Arreton Parish Council February 2021 Newsletter

 Dear Resident

Attached are the latest newsletters from Arreton Parish Council.

 

Best wishes

 

Sheila

 

Mrs Sheila Caws

Clerk to Arreton Parish Council

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Parish Council news 

The Parish Council have not been entirely inactive and our current concerns include the budget for next year, of which there will be more news in the next edition. We have been keeping an eye on the Rights of Way in the Parish and there is particular concern about riverbank erosion on the cycle track to the east of Haseley Manor. We are liaising with Island Roads about this. A  meeting with them was planned for early January to discuss this and other areas of concern but,  inevitably, it was a victim of lockdown. A new date will be arranged as soon as possible. The oil well question also keeps rumbling on. The application has been re-advertised as so many new documents were added by UKOG. This ‘new’ application concentrates particularly on the entrance to the site and the closing date for comments is Friday, February 12th 2021. 

The members of the Parish Council would like to take this opportunity to congratulate an Arreton resident, Mrs Lynne Christopher, on the award of an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List. Mrs  Christopher received this in recognition of her many years’ service to further education at the IW  College, which she joined in September 1988 as Head Librarian and after a number of successive promotions, and gaining an MBA, she was appointed Deputy Principal in 2010. 

My friend and fellow councillor – Isabel Favell 

Lin Watterson 

I am sad to have to let you all know that Isabel Favell died on Saturday 6th January 2021. She had pneumonia and had been staying at Blackwater Mill with her husband, Mike, where he is now living.

I met Isabel in person when I was asked to look at the bats nesting in her roof! At the time I  was a lecturer at the Isle of Wight College and a Bat Warden for the Nature Conservancy  Council and was trained to advise and rescue!

A few years later I joined the Parish Council, where we became instant friends and colleagues.  We served for eight years together and hatched up a few good ideas! One was the Parish  Newsletter which came out about six times a year. Isabel was very clever at sourcing grants and pursuing new ideas, to the benefit of the Parish. She was Vice-Chair to Councillor Oulton. She instigated the village gardens competition and bid for money to provide troughs and plants.

She was the brains behind Arreton Community Theatre Group, where Isabel chose and directed intelligent and mainly comic plays and I was Robin to her Batwoman this time and did everything but act! Costumes, programmes, money was mine and the rest was Isabel. In fact, seeing us together

from a distance, we bore a strong resemblance to Del Boy and Rodney or, for older fans,  Hilda Baker and Cynthia!

She had a lot of contacts across a wide age range and her choices included some traditional  Shakespeare comedies, classics such as Charley’s Aunt, Blithe Spirit, Joseph, with Arreton School children, A Servant of Two Masters (now famous as Two Bosses One Guvner). The funniest was perhaps Cold Comfort Farm, at Arreton Manor and, the most ambitious, A Midsummer Night’s  Dream courtesy of Piers and Venetia at Budbridge. 

We also introduced a strong folky theme to some of our musical pieces, such as Larkrise, The Transports and, of course, the never forgotten Joseph as mentioned before. Arreton Manor, then Budbridge hosted one outdoor event a year but others were in the Methodist Church, where we have the Craft Club, and St Georges, Arreton.

She also revived the Isle of Wight Mummers Play, which was seized with enthusiasm by a cast mainly from Arreton. This is the first year for many that it had to be cancelled. It would have been 50 years since my first Mother Christmas performance!

She managed to include all ages of actors so that we never had ancient fairies or wrongly matched roles for our members. It was always fun and very hard work, as Isabel was a clever,  enthusiastic and supportive person to work with. 

I will always remember her with a smile and I hope that you do too. 

What more could you ask for?

Trees

The Parish Council intends to continue with the proposed tree project next year. However, to keep things simple at present, it has been decided to concentrate on the Churchyard and the Cemetery to start with. As mentioned in the last Newsletter, the cherry trees in the Churchyard will come to the end of their natural life at some point and so the intention is to plant replacements elsewhere in that part of the Churchyard so that they will be a respectable size by the time the others need to go. Some planting will also take place in Gore Cemetery but no definite decisions have been made yet.

On the subject of trees, two nice specimens have appeared in the vicinity of the Hare and Magpies. They were not planted by ourselves or Gift to Nature so does anyone know anything? We have not asked Island Roads as it does not seem to be the sort of thing that they do but who knows?

And now for something a little more entertaining … Firstly, for the history buffs amongst you, news from the IW Heritage Service:-

Delve back in time through the photographs of William Hogg 

A fascinating online exhibition has been created to help while away those lockdown hours through the lens of photographer William Hogg of Ryde, who lived from 1844 to 1928. You can delve into period-evoking images covering both life and location in the times of Hogg, with a particular focus on the first few decades of the 20th century in and around Ryde. The exhibition has been created by the Isle of Wight Heritage Service and can be viewed on the council’s website. 

William Hogg worked as a photographer for Jabez Hughes of Ryde and later ran a tobacconist shop and sub-post office in the town while continuing to record the everyday lives and activities of the people of the area. He was often commissioned by local families to take pictures of their houses – and the collection also contains magnificent images of churches, hotels and other significant buildings. His pictures recall how people lived their lives, from their moments of leisure to the clothes they wore – with the exhibition encompassing a period of great national and international change from the Edwardian era into the First World War and after. The photographs contrast relaxing moments of people rowing on Ryde Boating Lake, and yacht racing off Ryde  Pier – to a First World War tank presented to Ryde in 1919 in recognition of funds contributed by the town to the war effort, totalling £501,432.

The Isle of Wight Heritage service holds a collection of more than 200 glass negatives by Hogg, who earlier in his career also frequently visited Osborne House to take pictures of Queen Victoria and the royal family.

You can find out more about the collections of the Isle of Wight Heritage Service at www.iwight.com/museums

For more information email: museums@iow.gov.uk 

Something for the creative … 

Looking Out from Lockdown 

This is an Island-wide project celebrating the creativity of Island people during the lockdown, both in  2020, and again now in 2021. In collaboration with Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Susie  Sheldon, local arts for wellbeing charity Independent Arts is offering people the chance to exhibit their lockdown creations, be it painting, photographs, poetry, music, speech, pottery, writing,  crafts, projects, inventions, baking, gardening or anything else creative completed to keep spirits up during lockdown.

Whether it is something that captures the moment of lockdown one, or whether it is right now in lockdown three, everyone is urged to get creative and submit their projects to fill the gallery with their thoughts, visions and reflections in any art form, plus the story behind them. The website will become a “time capsule” for our Island Community to admire and share in years to come when reflecting on our experiences during the pandemic.

The plan is to hold physical exhibitions after restrictions end, so please save those creations that can’t be exhibited online. For contributors who are unable to photograph and submit work online to the website, there will eventually be the option to use drop-off points, where creations can be photographed and submitted on your behalf and returned.

Charities, radio, local papers, schools, care homes, businesses, clubs and organisations and events during 2021 are all encouraged to get involved in this project and give people the motivation to get creative. Individual exhibitions of Looking Out From Lockdown could be