headquarters of the New Forest Branch of the Alzheimers' Society, is even now
setting up the offices in Milford-on-Sea Memorial Hospital, where today Rev.
Derek Markham led a Remembrance Service where wreaths were laid to mark the 90th
Anniversary of the 1918 Armistice which ended the first World War. Among
soldiers who died in that war were those in whose name our Memorial Hospital
itself was built.
The increasing length of our lives mean that more
and more of us are having to come to terms with the downside of attaining ages
which to earlier generations seemed almost out of reach. But as well as
promising medical research being investigated, voluntary organisations are
coming to the rescue. There are now 280 Branches of the
Alzheimers Society in
the UK kingdom as a whole and a quick click [
Here
] will tell you all about our own Branch, now based in Milford*.
Among other services our Branch offers the chance to attend specialist Art and
Music Groups, an Outreach Service, (01590 664679 for details), a helpline and 10
Support Groups across the Forest.
We welcome fundraisers as we have to raise all
the money we need to suppose our local services. While practically all the
work done is voluntary, expenses do arise for which we need funding. If
you can help please ring David on 07936 554205.
We at Milford-on-Sea Online are delighted to
welcome the
Alzheimers' Society to Milford, where we are
sure the New Forest Branch will be given the generous support they need.
*
you may find that Central Office may not yet have
updated their site to include the very recent opening of the New Forest Branch
in Milford - but it will be coming!
PAUL WOOLLEY TO GIVE TALK IN BROCKENHURST
The New Forest Bible Society will be hosting a lunch in St. Saviour's Church,
Brockenhurst on November 4th. The speaker will be Paul Woolley who heads
Theos,
a think tank which undertakes research on social and political matters viewed
via a theological basis. A light lunch will be served at 12.30 pm.
Cost £4, tickets available at the door. All welcome.
Period to end of October 2008
WIGHT LIGHT'S OPEN DAYS A HUGE SUCCESS
Yesterday, 29th
October, the editor made a personal visit to look over Lymington's new 'future
ferry' - since she will not be able to take passengers to and fro Yarmouth till
all sorts of investigations, evaluations, committee meetings here and there have
been completed.
The walk from the
overflow car park was rather longer than expected but well worth the effort, if
only to be staggered with amazement at the size of 'Wight Light'. People
walking around the upper decks looked tiny, although we can assure you that when
we ourselves were walking round the same area we were our normal size!
Once
on board it has to be said that the ferry itself is magnificent and warmly
welcoming. It is very large indeed and the public rooms are spacious and
comfortable with wonderful views. Free tea, coffee and chocolate were
served in new-style paper cups, a vast improvement on their expanded polystyrene
predecessors. The chocolate is the best chocolate I have had for ages, in
spite of it coming out of a machine. The editor's daughter, an habituée
of the ferries running to Cowes, Ryde and Fishbourne, thought 'Wight Light' was
just lovely, a sweet little ferry compared to the monsters which rocket to and
fro on the other side of the Island.
It goes without
saying that the business end of 'Wight Light', up on the bridge and down in the
engine room are truly state-of-the-art. The Bridge is amazing and cameras
give comprehensive screen views of everywhere on the ferry, at times
simultaneous with collections of pictures on screen. As a dubious future
customer before going on board I have to say that the future looks good.
Here's hoping !
On Thursday there
was a big-wig junket beside and on board for really important people, among whom,
sadly, Milford's web site editor didn't count but let's hope they have lovely
weather for it! I will certainly look forward very much to sailing on her,
over to the Island and 'back in time', which it always seems one is doing when
travelling from the mainland to the much-loved Isle of Wight.
"YOU'RE
WELCOME ABOARD THE 'WIGHT
LIGHT',
ME
HEARTIES!"
Wightlink are
erecting the gangways for people of the area to satisfy their curiosity and
inspect Wight Light at her moorings on Lymington Quay on Tuesday and Wednesday
28th and 29th October, from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm. Free parking has been
arranged in the overflow car park and staff and crew will be on board to show
visitors round and answer their questions. There are lots of things for
children including free souvenir gifts and a treasure hunt for 7 - 14 year-olds
with the chance of winning one of three FruitShoot mountain bikes, courtesy of
Pepsi™
Wightlink are sorry that, just for this period of Open Days only, the
gangway to Board Wight Light may prevent safe access to those with impaired
walking. Once the vessel is fully in service, access will not be restricted.
2008 MILFORD & KEYHAVEN
5
MILE RACE
[
Click
here ] for Sunday's Results
At 10:30 am on the 19th of
October at Hurst Road you might have seen the start of this year's
The Milford and Keyhaven 5 mile which is
the 4th race in the Running Tree Series of 5 races. The undulating course
started on the Seafront at Milford on Sea, ran through Keyhaven and finishing on
the green at Milford. Entries were available on the day but runners were asked
to allow plenty of time to register. Drinks were available at the end of the
race.
Click
here for more details from the organisers. We understand that this
year's sponsors included, as previously, The Gun, Monks, Hollands and this year
we welcomed a new sponsor in Zaika. What a lovely bunch of people! :-) The
race organisers owe them a special thanks!
[For additional information on running matters
click here]
EMERGENCY POLICE, AMBULANCES, COASTGUARD AND FIREMEN INVADE CAR PARK
Towards Hurst Castle
orange Ribs have been spotted and there appear to be an emergency response in
operation. It is certainly to be hoped that all this is an exercise.
If it is not, one shudders to think what it might be. We will keep you
posted!
LATEST: Helicopter
has now arrived. Our reporter is unable to see any Customs and Excise
ships at the moment. . . Karen will report any further developments.
ABSOLUTE LATEST;
Further enquiries from our reporter discovered that the whole thing was an
exercise. We're sure they will all have had a fun but useful day, then
they all went home to tea.
BRENDA KEIGHLEY aka
BRENDA RAWNSLEY
If you missed the
article here yesterday when there was a link to a programme on BBC Radio 4 about
Brenda's work immediately after the war to bring Art into Schools, click on the
picture of her above which will take you to the BBC website. If you have
not already connected to iBBC
find out how to do it.
It is a wonderful way to enjoy radio and BBCTV programmes to catch up on
programmes you have missed. Good luck! Brenda's programme, by the
way, is called 'Art for Schools' and was originally broadcast at 11.00 am on
21st October.
Wikipedia also
has excellent coverage of Brenda's wartime activities which make very
interesting reading. To visit [
Click here ]
There is an error in the Wikipedia article: Brenda's rank is described as
Squadron Leader, but the equivalent women's rank at the time was Squadron
Officer.
Period to end of September
2008
INTREPID LOCAL EXPLORERS USED TRAINED SARDINE!
Roger and Sandra,
whose marine exploits generally start at Keyhaven, have recently completed a
circumnavigation of one of the most beautiful southern islands in the world.
They have set up a delightful website charting their adventurous journey.
Since it all started at Keyhaven we feel it deserves a place on the
Milford-on-Sea website and will add the pleasure of our visitors. [
Click here to share the
trip ]
It's worth
mentioning that this fabulous trip was undertaken by a middle-aged couple who
hope to give encouragement to those whose excuse for not stepping out into the
Land of New Experience is that they are 'too old' to try something different.
This couple is not your usual run-of-the-mill pair: they are both still working
and the trip is not a mark of 'now we've stopped working we're going to step out
a bit'. They already do!
[Click
here]
to find out more!
WHAT DO YOU KNOW
ABOUT THE QUAKERS?
The picture above is
of Charles James Fox who started up the Quakers but most of us know very little
else about them. If you click on the picture you can find out more. The
reason for putting up his picture is because National Quaker Week takes place
between the 4th and 12th October, and local Quakers from this area are planning
all sorts of events. A Tea Party was organised for Milford and took place
in Milford's Community Centre in Sea Road on Sunday last. It was an
excellent opportunity to get to know more about the Quakers and those who missed
it should keep an eye open to do something about attending a Friends' meeting
another time.
Oh, Quakers wear
just the same sort of clothes everyone else does - and of course, they talk!
AND DID YOU KNOW . .
.?
Milford Motors is
offering a selection of hardware at special prices until 11th October.
Among other useful items there is one that one that is particularly useful for
those people who think it's perfectly alright to stand on chairs or kitchen
stools to grab something on a just-out-of-reach cupboard shelf. If you
don't have one, treat yourself to a proper little stepladder for under £20 and
keep yourself protected from the danger of falls - one of the most common
reasons for accidents in the home.
PLANNING
LUNCH
Hmmm. . .
(click here)!
and if you like that you might like to trawl
through the local planning web site to understand what changes are due in the
village,
click here to start!
A BIGGER CHEER FOR TESCO!
At 10.45 this morning,
Tuesday, 23rd September, Tesco had reduced the price of its petrol by 3p and it
is now selling at 111.9p per litre. Shame the price of petrol has shot
through the roof again today!
THREE CHEERS FOR SHELL IN
PENNINGTON
At 3.30 this same afternoon,
when one of our staff drove past, the Shell garage in Pennington was selling
their petrol for 110.9 p per litre. This means it may well be cheaper - and a
lot more satisfying - to drive the 3 miles to Pennington and do your shopping in
Waitrose for a change! Or stay in the village and don't use any petrol at all!
HOPING FOR A MILLION?
Devotee optimists will be
delighted to know that Hollands of Milford will be selling Lottery Tickets from
Wednesday, 10th September: Do rush down with your poundlets (they're now
poundlets as the value seems to be going down every day) and remember, your
money - be it ever so small at this end - may be being invested in our
Community Centre!
TESCO CONTINUES ITS GREEDY HABITS. .
.AND SHOWS NO SIGN OF STOPPING!
Over the last week the price of Brent Crude Oil has
dropped in the region of 8% and is now at the lowest level since the peak in
May. What happens to Tesco's petrol prices? They're up against 10
days ago! Had the price risen during the last 10 days prices at the
pumps would have risen the next day. Have they not discovered how to
change their machines to reflect a similar lowering of prices? Greed got
us to where we are at the moment in the credit crunch - does Tesco think its
future path will also be smooth? Do they not remember what happened to M
& S? Do they not look round at the banks? The Building Societies?
Are they really as greedy and/or thick as they are making themselves
appear at the moment?
5 Days Later:
It's Tuesday 16th September and this week the price of crude
oil is still dropping. It is now down to considerably below US$100 per
barrel - and has been down below US$90 and is one-third below its highest
price this summer. There has been no change at all in Tesco's petrol
prices. Are we surprised? Of course not!
But Tesco, dear Tesco, can you explain why
when the price per barrel goes up, your prices change immediately? Is
there something wrong with the mechanism that turns the cogs to lower the
price at the pump when the price per barrel sinks? We would be pleased
to publish any explanation you might have, especially one that is completely
transparent, to use one of the 'in' words. . .
A CUNNING NEW PRICE-BUSTING WHEEZE!
Do watch out for the latest canny system to keep profits as
high as possible: this is practiced by various manufacturers rather than
the supermarkets. Have you noticed, for example, how thin cornflakes
packets have got from the side? Maybe we're wrong on details but
standard boxes used to have 500 gm of goodies inside. The packaging is
now a slim-line version of its former self and contains 375 gm of cereal.
It seems that lots of companies are jumping on this bandwagon. They
really do have a very poor opinion of their customers' IQs! Enjoy yourselves
and keep track of interesting cases. It may do nothing but lower your
opinion of firms that are household names but wouldn't it be lovely to see a
bit more honesty around? Ah, wishful thinking in this corrupt world . .
.
'ANY QUESTIONS' CAME TO
MILFORD
Sir Simon Jenkins, Charlie Wolf, Jonathan
Dimbleby, Anne Peacock, Dame Liz Forgan and Bea Campbell
How exciting it was to have
Milford-on-Sea figuring in one of the radio programmes - this year celebrating
its 60th Anniversary. Lots of us have known 'Any Questions' for many years, some
of us even many, many years! On a truly dreadful evening, from a
weather point of view, when the rain fell with the enthusiasm of a tropical
storm, All Saints' Church was full - and not just with Milford residents.
People had travelled quite a distance to be there from towns and villages
between Milford and Bournemouth and Southampton.
The proceedings started from
6.30 pm although the actual programme was not due to go out live until 8.02 pm
precisely. Below the chatter some members of the audience were racking
their brains to think of a question which might suit the panel and above it the
BBC crew played assorted signatures tunes from well-known Radio 4 programmes -
but which belonged to what? Radio 4 fans tried to match music to the right
title which kept lots of them amused and some of them chasing the ghosts of
memory which eluded them.
The audience then taken in
hand by a Milford resident who also wears a BBC hat as a 'continuity girl'.
She does a great deal more than what she thought the job was when she joined the
Beeb and what we learnt from her interesting chat last night. Among a
collection of amusing anecdotes Carolyn Brown included details on how important
the minutes and seconds were in sending transmissions through to the listening
world. She kept us engrossed until the panel arrived. One of the
selected questions was doomed never to hit the airwaves as the technicians
checked everything before the start of the programme. The questioner regretted
that the answers to his questions faced the inevitable fate of the desert flower
that bloomed unseen. Ten people's questions were chosen from those
submitted on specially designed tickets with space to write. The Beeb hoped
there might be around a hundred or so from which to make a selection. Of
those, one question was designated the 'practice' one and of the remaining 9,
the actual questions used were picked. Winner and losers. . .
Everything started with the
boom of Big Ben, followed by the News and we were 'On air'.
It has to be said that this
was not going to be the most talked about and controversial edition of 'Any
Questions'. On one side we had two gentlemen who gave considered responses
to the questions (the programme can be heard on the internet via
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4 for the next 6/7
days) while the two ladies shared feminist interests and Guardian history. (See
the Links at the end of this article).
Alas and possibly because of
the selection of panellists, the majority of the questions elicited a 'battle of
the sexes' type answer which is so old-fashioned it tended to dull the
responses. Ah, well, can't have everything! The most interesting
aspect of the evening was to see something of the background of a live
transmission of a radio programme on our favourite wavelength.
Thank you, BBC!
OLYMPIC GLORY BRUSHES MILFORD
. . .
Congratulations to Lymington
resident Nick Rogers! Nick came home in the massive cloud of successful
British Olympians who arrived back in Britain on board a golden-nosed BA jumbo
jet.
Nick, silver Olympic
medallist, is cousin to
David Rogers,
one of our sponsors who runs his pottery business in his Vinegar Hill studio and
who at the moment is exhibiting under the Hampshire Artists' banner - look out
for the cerise-coloured flags all over the Forest.
His uncle,
Jeremy
Rogers, also lives in Milford where he still produces his famous
Contessa 32 racing yachts
HEAVEN COMING TO MILFORD - VIA
HELL!*
Work started on 1st September
to transform our village into something out of this world with major road works.
It was originally planned to start work in July but the Parish Council managed
to persuaded the relevant authorities that such a plan would seriously damage
the tourist trade in Milford.*
[With thanks to Brian Giles for his
original metaphor, quoted in the Lymington Times (Advertiser & Times) of 29th
August]
So, between here and December,
we may have to put up with irrita5tion as the work is done, but it has been
designed to make Milford a safer place for pedestrians, particularly around the
George & Mary lamp post entrances to the village as well as general improvements
to the pavements. Let us hope then that by the time Santa Claus visits us
in December he will find all in wonderfully good order.
To link to the relevant planning site, [
Click here ]
It has not been possible for us to find further information, but knowing that
the planned roadworks are 'Major' it is a pity that it is not easier for the
residents to find details on line. There are supposed to have been notices
round the village, but they haven't been very noticeable.
BEACH HUTS COLLAPSE INTO A
HOLE
The reasons for the collapse
of the beach huts into a hole is not yet known. It appears that nobody
was injured and the Council are looking into it. . .
THE SLEEPY VILLAGE OF
MILFORD-ON-SEA???
Sometimes the BBC does get it
so wrong! The first episode of the new series of DIY SOS last Thursday 21st
August was 'set in Lymington' it announced before driving past our sea front
although it wasn't long before they announced it was actually in 'the sleepy
village of Milford-on-Sea' followed by shots around The Green. A bunch of
buffoons - well, that's the way they played it - arrived to rescue a local house
from the depredations of Do-It-Yourself gone very wrong. Without
apparently doing any proper work, the buffoons messed around until they finally
ended up with at least a safer building where there wasn't any electrical wiring
poking haphazardly out of the walls. The programme makers interviewed the
warring couple who had called in the BBC after getting to the end of their
tether with their attempts to do some very serious 'improvement work on their
house, including removing an entire inside wall. The interview took place
on a grey and windy day on the dinghy launching pad at Lymington and throughout
the time of their stay in the area the weather was awful - well, it was par for
the course of this year. To pad out the film they persuaded the poor
DIY-ers, with everyone kitted out in expensive sea-going gear, to join them in
taking part in an RNLI exercise which ended up with the female partner being
chucked into a cold grey sea for a practice rescue. What a dreadful waste
of licence payers' money. . . and what a contrast with, say, 'Grand Designs'!
MILFORD'S WONDERFUL CARNIVAL
The festivities kicked off at
mid-day on the Green with a variety of stalls and entertainments which this year
included a Punch and Judy show. Children screamed with delight as they
stepped on to the roundabouts and chomped their way through candy floss while
the grown-ups wandered round inspecting what was to buy, win or invest in Raffle
Tickets. At 3 o'clock the Swing Unlimited Band made its appearance,
sponsored this year by the Milford Social Club, Hudsons's Heating and Plumbing
and Hollands of Milford. Loud-speaking arrangements were organised by the
Lymington Rotary Club.
This year's Carnival was well
up to expectations with eye-catching costumes and a great deal of charm.
The theme of the parade was inspired by the work of Walt Disney - both early and
late. Very late. Floats representing The Jungle Book,
Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan among
others. Individuals made their mark - on was the Big Bad Wolf - the one in
Pinocchio? A pair of beautiful golden retrievers had been watching
the parade with real interest until the appearance of the wolf which made them
cringe back on the pavement as far as they could go while their owners collapsed
in amazed laughter. Sadly their reaction was one of the photographs caught
up in the technical failure of the camera, as was a couple of little girls and a
very young boy bravely climbing the tower. (We apologise again to those
who might be looking in vain for those pictures to be published on this site.)
Different from the main theme
and very topical was the group of 2012 Olympians who looked full of promise and
enthusiasm as they followed the golden road of their dreams along the High
Street. Then back into the general swing came a splendid black and white
Cruella de Ville who paused to admire the Golden Retrievers - was there a glint
in her eye indicating she might change to a new golden look after Britain's
Olympic success?
This year is the 90th
Anniversary of the founding of the Royal Air Force and Milford's British Legion
put on a wonderful float complete with a splendid model of a Sopwith Pup (?) and
they have every right to be particularly proud of their splendid presentation in
honour of the RAF.
All this, together with sundry
individual Tinkerbells, Pirates, Minnie and Mickey Mouses etc, together with the
Wessex Majorettes, the Dolphin Marching Band, The Ringwood Pipe Band and
assorted music from several Floats, the general noise and enthusiasm added to
the excitement of the day. The Lady Anne chuntered her way along the
route, lighting up the hearts of those who still cherish the beloved days of
steam engines.
[
Click here
] to view Carnival pictures
CARNIVAL POSTSCRIPT
For many years we have all
enjoyed our wonderful Milford Carnival when we tend to take for granted it will
happen and everything will be just like it was, only more so! We
frequently fail top think of all the people who work so hard working to make the
show a success and this year we found ourselves talking to James Brenan whose
normal job is running a drawing supply office where you can order anything from
an artist's palette through easels to drawing boards which would grace any
designer's office. In his spare time he supports our local community - not
just Milford, of course, but Lymington and environs - via the Lymington Rotary
Club. The Club supports us over the Carnival and this year gave
Milford-on-Sea Online a graceful compliment over the loudspeakers! Since
the Lymington Rotary Club supports Milford's Carnival financially as well as
physically - as he explained 'I think there were 15 of us there this
year' here is a link to their Club [
Click here
] which in turn has members from Milford. James is their Webmaster.
INSTANT CHRISTIANS
Our little area of the New
Forest was again on TV screens via Channel 4 over the weekend. In the
third part of a programme which gave a diverse group of people who'd had nothing
to do with Christianity the chance to explore and devise a service in an
out-of-use church it was a surprise to see St. Dominic's Priory of Sway called
in to help a young woman worried about her sexual preferences. In an echo
of earlier 'taster' type programmes from last year, instead of six weeks
'getting to know you' members of this group had apparently been given three.
It was rather fun to see Sister Maria - who talked during the Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity in Milford in January - helping the young lady in question,
especially as it seemed to help her. One man who'd suffered a
self-inflicted loss of four teeth between his incisors was helped to visit the
dentist - of unknown whereabouts - to repair the damage. It was somewhat
on the lines of repairing the DIY as in the article above since the teeth had
been extracted by their owner with a pair of pliers in order to avoid having to
visit the dentist when they hurt in the first place!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GREAT
SCOT FROM BRITAIN!
The somewhat uncouth youth has
learnt a huge amount this year and is now turning into quite a charmer judging
by the number of friends and admirers he seems to have collected during his
appearance this year in the US Open. He reached the final where he played with
one of the most outstanding players of tennis history, Roger Federer. He
didn't win but neither did he play like a shrinking violet, no lose his cool and
in the last set managed to make his mark with some extraordinary play
which had the crowds cheering him on, although it was obvious Federer had the
upper hand. As Andy Murray had played three games with Federer on similar
hard court surfaces and won two of them one does have to think that beating
Rafal the day before in four sets must have taken some of the stuffing out of
him as he came on to the Arthur Ashe court to meet a well-rested Federer who had
had two days' off.
Andy's acceptance speech was
gracious and laced with the sort of true humility which will go a long way
towards moving his game forward: he now knows exactly what he has to do to join
the ranks of the top three tennis stars. From 4th in the world at 21, he
will go a long way - right to the pinnacle. Good luck, Andy! It is
always a pleasure to see people doing things well. . .
BBC TAKES UNEXPECTED SLANT ON TODAY'S
BIG BANG
The Beeb's usual irreligious attitude
pertaining to God was reversed tonight in an item in The World Tonight (Radio
4 10.00 pm). Regarding tomorrow's Big Bang as the particles are fired
round the 27km accelerator which lies under the French/Swiss border near
Geneva they did take a more serious view of a possible outcome than their
flippancy on so many occasions usual appear on the airwaves. The links
at the top of this page will tell you more about the whole experiment and you
can try to understand but the clutch of programmes offered by the BBC on Radio
4 in the next few days will probably be more helpful.
However, this evening there was a touch of
if we do manage to find out what the scientists are looking for, which
some call the 'God Particle', we'd better stop downsizing God and show him
the respect to which he is entitled if it should really turn out that he is
the Creator. Hedging their bets maybe? Now, now, let us not be
cynical. . .
The BBC did, in fact, spend quite a while
interviewing physicists who talked about the incredible beauty and, above all,
the simplicity of the entire complicated Universe. Those interviewed who
had experienced some glimmer of understanding the wonder of the Universe found
it impossible to comprehend the existence of such beauty without reference to
a Creator in view of its magnificent order and power. The BBC also
played the very moving report sent back by the astronauts on the Apollo 8 on
Christmas Eve 1968 when the first few verses of Genesis was quoted.
This whole attitude of the BBC was
impressive and in the middle of so much cynicism and secularity a welcome
change, though doubtless many would not agree.
Click on the links below to follow the
experiment:
'ANY QUESTIONS' COMES TO
MILFORD
Among Jonathan Dimbleby's
guests for this week's (5th September) 'Any Questions', which is to be held in
All Saints' Church, is
Sir Simon Jenkins, the noted journalist - we
assume! He might be
Simon Jenkins, Raymond Blanc's prize patissier
but the likelihood of his being the talented writer and commentator who
contributes to both the Guardian and The Times - not to mention the BBC - is
higher. Other guests will emerge - as do Conservative leaders - when the
trails start on Radio 4. Tickets went well after a slowish start and we
look forward to a full church and a stimulating evening as Radio's 'Any
Questions' does battle with 'Big Brother Final' and 'Eastenders' on Television.
Later (3rd September):
Here is the complete panel
together with helpful links and as you know, for those you just click on the
name:
CONTINUING IRRITATION AT
HOSPITAL CAR PARK CHARGES
The new parking system at
Lymington Hospital has met with deep frowns and a grinding of teeth before it
has actually made its debut. For a start the powers-that-be have
installed machines (common to all NFDC areas) that do not give change, thereby
frequently increasing their 'take'. Nor will the machines accept notes -
and obviously they are behind the times in that they will not take credit
cards either. So do remember to arrive with bags of jingly money.
We have to ask if the Councils we elect are at the service of the public
or of themselves. Whether we shall get an answer to that question we
will have to wait and see: in the meantime we shall continue to suspect that
the honest answer would be the latter.
The installation of the
parking meters also means that the free first hour is lost, the hour which was
so useful to visitors whose stays are often very short.
Enter the Guessing Game,
which is new. You have to estimate in advance how long you are going to
be away from your car, a particularly difficult task since the traditional NHS
handing out of appointments by the bunch means that patients will find it
virtually impossible to estimate length of time to buy. Everybody gets
games, including the Car Park Attendant. He or she will be free to set
fines while people are still in the hospital and if the attendants are quick
they can swoop before the sickly owners can get back down the miles of
corridor to feed the meters. Subsequently they will discover they are deemed
absent when their name is called so they miss their appointment - and have to
make a new one. With any luck there will be big profits for the NHS in these.
MEL
KENDAL TAKES ONE STEP DOWN . . .
While all the news is about
Mr. Mel Kendal resigning from the New Forest District Council it should be noted
that he will still be keeping up with his other posts - his name will not
disappear from the press and media news. This is not a complete surprise
of course, since one of his remaining posts involves serving as member for the
environment on the Hampshire County Council where he is the county's highest
paid councillor with an annual expense claim around £60,000.
He has recommended Mr. Barry
Rickman to be his successor - at the same time stressing that the final choice
must rest with his colleagues at a special election. Mr. Rickman paid
tribute to the work that Mr. Kendal had accomplished during his time on the NFDC
but added that his own style would 'probably be different' and that he would try
to keep more people on board.
GIANT FERRIES TO MAKE EARLY
DEBUT
Wightlink has announced its
new ferries have been completed earlier than anticipated and the first one
will arrive at the beginning of September to start sea trials. This will
give us all a chance to see what 'big' means in the current controversy over
the replacement of the ferries from Lymington to Yarmouth. It is
possible that as time goes by we might see some method in Wightlinks's
decision as 'Holidays at Home' become more the thing as leisure funds take a
falling role in the way we live.
FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES
COMMITTEE BACKS LOTTERY APPEAL
Chairman Bob Bishop skilfully guided the
members of the F&GP Committee through the Agenda at a recent meeting in the
Village Hall while their table was surrounded by interested Milford resident. It
seems that Mr. Bishop wasn't certain of the residents' feelings about the
subject to be discussed and initially he joked that he felt his committee was
possibly surrounded by a threatening hedge of some kind . . .
The subject on the table, which virtually
replaced all other matters was on the subject of the application to the Lottery
Fund of £500,000 to be used to build a new Community Centre in Milford.
Margaret Richens gave a tight and well-considered presentation covering all that
had already been done to raise money for the scheme. Local fundraisers and
the Committee for the appeal for funds from the Lottery have so far raised
£293,500. This, together with the proposed half-million pounds which is
the sum they are asking from the Lottery, would mean that the amount available
for the total cost of the build comes to £793,500.
The estimate for the building is now available
from the architects, Mr. Stephen Hole of Studio 4. It amounts to £886,000.
There would, therefore, be a shortfall of £92,500.
The purpose of the meeting was to find out
whether the F&GP Committee would be prepared to pledge an amount of money to
bridge the gap. After the excellent presentations from Margaret Richens,
and before the serious discussion by the member of the committee Bob Bishop
asked members of the public who were in attendance what they thought of the
proposal. One resident expressed the opinion that because of the way life was
looking at this time of global warming and fuel shortages, people were likely to
find themselves more restricted. Instead of leaping into cars to find
entertainment, the people of the village would be much more thrown on
themselves. A Community Centre was a most desirable feature and with the
chance of a large financial boost now one of the Committee members announced
that he considered the decision should be in favour, since a similar chance was
unlikely to recur in our lifetime. 'Seize the day!' were his actual words.
If the Committee were to go ahead, said Mr.
Bishop, there would have to be safeguards because in the end the money would
have to come from the residents of Milford which he subsequently enumerated.
The proposed charge on the council tax would mean an additional sum in the
region of £4 per household per annum, or, since most people paid monthly, 25p -
30p a month.
The
general opinion of the Committee, with one or two exceptions, was that the
proposition was recommended. One strong factor contributing to the final
decision was that the usage of the building would cater for every age group in
the village, as well as for those who had special requirements such as tamps
etc. Another was the proven enthusiasm by residents of Milford for the
many opportunities offered in the temporary structure where so much is already
happening. [ Click
here ]
After the
meeting there was general rejoicing among the residents who had attended.
We hope that everybody in Milford feels the same. When the original
proposal came up in 2000 - the Millennium Year - there were quite a few people
against the whole idea, but thanks to the general work of all those who set up
our present Community Centre and have ever since been keeping and expanding the
excellent facilities taking place in the temporary building in Sea Road.
Here's to the whole project!
TESCO REVISITED . . .
Further to our recent article (lower down this
page) on Tesco actually charging more for the 'Bargain Economy Size' which, we
hasten to add, is not advertised as such but is what we shopping have been led
to believe bigger packages are, they are continuing the differential on Tea
Direct Fair Trade teabags. This morning one of our staff was buying
cartons of double cream. There was something of a delay around the shelves
which carried the cream. Another shopping was comparing prices: 150gm cost
41p, 300gm cost 88p. Come on Tesco, be fair! Our advice to Tesco
shoppers: when you are buying, checking the quoted prices per 100gm and
get the best price!
IT'S ALL HAPPENING ON THE GREEN
This futuristic tent houses this year's 'Art
on the Green'. which will be running again from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm in the
centre f the village. If it should happen to be raining visitors will be happy
to know that there are panels to stop the wind howling through the gaps at the
side and you will be able to view the pictures in peace! We do have some
remarkably good artists in this part of Hampshire and can thoroughly recommend a
visit.
MILFORD ART GROUP EXHIBITION 2008
Pictures (L - R) by Richard Bridge, Graham
Robinson & Patricia Cox
Milford Art Group opened the doors to its
Exhibition on Tuesday 22nd July and the Exhibition will lasted until 2nd August.
It opened every weekday from 10.00 am to 5.30 pm, Saturdays from 10.00 pm to
5.30 pm and Sundays from 11.00 am. On Saturday 2nd August, the last day,
it opened till 4.30 pm.
This year there were pictures
to suit every pocket which ranged from delicate flower paintings and gentle
watercolour landscapes to bold seascapes in oils and bright modern art.
Refreshments are available in the Church Hall of All Saints' Church, where the
Exhibition is being held. Catalogues were available at 50p but there was
no entry charge.
As well as the bigger
paintings there was a wide choice of smaller paintings and also some unframed
examples of members' work. The ones illustrated on this site were framed.
SONGS OF PRAISE
Last Sunday, 20th July, Milford and Keyhaven
residents and holiday makers joined together at Keyhaven to continue the now
annual Songs of Praise. This has become a real feature of the summer in
our area and on Sunday the sun shone in approval. Admittedly the wind was also
blowing enthusiastically but nothing spoiled the pleasure of the large crowd
that had gathered. Not only did people take up the space all around the
quay but even down on the beach chairs were lined up, brought in by even more
keen participants.
The choice of songs was
excellent and voices were raised with panache although a new entrant, 'Lord, I
Come Before Your Throne of Grace', made a rather hesitant debut. but as
Reverend Dominic said, all hymns were new once, and maybe its day will come.
Dr. John Soper gave an inspiring and moving talk on why he believed in God which
was very well received by those who were there.
The music which supported all
the vocal effort was played by the Boscombe Salvation Army Band and a collection
was taken towards the end of the Service which will be split between the Mission
for Seafarers and the Salvation Army.
All present wanted to extend
their thanks to the Boscombe Salvation Army Band under their Bandmaster Howard
Evans and the Deputy Bandmaster Ray Jones, The Keyhaven Yacht Club and the River
Warden, Roy Plummer. for making the presentation possible. Thanks too from
the rest of us for all the work done by the organisers, Reverend Dominic
Furness, Colin Bunce, Dr. Soper and members of All Saints' Church.
THE GREAT BRITISH STEAM CAR
Although
we haven't yet received an account from anyone local or indeed from anyone who
went to the show, it seems that everything went very well, including the
weather. If you click at the bottom of the pictures you will be able to
find out about the great attempt at the Bonneville Salt Flats in late August on
the world speed record for a steam car.
The last
official steam powered record attempt took place in 1906, with Fred Marriott
driving a Stanley Steamer built by the Stanley brothers. It achieved 127.659mph.
In 1985, Bob Barber reached 145.607mph in a steam car but only made one run – to
qualify as a world record the average speed of two runs in opposite directions
is taken.
This
massive car was grown in a little wooden shed in Lymington! But the car's big,
isn't it? You can read all about the next exciting phase by clicking [
Here
]
DOUBLE
STANDARDS IN TESCO
Tesco works very hard at its
image about being really keen on its customers - we bet they are! Where would
they be without us?
We are though a little worried
about our health. It's well-known what wonderful bargains Tesco's offer in
wines and how kind they are to produce the free cardboard carriers when we have
bought several bottles. They even print on the side advice as to how to
drink 'sensibly', starting at the top with details of the small, sensibly sized
glass which is supposed to be roughly the equivalent of one unit of wine.
Alas, do they sell these small glasses? Does anyone these days? Of
course, they are available in the places where you buy expensive cut crystal
glasses that few can afford. Come on, Tesco: give us a range of
sizes and not a Hobson's Choice of the monster glasses which appear to be the
only cheap glasses available.
AND TALKING OF TESCO. . .
Bargain of the week? You
can buy 'teadirect', a Fairtrade product at Tesco. Very good, Tesco!
Good to see our big stores stocking such items. However, in Tesco do
beware the big economy box. Just get the smaller 80 pack, which sells at
£1.39. Next door to it you will find the big box, with 160 bags, and they
are , I think from memory, but check this, £3.85. Compare two smaller
boxes at £1.39 which you can buy for £2.78. Good business, Tesco, but I
think you've got your sums wrong! This doesn't seem to phase the
management though: 'We can't do anything about the prices - that's what Head
Office tells us to do.'
We can imagine what they will
do. Want to bet? They will correct the situation by raising the price of
the smaller boxes. Little chance they might bring down the price of the
bigger one, which is, they say, 77p per 100 gm. Seeing the state of
mathematics in the country these days, people wouldn't think that's £7.70 a
kilo, compared with the £5.56 a kilo which they advertise on the shelf price
label for the 80-pack box. That's a 37% hike - Zimbabwe, here we come!
We have met this on other
products in the store recently. Let us know if you have any other
examples.
Email us [
Here ]
HAS THE DAILY EXPRESS GONE MAD?
What on earth is the
Daily Express thinking of? How can it justify printing a story which
is not mentioned anywhere on Latest News links on the internet. Great
story but is there any truth in it? If there is, surely some other editors
would be itching to publish it.
Which story? The headline one, about Gordon Brown bullying
the Queen to co-sign the Lisbon Treat, having it flown secretly to Rome!
We await developments - with mixed feelings.
MILFORD ARTS AND MUSIC
FESTIVAL 2008
Go
forth and invest £2.50 in this wonderful catalogue which will whet your
appetites for 4 days of entertainment - just to find one entertainment anywhere
else would cost you more - maybe much more - in petrol. Where to get one?
Pretty well any of our village shops etc.
There seem to be even more
events this year and an even more emphasis on internal delectation - food!
We would
print details but there is so much of interest it would be too long - much
easier to buy the programme, although we will say that entertainment ranges
through bands, show time, duos, dancing, Indian snacks, drinks and snacks from
the festival bar - and that's only on Thursday. . .
See you there!
Oh, did we mention
dIRE tRAITS - top tribute band?
You may recall the original DIRE STRAITS . . . this group is one of the leading
exponents of their work in the world. Test them out for real . . .
MILFORD-ON-SEA FLOWER & PRODUCE SHOW NOW A HAS-BEEN
There are hundreds of these,
points in time where someone is bound to say 'It's the end of an era...' (sounds of sniff, sniff)
and this year marks the end of the Milford Flower
and Produce Show which ran for a century, more or less, since the days when
one's gardener grew all the flowers and vegetables and ladies of leisure
arranged the flowers, picked by the gardeners from the ladies' gardens and
arrged in pretty vases. Winners were awarded silver cups which, suitably
engraved, then graced their drawing rooms.
If there is anyone out there
who still has one of the cups stashed away please return them. For details
please telephone 643845
There are always a number of
contributory factors, and among those which have led to the demise of the show
are the fact that people nowadays have smaller gardens and flowers are bought at
the supermarkets - bought flowers would never have been allowed in the olden
days! - along with the weekly shop, and very few gardens are now big enough to
grow vegetables for smaller and smaller families - there are farm shops for
those who want fresh grown organic veggies for the table. Perhaps though,
the driving factor is the lack of people who are prepared to commit themselves
to make it happen.
But before getting really
depressed about the passing of the Flower Show, let us raise our glasses to the
new generation of people who are working for free to make Milford a continuing
lovely place to live and let's not forget the Milford Gardening Club which has
added a lot to village life. There are the clubs, the churches which in
Milford continue to thrive and be of service to the community - and nowadays all
working together. There is the wonderful Community Centre which has
introduced so many new and exciting things to the village. Before we start
taking them for granted we should all think for a minute . . .
It looks increasingly as
though leaping into our cars and driving out of Milford for most of our
entertainment may become a memory as oil prices continue to rise. Most of
us have lost the use of our muscles as we have grown so dependent on the car, so
the idea of a quick 3 - 4 mile walk into Lymington or New Milton and back will
probably stay a distant dream, or maybe a fearsome nightmare. Certainly
the amount of building going on in Milford will deprive us of a lot of the land
we might use to graze any four-legged transport!
So, if we hear a cry for help
to run the Community Centre, answer it positively: your Community needs you!
WIMBLEDON GLORY
After
the most brilliant final ever seen at Wimbledon
Rafal Nadal is King of
Wimbledon after conquering Roger Federer who
has reigned supreme for the last
five years.
Rafa can now worthily wear the Champion's Crown
After four
hours and forty-eight minutes play
the final score was 6-4,6-4.6-7,6-7,9-7.
Our Congratulations to the new
Wimbledon Men's Singles Champion. Congratulations also to this year's
Queen of Wimbledon
Miss Venus Williams and where this year we can offer
congratulations to an exciting new British entry on the scene, Miss Laura Robson
age 14 Wimbledon Junior Girls' Singles Champion 2008
and 
Period to end of June 2008
MILFORD GARDENERS' CLUB
Considering at least half of
the country was spending its Saturday under a heavenly watering can, we were
very lucky with the weather, which encouraged the local community to go out and
spend, spend, spend at the Open Gardens' Day on 8th June, organised by the
Milford Gardeners' Club. This year they raised over £3,500 which will be
divided, together with roughly £1,000 raised at this year's Plant Fair on the
Green, between our nominated charities for this year:
Milford
Community Centre,
Honeypot,
Spana.
Some people were very dubious
about whether Milford needed a Community Centre in addition to other halls
available to hire, but it certainly seems from the support which is given by our
residents to the wide variety of events put on in the Community Centre that it
was a definite need waiting to be fulfilled.
We would like to take this
opportunity to mention that Milford Gardeners' Club has become one of our
sponsors as they have now taken a page under the 'Clubs' Section (see Navigation
buttons on left). If you
[
Click here
]
you can go direct to their page!
GREAT DAY FOR WOMEN'S BRANCH
OF THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
Among the guests enjoying the tea prepared by
members of the Milford British Legion were
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry
Leach GCB, DL and Mr. Desmond Swayne, MP and Mrs. Sara Jones, OBE, JP
After the gloomy weather
forecasts about how awful the weather was going to be on Sunday, after a grey
start the sun broke through and although the wind was fierce all day the sky
remained a beautiful blue with clouds only on the horizon while Milford itself
had a bright sunny day. The uniforms of the visitors glittered where they
could and our MP, Mr. Desmond Swayne was wearing a uniform which intrigued many
of those present who will be pleased to discover that it was the uniform of the
Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry. Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Henry
Leach has been a long time friend of the British Legion in Hampshire. In
2004, the Royal Navy's new Fleet
Headquarters building in Portsmouth was named the "Sir Henry Leach Building" in
his honour.
How lovely then to be able to
parade the throng of British Legion standards, including the 'retiring' standard
of the Royal British Legion (Women's Section) Milford-on-Sea Branch, up to All
Saints' Church for the Laying-up of the old Standard and Dedication of the new
one. Music was provided by the smartly turned out Christchurch Scouts and
Guide Band.
The service was conducted by
the Vicar, Reverend Dominic Furness and the sermon was preached by the Padre of
Milford-on-Sea Women's Section, Gillian Peard. The Exhortation proclaimed by
Mrs. Sara Jones, OBE, JP, whose husband,
Colonel Herbert Jones of the Parachute
Regiment, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in 1982 during the Falklands
War. This outstanding award was instituted for 'valour in the face of the
enemy'. Gillian Peard's sermon included a consideration of the Victoria
Cross which she indicated was a total reflection of the motto of The Royal
British Legion: 'Service not Self'.
MILFORD SOAKAWAY?
The Atlantic chart this
morning offers a little hope in place of the gloom and doom forecast by the Met
Office. It does look as though things may improve as the day goes by to
give us a little slot of calm weather before the next lot of western promise
materialises to mess up Wimbledon in the coming week. Although the Met
people are talking of a calm and settled spell next week, unless the stuff in
the Atlantic moves smartly north, it doesn't look very likely. Ah well, as
they say every year, "Flaming June!' but in a tone of anger rather than a calm
descriptive one. . . brolly and jacket weather, maybe a sweater as well but
definitely cotton frocks and T-shirts go on hold. (June 15th)
MILFORD GARDENERS' CLUB
How fast the years go by in Milford!
After the first very successful decade which has seen the club, founded by Jan
England, go from strength to strength. It has now acquired the
successful ethos of a very long-established group and much of what it does is
firmly ensconced in the social calendar of Milford. There are several
annual events, through which Milford Gardeners' Club raises money for
charity including of course the Annual Plant Fair which took place on Saturday
17th May and appears to have been successful again in spite of the rather
dreary weather.
To find out more about this exciting club,
ring Sheila Collyer on 01590 641581.
SUPER-SENSITIVE
TILLS AT WAITROSE
A
recent correspondent to the A & T (known locally as the Lymington Times) pointed
out that it is well worth checking your bill carefully when shopping at Waitrose
in Lymington. He said that one two or three occasion he has discovered
that items are being charged twice. He also said that when this problem
was pointed out to the Store Manager refunds were also made - swiftly and with
apologies, which of course they should be. But if the shopper doesn't
notice the error, he is the loser. The explanation was that their new
tills are too sensitive.
There's an old but true saying with legal connotations -
Caveat Emptor - Buyer Beware. So be careful and check ths bills - you don't need to add
them up - just look out for double entries. But it is sad to have to
criticize a favourite store. . .
MILFORD'S CARNIVAL QUEEN
CHOSEN
The die is cast, the choice is
made: 15-year-old Hannah Carvall attended by one of her best friends will
ride the Royal Float through Milford on Carnival Day, 23rd August. We send
them both our congratulations. Emma's beautiful smile convinced the judges
that she would be a delightful companion to our new Queen. A bit more down
to earth is the news that both are students at Priestlands, and both are aiming
for Brockenhurst College in September, which presumably means a series of weeks
of waiting for results for the girls. We wish them good luck!
Both are very keen on horse
riding and enjoy the company of their brothers and sisters. Hannah is
hoping to become an animal behaviourist and Emma would love to be a midwife.
We wish both girls well as they work towards their future careers but at the
moment we just wish them a lovely summer and time of being Carnival royalty -
and raise a toast to them as they take another big step towards adulthood.
This year's sponsorships,
which pay for appropriate dresses for the successful young ladies, are from
Holland's of Milford, our splendid local grocers, and
Hudson Heating of Everton.
IN SEARCH
OF BEAUTIFUL YOUNG LADIES
The search for this year's
Carnival Queen and her Attendant reaches its climax on Saturday next, 21st June.
The great Milford Carnival
takes place on Saturday 23rd August (for details call 643149) and as usual we
will probably be spoilt for choice: Milford has many beautiful young
ladies who grace and charm combined with a beautiful smile and they should be
ready to attend the Milford Club for interview at 67 High Street next Saturday
during a disco evening. The starting time is 8.30 pm.
Girls, remember: to qualify
you need to be over the age of 14 and either live or work or both in the Village
or Parish of Milford and Everton. Remember also that the most beautiful
face can be ruined by the expression it carries and the plainest face can be lit
up with a smile to a thing of beauty!
Current reigning Queen, Katy Gates will
be only too pleased to help and inform any aspiring young ladies to achieve
their goal.Good luck to all
the entrants!
WOOF-WOOF ALL THE WAY TO GLORY
Presented by the Milford on
Sea Village Community Centre this year's Annual Dog Show on the Green was a
tremendous success and raised another £800 towards the proposed Community
Centre. The weather was just perfect for the show - OK, not a broiling hot
summer's day but the dogs were immensely grateful. Some like it hot but as
the doggy stars are forced to wear their fur coats to these events they loved
it.
A great deal of fun was had by
everyone and prize winners may well find their names appearing at some stage in
the A & T, usually known as The Lymington Times in our neck of the woods.
The event was sponsored by
Oscar Petfoods (www.oscars.co.uk),
donations were received from Hollands, Polly's Pantry, the Co-op and Artic Spars
for their donations. Nigel Crowley, John James, Gordon Mabbett and Julie
Millbery who generously gave their time without sending in any bills!
NEW GRAVEL
EXTRACTION PLANS
While some areas of Hampshire
may shortly be able to breathe a sign of relief as current gravel extractions
plans have been altered other may not be so lucky.
SEERA - the name a talking
relief for people involved with yet another body supervising the environment -
has decided it is likely to need rather less gravel for its current plans.
The name stands for South East England Regional Assembly whose job is to set
mineral extraction targets.
Unfortunately, the reduction
is not enough to affect plans for the prime sites, in which both Ashley
and Downton Manor Farms are included. HERITAGE (Hordle and Everton
Residents in Tandem Against Gravel Extraction) have said that they will continue
to press for the removal of extraction plans in their sensitive tourist areas.
However, they are pleased to note some change in attitude by SEERA.
At this point we might wonder
how all these acronyms will be translated by scholars in the dim distant future.
What would we have been able to understand of much history if we had been faced
with mysterious words like SAWC, standing for Saxons against William the
Conqueror? There is one which makes people smile and which was never
accepted. Trade Unions have always been fans of acronyms but the
Electrical,
Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union refused to accept EETPU.
In 1992 this Union - thankfully we may suppose - merged with the AEEU.
This acronym stands for the Amalgamated Engineering & Electrical Union.
PLESS ROAD AND THE EAGLE-EYED
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
There is a road in Milford
which is becoming a little gold mine for whoever is the lucky recipient of
parking fines in this lovely area where we live. Its name is Pless Road.
The
Eagle-eyed Civil Enforcement Officer*
who operates in the area is an extremely nifty individual. Park you
car for even a few moments, to pick up something, to check an ailing resident,
say, one who has just returned home after a hip replacement operation and it
could cost you £60. Mind, if you're lucky you might find the person you
are visiting is so grateful you were there to help - not, we hasten to add, the
aforementioned hip replacement lady - that she offered to pay the fine
immediately to benefit from the lower rate. She wrote out the cheque.
A couple of days later, before the cheque was cleared, she very suddenly
died. At a NADFAS meeting in Lymington. The person for whom she'd paid the
fine was then charged the full amount, in spite of protestations that in good
faith the fine had been paid within the prescribed time limit.
The reason put forward for
this rigid adherence to the parking laws is because the road is too narrow for
emergency vehicles. Go and see for yourself, but don't stop anywhere! It
could cost you!
We wonder whether there are
targets on parking fines? If so, are there prizes for the most
assiduous Eagle-eyed Civil Enforcement Office? Surely not. . .
*
formerly known as a Parking Attendant
MILFORD'S LOVELY PRIMARY
SCHOOL ATTACKED BY VANDALS
To the horror of local
residents, Milford's C of E Primary School which has recently undergone a full
refurbishment, has been attacked by vandals.
The news broke over a week ago
but still many people in Milford do not yet know about this wanton behaviour.
Police have several lines to follow and current investigations, together with
help from the public, lead to hopes that it will not be too long before the
culprits - too mild a word - the criminals will be caught.
Most disappointed of course,
together with the staff, are the little children who had so much pleasure
playing in the Wendy House which was also damaged. For further details [
Click here ] and [
here ].
Our sympathy goes to all those
who have been hurt by this wanton and selfish action.
[
Click here ]
to visit our school which is so well worth a visit.
CAVEAT EMPTOR? BUYER BEWARE?
NO! IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE!
How long will we have to sit
watching the numbers spin faster and faster as we buy our petrol and swell the
profits of the oil companies, who protest so loudly in the media that they only
make a tiny amount of money. Are we really buying so much more fuel that
it is we who are pushing up their profits, while the petrol companies sit
counting the growing piles of pennies they earn every minute? Of course
not! Mr. Philip Hollsworth has come up with a simple idea which might well
give us, the buyers, the tools to win the war!
[
Click here ] and admire Mr. Hollsworth's brilliant scheme.
HORSE AND PONY ALERT
A trio of men have been
sighted photographing horses in the New Forest area. They have been
targeting fields and shows, This has given rise to some alarm and the Verderers
are warning owners that they may be on the prowl seeking animals to fulfil
thefts to order.
These men have been seen in a
white van with an XAJ registration number and they have also been seen in a red
Toyota Land Cruiser. Police are anxious to trace their movements and would
appreciate reports of sightings from the public. They stress that these
men should not be approached but ask that the public call the Police on 0845 045
4545 in the event of any suspicious behaviour around horses or ponies at shows
or in fields.
MILFORD-ON-SEA OPEN GARDENS
DAY JUNE 8th
Milford Gardeners' Club
organised this year's Open Gardens Day for Sunday, 8th June. It ran from
11.00 am to 5.00 pm and included Milford's C of E Primary School's 'Peas and
Carrots Club' where the children have been gardening through the year.
There were 13 local gardens open for viewing. Entertainment was available
to the browse and included Teas, 'Music was featured from the 60's and 70's in
addition Brouha Folk Singers featured. Paul Chilton of Everton Nurseries
was around to answer questions and there was an opportunity to indulge in
Britain's favourite pastime: shopping: plants were available to buy!
Proceeds ware going to three
Charities:
Milford Community Centre,
Honeypot,
Spana.
Period to end of May 2008
THE WIDER WORLD
A Chinese couple posing for
their wedding photographs in the mountains above Pengzhou were left covered with
dust and stranded overnight on the mountains as landslides affected their route
home. To see an amazing series of photographs [
Click here ]. It is always wonderful to get good news amidst a
tragedy.The Red Cross is handling funds for China [
Click here ]
At
the same time seriously distressed, bereaved, injured and starving survivors in
Myanmar wait for help. [ Click here ]
to reach the Disaster Emergency Fund which is handling donations for Myanmar
from the UK, and this evening's news that aid workers from everywhere are now
being allowed into the country is wonderful news if it proves to be true though
for many this is far too late.
AP Photo To see more pictures from Myanmar
click on the picture.
MILFORD CARNIVAL IN THE CLEAR
- WE HOPE!
While Lymington's Carnival
plans are in complete disarray it should be OK for Milford.
We can resume what we were
saying earlier because Milford, having been about to be ravaged by a storm,
seems to have been reprieved and we can switch on our computer and continue with
the publishing of www.milfordonsea.com.
Stricter rules about road
closures for fun things like festivals and carnivals have been introduced by the
NFDC and insurance regulations are getting so tight that poor old Joe Public is
being denied the fun which has been available to citizens of this country for
centuries and which is now being curtailed. In fact, it seems that one of
the 'happenings' which has aggravated this whole business is that a - well, we
won't call him/her a gentleman/lady - a litigious individual was hit by a water
bomb in the face and claimed damages. That resulted in the termination of
the Totton Carnival which died in 2004.
It does seem that Milford's
Carnival will be able to go ahead - but read all about it in detail -
[Click
here],
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST FADES
AWAY
It is now pretty obvious that
the 'Song' bit of the contest has disappeared and the programme has become
nothing more than a colourful and noisy background to the Old Pals' Voting
Syndrome and no longer has anything at all to do with deciding which is the best
song. The singers and their songs have become merely puppets and
background music playing against a medley of lighting effects and thunderous,
throbbing rhythms.
Just how many of the last few
years' songs come to mind if you try to find them in your head?
Well, like 'Jeux Sans
Frontieres', - great fun in its time - each competitive European effort to
play together ends up as a nationalist fracas. Pity! Still, a lot of it
was fun while it lasted and Terry Wogan's witty and slighly malicious comments
gave it an edge and a few years of extra life, but tonight he sounded completely
p***** off. All his wicked and amusing get up and go just went.
Thank you, Terry, for all you did to keep the thing alive, but tonight the
Eurovision Song Contest died.
THE TRUE ENGLISH BANK HOLIDAY
Half-way through Saturday the
wind came. It has become increasingly windy since then and it was decided
earlier today that the wonderful Milford Duck Race run by the ladies of the
Royal British Legion (Women's Section) due to be held tomorrow should be
cancelled and will be held at a later date. Which reminds us - isn't this
a bit of déjà vu ? Didn't this happen last year?
However, better weather is
forecast as Sunday goes on, The earlier the better is all we can say!
MILFORD
RESIDENT FALLS - AND LIVES TO
TELL THE TALE
To read about Les Spicer
and his 722' fall [
Click
here
]
ALL CHANGE IN MILFORD
One of Milford's long standing
wonders retires on Monday as Chris Monk hands over his wonderful fish shop to
Jonathan (formerly of Piccolo Mondo) prior to Jonathan's opening of a fish
restaurant at the rear of the shop. It is believed that Chris will keep a
friendly eye over proceedings for the first six months. Jonathan is busy
with preparations to turn the late 'Maison' into a crêperie
south of The Green and can be seen rushing here and there in the village in the
process of producing two eateries in one year - though it's very difficult to
physically pin him down and find out more of the current plans because he moves
so fast!
The
Britannia Thai Restaurant is now open - very elegant decor. There will be
a report on this restaurant in the near future. In spite of the lack of
handrail, people seem to be able to manage the steps - even are well prepared to
manage them in order to get to the food, which is delicious! We have
started sampling and immediately can recommend the Green Chicken Curry and the
Chicken Satay - as time goes by and our staff try other dishes we will report on
them too.
One date to put in you diary
now - 12th July!
And mark off the 10th and 11th too -
For further details just [
Click
here
]. . .
To get involved [
Click here
] to email
ENTERTAINING TODAY?
Serve omelettes to lots of
guests simultaneously: This ingenious recipe reached us a
couple of
days ago and we'd like to share it with you! Very useful for camping or student
life. . .
Omelette garnished with smoked salmon
and served with a Caesar Salad
Ziploc Omelette
Write the name of your omelette on a Ziploc
freezer bag with a marker pen.
Then crack two eggs into the bag.
Add what you want inside: cheese, ham, onion,
green pepper, tomato, salsa etc.
Close the bag.
Shake it gently to mix it, prodding the mixture
even more gently with your fingers.
(If you prefer you could beat the eggs
a little before putting them in the bag.)
Let the excess air out of the bag and reseal.
Place bag into rolling, boiling water, for 13
minutes, use this
countdown timer.
You can cook up
to 6 – 8 bags in a large saucepan.
Open bag and the
omelette will roll out easily.
Season then garnish and be prepared for
everyone to be amazed!
Period to end of April 2008
COMMUNITY CENTRE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY
This was celebrated in style
to the musical accompaniment of Milford's own swinging band, Windmill.
The achievements of the VCCC
(Village Community Centre Committee) have been little short of miraculous in
their first year. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the initial
supposed need for such a meeting place in the village was absolutely correct.
The range of clubs, functions, entertainments offers something to almost
everyone in the village, and we shouldn't forget the young people either.
INVASION OF THE BANDS
There's no doubt about the
emergence of Milford as a local entertainment centre. 23 Bands are booked
to appear at Shorefield next weekend for a festival to celebrate the popular
local fiddler Rob (known as Cob) Cook, who died of a heart attack two
years ago after swimming at Barton. He was a member of
The Cropdusters,
a group which has really flourished since their first explosive appearance on
the local scene in 1986. Other bands include Pronghorn and Lady Winwood's
Maggot.
Tickets at £15 each are
available at The Thomas Trip and Forest Records in Lymington and Simply Guitars
in New Milton. Doors open at Shorefield 5.00 pm on Friday and mid-day on
Saturday.
Money raised will again be
presented to the Wessex Heartbeat charity.
WATCH OUT FOR THE ARRIVAL OF
'CIVIL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS'
These imposingly titled
guardians of civil order are about to appear on our streets. Formerly they
had another name: they used to be known as 'parking attendants'.
The change of name has
obviously been chosen to cow those whose manners towards the previously-known-as
'parking attendants' have left a lot to be desired. It does seem, however,
to be in line with the tendency to generally impose power from the centre on
citizens - aka voters - by a government who responds to every misdemeanour by
taking control over everyone.
Thinks: does the appointment
of 'Civil Enforcement Officers' suggest a militant tendency?
CALLING ALL ARTISTS
For the second year the Lichfield Artists'
Centre (formerly the Lichfield Gallery) in Lymington is organising an
exhibition and sale by Silent Auction of Paintings to raise money in aid of
the Naomi House Children's Hospice and for Jack's Place, the new hospice for
teenagers. There are 100 canvasses for oil paintings and
watercolour or pastel paper for those who prefer working in those mediums.
Go to the Lichfield Artists' Centre for more information.
The art sale will take place in the Robert
Hole room at the Lymington community centre on 8th April. Last year the
event raised £1,633 which was sent to a small school in Ghana. Robert
Merrick, the gallery owner and .organiser, explained that the artists received
nothing for their work and last year many of those involved said that 'they
enjoyed being asked to use their talent to help others' and considered it much
more satisfying than to just dig into a pocket or purse to produced a little
cash.
While the Exhibition takes place, there will
be art demonstrations by some of the well-known artists who tutor in the area.
The entire sum of money raised will go to the named charities, and the costs
are 'being covered privately' said Mr. Merrick.
MILFORD SET TO BECOME THE
EATING CAPITAL VILLAGE OF ENGLAND?
Applications for turning every
empty shop in this village into some kind of mouth-stuffing establishment are
pouring into the local planners like the blizzards we never had during the
so-called winter. Since the arrival of our excellent Zaika, which took the
place of a previously long-standing eating place, we now see a Thai restaurant
on the threshold of opening. Fine, that is not a change of use.
However, plans are being put in motion for an additional eaterie in the centre
of the village - almost bang next door to the already well-established Piccolo
Mondo - in the space left by the sudden departure of Maison, where Jonathan and
Stacey, late of Piccolo Mondo, hope to return to rest before launching into the
purchase of our beloved Monks, to which they propose adding a fish restaurant,
eminently suitable for a seaside village.
There are also well-developed
plans, it seems, for an Internet Cafe to be set up in the place of the
magnificent and much-regretted hardware store which disappeared with the death
of its former long-time owners. In addition to all these proposed
developments, we already have two large hotels with restaurants, four pubs in
the immediate village, several clubs including the new Community Centre and we
have a fish and chip shop, a coffee shop, a take-away sandwich and bread shop, a
tea and cake shop which also does light lunches, both Braxton and Everton garden
centres offer food, and there is yet another excellent pub at Everton. We
have one very well patronised cafe on the sea front, and another restaurant in
embryo at the Hurst end of the road which one of these days will get itself
organised.
Does this suggest an enormous
lack of originality? Will they all survive? Obviously the visitors
won't die of starvation but they are only here in the summer and bank holidays
to enjoy all these eating opportunities. Are our locals going to be able
to support so many food outlets?
Of course, at the back end of
all this activity is the apparent easy granting of planning permission. There
must be people who consider the opening of yet more feeding stations in one
medium-sized village worthwhile. Oh, a sudden thought: Milford's
population is bound to expand because of all the new housing which is appearing
these days - maybe that's why the planners are granting all these planning
applications. Perhaps they know more than we do,, our hard-working
councillors! Mmmmmm.....
In the meantime, bon appetit!
THE TRAINLINE - BE WARNED
It is, of course, fun to
plan trips by train, find the cheapest fares at the time you want to travel, and
thetrainline website is
moderately user-friendly but, and there is a very big BUT. . .
The smallest mistake can be
costly - it doesn't have to be a big one and although you might have insured
against a cancellation, that doesn't cover you unless you have spent a hug
amount, say buying First Class return tickets to John o' Groats from Penzance.
Take a return ticket from Brockenhurst to Birmingham, with an excellent cheapo
one way, and an ordinary single for the return journey, add your insurance, an
extra £2.50 to use your credit card and your total comes up to £38.45. If
you are as absentminded as one of our staff - who is happy to hold up
hands and admit to buying the tickets for June instead of July - you will be
refunded £17.05. Why the difference? None of the cost of the cheapo
ticket of £7.90 which is non-refundable, plus £2.50 for payment by Credit Card
plus the additional cost of insurance, which might be recoverable at a later
date when the cover note has been received, plus a delivery charge of £1 plus
the administrative charge of £10 for cancelling the ticket and making a refund.
So, there's a valuable
lesson learnt when dealing with thetrainline:
use their website for all the information you need,
then go and buy the ticket/tickets at your local railway station. You'll
have more time to think and avoid making errors.
Travel by Coach?
Bournemouth to Birmingham Coach centre - 6 hr 55 min. The journey according to
the AA is approximately 160 miles but the coaches go through London. Why
was the A34 built, I wonder?
BATTLE OF THE PLASTIC BAGS
Local residents seem to be
making an enthusiastic start to current moves to get rid of the thin, free and
flimsy plastic bags which have been littering so much of our countryside and
beach areas, often making life difficult or impossible for animals which cone
into contact with them.
They originally came in as a
counter-measure to shoplifting as goods were packed at the tills and filled
under the eyes of cashiers or even by the cashiers themselves. People
became quite happy to pick up more than enough bags for their shopping.
The problem was what to do with them afterwards. They became containers
for unwanted items and once food remains and other unsavoury items filled a bag,
the top was tied and the contents out of sight and mind. While many people
carry on doing this, often fighting down a twinge of conscience, other are
finding a use for the heavier bags, purchased over the last few years at 10p in
the 'bag-for-life'. Well-organised shoppers can see pulling these carriers
out of handbags, undoing the elastic bands which keep them neat and tidy and
packing their shopping away. Poor ones, like our staff, get to the till
and find no neatly folded plastic carrier bags in the right place: they seem to
have been forgotten either at home or stored in other plastic bags in the boot.
It is becoming noticed that
some shoppers are now walking out of the supermarket, bold as brass,
trolley loaded with unwrapped goods. If you think of doing this, you must
keep your receipt in your hand to be able to prove you have indeed bought the
goods you are 'trolleying' out of the store towards your car! Better
still, keep the neatly folded bags either in a pocket or handbag or in the front
of your car. The latter will give you a good chance to remember to take
them with you.
Or don't use plastic at all -
buy or make a canvas bag or even go back to the good old shopping basket!
BUS COMPANY CARES FOR
ITS ELDERLY CUSTOMERS
. . . Or does it? The bus
company in question, which operates out of the Lymington Bus Station in
the middle of the High Street - could it be the Wilts & Dorset Bus Company? -
doesn't seem to have much inclination to do this. The buses are an hour
apart, and on Tuesday last week, a rather bleak and cold day, an 86-year-old
resident of Milford had occasion to go to Lymington for attention to her hearing
aid which had broken. She arrived at the depot just as the bus to Milford
and all points west was about to leave. The elderly lady waved frantically,
making it quite obvious she wanted to get on the bus. The bus driver paid
absolutely no attention to her, refused to stop and left behind it a very cold
would-be passenger who needed to get home. When she complained at the
office she was informed that once the bus had left its dock, it couldn't stop
for anyone. Perhaps 'wouldn't' might have been a more accurate choice of
word.
This gentle elderly lady then
tried to get a taxi, which took almost an hour to arrive, by which time she was
icy cold. Does the bus company want to give a service to the public or do
they want merely to go through the motions of being a proper bus company?
MP BERATES HIS IMPOTENCE TO
ACT
At a Fair Trade Breakfast held
recently at All Saints' Church Hall, Mr. Desmond Swayne, MP, announced he was
getting a more-than-fair income from his work in parliament, said he was ashamed
to be taking the money when he felt the restrictions placed upon him by the fact
that this country is to much under the control of the EU. We were being
dictated to by countries whose trading heritage did not include considering the
idea of fairness in dealing with poor countries. He felt that Britain
should be 'driving forward the negotiations at present taking place 'at the very
heart of the world trade negotiations which were reaching 'a critical stage in
the run up to Easter'.
All this, said Mr. Swayne,
made him wonder why he had been invited to the Fair Trade breakfast: was
it, he suggested, because his being present might add a certain 'glamour to the
occasion?' His angry reaction to the whole situation could only be solved
'when the British people are angry enough' to be seized with a will to do
something about it.
Certainly encouraging Fair
Trade goes some way towards improving the situation a small degree, but refusing
to buy products from people in the so called Third World will, as Enoch Powell
said, '. . . starve the poor by refusing to buy their food from them.' which is
the only product they have to trade in any quantity on the market.
FURTHER
NEWS FROM SOUTH WEST TRAINS
We have been informed by TheTrainline.com in an email that the
ASLEF Industrial strike has been suspended
The train drivers' union
ASLEF has suspended the proposed four days of strike action across our network
from Monday 31st March to Thursday 3rd April
inclusive.
Following productive talks on Wednesday 26 March, we have now
received confirmation from ASLEF that the strike action planned for next week
has been suspended.
ASLEF suspended the strikes to allow its executive
committee to consider three options put forward from us.
The options
being considered by ASLEF offer one, two or three year deals, which we believe
meet the union's aspirations about reducing the length of driving shifts, whilst
not increasing the cost to South West Trains beyond the original 4.5% pay offer
for 2007.
Our (South West Trains’) Managing Director Stewart Palmer
said: "I am very pleased ASLEF has suspended the strike action which was planned
for next week as this would have caused disruption for thousands of passengers."
"Passengers can expect a normal service next week and I am delighted they
will not be inconvenienced."
South West Trains will now run a normal
service next week.
SAD NEWS FOR MILFORD
It seems to have been
all action in the village yesterday as 'Maison', who have been on of our most
constant supporters since arriving in their shop on The Green, packed up and
left. We very much hope that they will be retaining their shop in
Ringwood. We shall be in touch with them in the next few days and let you
know whether you will still be able to support them when you are looking for
that special little something for a loved relative or friend.
We thank them for the pleasure
they gave us with 'Maison' and wish them good luck as they fight to survive
today's increasingly painful financial bite.
SOUTH WEST TRAINS TO STRIKE
We have received an email from
The Train Line which we are printing to keep our visitors 'in the picture',
stranded on the platform, stuck in a traffic jam or sleeping on in the morning -
whatever . . .
ASLEF Industrial strike action
ASLEF drivers' union has
announced that its South West Trains' driver members are planning to strike
on four dates - March 31, April 1, 2 and 3.
ASLEF announced the
strike dates on Tuesday 18 March - which will run from 00:01 on 31 March to
23:59 on 3 April - over a pay dispute.
The union is claiming that
negotiations are still taking place, however we question in that case why a
ballot for strike action was held and a notification of industrial action
letter sent.
Despite the action South West Trains will run at least
300 train services each day and will have buses from sister company
Stagecoach Bus at its disposal from depots throughout the UK.
Details of the strike day services will be available soon so please continue
to check our website.
We have offered a
pay increase of 4.5% to its members, which would give a driver working in
the London area a basic salary before overtime of £40,447 for a 37-hour,
4.4-day week.
All other trades unions offered the deal have accepted
it or recommended it to their non-driver members in a ballot.
WITNESS ON THE GREEN 2008
After dire weather warnings,
the sun looked kindly on the residents of Milford as they gathered to witness to
their Faith on the Green. It was a bit sad he brought his mate the North Wind to
keep him company! Compare the clothes from this year and last year!
Though the sun shone even more brightly this year the temperature was way, way
down. Brrrr! To have a look at the two pictures [
Click here ]. Amazingly there seemed to be even
more people present than last year, but as the pictures were taken from
different angles it is difficult to do an estimate from the pictures shown here.
Children from the local school
acted and danced their way through a presentation of the days between Palm
Sunday and Good Friday. They included a performance by a young man, Finley
Mills, who took the role of Jesus, which was very moving. If you click on
the pictures below you will get to the page with larger versions.
BRAVE LITTLE DAISIES!
Adorning the verge approaching
The Orchard . . . well, today is the first day of Spring after all, and you
don't need just the traditional indicator which is 'If you can cover 7 daisies
with one shoed foot, it's Spring.'! Spring is obviously here, and as
always, fickle. Best keep your woolly vests handy!
WITNESS ON THE GREEN AGAIN FOR
TODAY, GOOD FRIDAY
The lovely picture above was
taken last year. Sadly, because of the very early Easter we have this year
it won't look anything like this tomorrow. The 'earliest Easter' has now
been updated: it seems the last time Easter fell so early was in 1913
according to the BBC this morning. More checking will be done later today.
and we will find out the actual dates for 1913 and 1856.
Regrettably the forecast is
all gloom and doom and if you [
Click
here ] you will be able to see that we are completely wrapped in cloud and
that the direction of the wind is north. Those attending will probably be
done up with wellies and brollies this year rather than the T-shirt and shirt
sleeves in the picture above. Still, we could all put on our faux
furs . . .
The Witness Service is an
ecumenical one supported by all the local Churches and will take place at 12
Noon on Friday. The brave will be seen to be present!
"Ahem, ahem . . ."
growled
Tiger.
MESSAGES FROM DEL
Del, of
course, is not Derek Trotter, but PC3075 Derek Jones who has now taken over
the beat report from Steve Jennings. We think it's a case of 'Welcome
back'.
Some of
the old faithfuls - the bad old faithfuls even - have turned up again.
Maybe they're the originals, maybe reincarnations, but they're back trading as
tarmacadam people: "Can we do your patio? Drive?" and under their breath
mutter to themselves, "And you, madam?" Don't get taken in! Just
say the usual 'Not today, thank you' and firmly close the door.
Nobody
who turns up cold-calling should be given the light of day and certainly no
money. Del also advises that there are also 'Tree-cutters' on the loose,
who may well have a go at your trees without knowing anything about caring for
trees and who will finally end up by killing your much-loved trees.
Some
door-step traders have been known to turn up with large dogs. Though
there have been no reports about these in Milford, if one days, the same
principle applies: a nice smile, a firm 'Not today, thank you' and a
closing of the door. This sort of caller though should be reported to
the police, but wait till they've gone and remember to give a good
description. It is selling with menaces which is a crime.
We have
been reminded of another scam which is creeping in again. If you get
home and find a postcard telling you you have received a parcel, and to ring
some phone number, usually starting 09. . .
COFFEE MORNING TODAY
Milford Hospital's Friends will be holding a fundraising
Coffee Morning in All Saints' Church Hall on Saturday 14th March.
As we
have managed to keep our hospital going, even if it tends to us in different
directions to the way it started out, it would be good to see a lot of people
at the Church Hall supporting this event. Part of the reasons we are so
proud of Milford War Memorial Hospital is that it is such a nice place to go
and a great deal of that is due to the hard work put in by the Friends.
[ Click here ] to catch up
with what is going on and how to join the growing band of supporters who are
the Friends of the Hospital.
COMING IN THICK AND FAST!
Many of our visitors over the
Christmas period last year may remember the Pottery Exhibition we advertised for
David Roberts. Their charming residence in Vinegar Hill is now
well-established as an individual B&B. Lucy, David's wife, in now running
that side of the business and is ready to welcome people to their home as we are
to welcome them to local business sponsors who support this web site.
[
Click here
] for further details.
SPRING STORM SPARED US
The great winds and deep depression of Monday,
where barometers were at their lowest for years, left Milford largely unscathed
as it passed by yesterday. Combined as it was with excessively high tides
we were lucky to escape flooding as well although neighbours as close as
Christchurch saw serious flooding in its harbour area. Away from Milford
there were problems for motorists, both along the coast and to some extent
inland where forest streams overflowed their bank and trees were blown over as
their roots failed to hold in the soggy soil. Rainfall was patchy. While
some areas had thunder and lightening with heavy rain others, like Milford,
escaped the worst of the precipitation.
Thank God!
PS Later reports indicate that several beach
huts were severely damaged. Sympathy to those who have at least
temporarily lost their fun fine weather beach retreats. Let's hope they
can be repaired in time to enjoy any sun that might be coming our way as the
year progresses.
MONDAY
10th MARCH 2008
08.48
Keyhaven upgraded to Flood Warning
Milford still on Flood Watch
12.04
Where can we go from here?
MILFORD MENACED BY MASSIVE STORM
Meteorologists are forecasting a huge storm as
clouds wind themselves into a powerful cyclone in which is moving across the
North Atlantic. It is expected to hit the western reaches of the British
Isles in two bites - the first overnight tonight reaching its worst early
tomorrow morning. This is expected to abate in late morning, followed by
an even more ferocious attack after the 'eye' of the storm has passed over to
reach winds of 80 mph and over. It is recommended that lighter items of
furniture in the garden, especially anything made of a lighter material
such as fibreglass, be removed if possible to a garage or shed. Travel is
best avoided during the period of very strong winds and the recommendation is to
avoid driving if at all possible until the worst of the storm has passed, make
sure to shut all doors and windows tight - then pray!
SPECIAL SHOWING
OF AL GORE'S CLIMATE CHANGE FILM
Tickets went well for the showing of this
dramatic 'Wake-up call' film which was extremely thought-provoking.
There are people today, even in Milford, who still shut their minds to the
possibility not only of the fact that global warming exists, but that it is
even here at all with us today, in spite of the huge contrasts in today's
seasons compared with those of earlier years which many of us remember.
How many people, for example, even think of wearing a woolly vest? In
most cases that particular garment has been consigned to the moths for years!
And when we were children, wherever did we sit outside the pub for a drink in
January and February?
There was a lot of Al Gore in his film - it
has to be said, but if you had a fixation about something you sincerely
believed might end in curtains for the human race in the next 50 years and
subsequently spent your life globe-trotting to warn everyone, you would
probably prefer to be the prophet rather than trust your message to an actor.
It certainly encourages everyone to think
what they might do to improve things, even very small things like giving up
the use of the free plastic bags that pollute the sea, the forests, the
hedgerows - all of which cause distress to much of our wildlife, let alone the
ruination of beauty dailypresented to our eyes!
Milford is about to turn itself into a
'No-Placcy-Bag' village, so give them up and get back to the old shopping
basket idea or smart individually designed bag to tote the shopping home.
Don't pay for big name designs - design your own and flaunt it!
FIRE AT WESTOVER HOTEL LATEST
Quick reactions when the fire alarms went
off at 5.30pm from both the Manager Mr. Oliver Richards and the fire services
who had been summoned resulted in a chimney fire being extinguished very
speedily together with any chance of fire spreading further to this lovely
hotel in Milford. Mr. Richards bravely volunteered to inspect the upper
storeys to make sure no one was trapped before he too left the hotel to join
other staff and guests outside.
The ladder was erected to allow firemen to
inspect the roof to ensure there were no smouldering rafters and that the
hotel was safe for everybody to return. [
Click
here ] for more information about the Westover Hotel.
SPECIAL
SHOWING OF AL GORE'S CLIMATE CHANGE FILM
Today there is a film showing at The Village Community Centre in Sea Road
which everyone should see. It is the film by Al Gore, 'Climate Change'
which has caused a furore all round the world. 'An Inconvenient Truth' is
showing on Thursday, 28th February at 5.00 pm and 7.00pm. There will be a charge
of 50 pence to cover expenses. Tickets can be pre-booked on 01590 643174.
This project is part-financed by the New Forest National Park Authority's
Sustainable Development Fund and managed by New Forest Friends of the Earth.
Before moving on, we note that
people can now have no doubt that National Park Status has descended on the New
Forest. With sections entitled the New Forest National Park Authority's
Sustainable Development Fund it is easy to see the influence of the
Government. Why on earth didn't they think up something a bit snappier?
Does an immensely long title just make the people who work within it appear more
impressive to their friends or acquaintances? If not, what else can be the
point? Nobody will remember it - outside the National Park!
STOP PRESS
Fire engines massed outside Westover Hotel
Fire engines were called to the Westover Hotel this evening
just after six o'clock. Although there were no visible flames, an hour
later one of the engines had its ladder up to one of the 2nd storey windows.
So far it is not thought to be very serious as there were no
police cars or officers directing the passing traffic but we will report any
further news as it comes in.
TEMPT THE TASTE BUDS SAYS
ZAIKA
Another boost for Oakhaven
Hospice funds is being made at the Zaika Indian Restaurant on Thursday, 21st
February. There are two sittings, 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm when a special
Indian buffet evening has been arranged @ £14.95 per person. For full
details and a booking form contact the Events Team on 01590 613038 or visit one
of the3 Oakhaven shops in Highcliffe, New Milton, Lymington or Hythe.
TAXI FARES SET TO RISE 6%
Higher fares will be coming into force in
the next few months because the NFDC has allowed a rise in the fares - which
usually only rise once in every couple of years or so - because of the vastly
increased prices of petrol and diesel. This increase applies only to
Taxis, which carry a light on the top and can be hailed. Private car
hire is differently licensed and owners set their own prices. These
prices can be negotiated - or at least discussed - at the time of hiring.
MILFORD SCHOOL OPEN DAY
This was a tremendous success - cars were
lined up ready for school opening as though it was a normal day - well,
almost! Promptly at 9.00 am although it was a Saturday, there were
grown-ups ready to inspect Milford's school. After all the
building and inconvenience of the past year and more, everyone was desperate
to see what had happened to Milford School, operational since the middle of
the 19th Century and cherished in the hearts of many of Milford's residents.
All that can be said is that if anyone
missed the Open Day, it is a loss in the pleasures of their life. It was
a triumph, and somewhat surprising that the Headmaster and Staff appear to
have normal sized heads! They must be thrilled to bits with the whole
thing and proud that they managed to survive what must have been a very
difficult period while carrying on teaching.
Milford's C of E Primary school is quite
wonderful and the children of Milford who go to the school should be immensely
proud and thankful that they have the opportunity to be pupils at this superb
school. It almost goes without saying that the school is vastly
over-subscribed. . . [
Click ] to see the famous Milford-on-Sea
tiled wall!
URGENT WARNING!
Milford-on-Sea Online thanks AOL for the information below and are happy to
publish it in the interests of safety.
'Shoppers who bought one of Asda's £22.75 own brand microwaves are being told to
return the ovens immediately because of fears they may catch fire. Three
customers have told the supermarket chain their Durabrand microwave overheated
during use.
A
spokesman for the supermarket chain said: "We are glad to say that no-one has
been hurt. As we are concerned that this is a fire risk, we have taken the
decision to recall this model."
The
microwave has the model number XB2316 and the barcode 5050854397271
Anyone who bought one of the ovens is asked to disconnect it from the mains
power supply and stop using it immediately.
They
should take the microwave to their nearest Asda for a full refund. Neither the
box nor the receipt is needed to gain a refund.
Meanwhile, B&Q has issued a recall notice for its Airforce 2000w convection
heater because of fears that it, too, could overheat and catch fire.
The
heater has the model number ND20-7AJ and the bar code 05164837
The
affected models were sold between November last year and last month.
Anyone who bought one of the heaters is advised to stop using it and return it
to a B&Q store for a full refund'
OPEN HOUSE AT MILFORD PRIMARY SCHOOL ON
SATURDAY 9th FEBRUARY
Milford-on-Sea C of E Primary School opens
its doors so we can all admire the new buildings and see what an excellent
school our Milford
children
have on their doorstep. They are all delighted with their new classrooms
and we hope to b e able to get some photos on the big day.
It would be really satisfying for the staff
and the pupils to know their open day has been a great success, so let's do
what we can to make them all happy!
ALWAYS
MORE AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE
To greet 2008, the Milford Community Centre
- or the people behind it - have put in an enormous amount of work to make the
whole thing the real Buzz for Milford. They have now developed a really good
website which gives all the details about what is going on there so when you
visit this web-site, make sure you Click the link picture above.
To get yourself in the picture about what is
going on and for all details calendar-style - then choose Agenda from top
right then
[
Click here ] to see lists and timing of all
the fascinating choices you can make If you've made any
interesting Resolutions to carry a better YOU through 2008 you might find
there is something to help you achieve your ambitions now lined up for your
life at the Community Centre.
Why not
give yourself a treat if you live alone and take yourself off to the New
Sunday Lunch Club? A two-course meal will cost a Simple Fiver (yes,
£5.00! ) at the Milford Community Centre which is of course in Sea Road.
To book your place at the table call Marguerite on 644212 or Sue on 643404.
Keep
your eyes open to see what else the Community Centre is going to offer us!
Not just here, but all round the village. . .and keep checking its [
Web
Site ]
Period to end of January 2008
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY - AND
MORE!
The Service for Christian Unity was very
well-attended on Sunday and there were a goodly number of representatives from
all the Milford churches, many of whom, thanks to the joint celebrations and
services to the village community, now know each other well. Certainly no one
seemed to be in any rush to leave at the end of the Service as we enjoyed the
refreshments at the back of All Saints' Church.
The next occasion for us all to meet will be
the Women's World Day of Prayer, which is not, as many men suppose, a service
for
women. It is designed by
women for everyone, and we look forward to seeing a mixed congregation of the
sexes as well as the churches! This service is being hosted by St.
Francis this year and takes place on the first Friday in March at 2.30 pm.
On Wednesday of this week, 30th January,
there is an event, again put together by the Milford Churches to publicise
Women's World Day of Prayer and all are invited. to this service. This
year the women of Guyana have put the afternoon together: and how much do any
of us know about Guyana? Not a lot if you're anything like me!
Well, you will know lots more after a trip to the slide show and tea this
Wednesday and everyone is invited to All Saints' Church Hall for 2.00pm..
HELP REQUIRED URGENTLY
We received an email this morning which I am
printing out below. It seems a little thing to ask for a lady
approaching her 90th Birthday, and we have been contacted to see whether we
can help trace her dear friends.
Can you help? I am trying to contact
the Wright family. My mother in law was friendly with Bill and Vera
Wright of Milford but has lost her address book. We know that
both have died but the daughter lives nearby. I can tell you that Mr
Wright was a wonderful modeller of model boats. His son is Captain
Steven Wright and his daughter very sadly lost her daughter
Holly quite a few years ago. My mother in law is coming up 90
and would love to regain contact with son and daughter. Sadly we don't
know her married name.
I know this is a long shot but I do
hope you can advise me how to contact them.
Gwyneth Williams 01978 351494(tel)
Please ring Gwyneth direct if you think you can
help - but do let us know of any success story!
BIRDWATCHERS' HIDE REVEALED
We
have received a couple of most helpful letters
giving the whereabouts of the missing hide.
Terry writes that it can be found by following Hurst
Road eastwards until the road runs out at the old
café site on the left. Park in the car park
there - if you came by car of course! The hide
cannot b e seen from the car park. Walk
towards the large shed building, the Hurst depot,
and the hide can b e found behind that. Paul
adds that there are a set of double gates between
the new marine café and the council depot. The
gap, he says is only about 6 feet wide with no
signs. Happy birdwatching!
OCEAN CARS EXPANDS MILFORD SERVICE
Jan, of Ocean Cars, has now expanded her
taxi service in Milford and the surrounding area. The taxi will be
based in the village itself and potential customers will be able to flag it
down as their own energies start flagging! It can be booked on the new
numbers - 01425 612211 or 07733 318619.
The great thing about the new service is
that the vehicle chosen is 'wheelchair friendly' which means that people who
have been restricted to the Milford area itself will be able get out and about
much more easily to see old friends who live further away and get more variety
in their shopping expeditions.
"IT WASN'T ME!" INSISTS
MILFORD'S INTERNET VIP
James Horsley, a keen amateur
photographer, got the shock of his life while walking along the spit at Hurst
when he spotted quite a large Grey seal basking in an odd bit of sunshine.
At first James, a self-employed electrical engineer, thought it might be a dead
dolphin but then, he said "I saw its whiskers and it blinked". The
fortunate thing was James always remembers to carry a camera and he was able to
snap the animal before it was disturbed by the Hurst Ferry and ambled further
down the beach but he managed to watch it for a full 20 minutes. Although
seals are spotted occasionally round here they are usually seen in large
colonies on beaches in the north east of the country or in Scotland or Ireland..
Certainly, our local resident
from Debrett's Peerage,
Sir Sealy Bell, denied that it was he.
"Out on the Spit at this time of year? Good grief!" he exclaimed, "I spend
all this time of the year tucked up in bed with me electric blanket! Too
old for anything else nowadays, more's
the pity.
. ."
Here is where we start
the year 2008 AD
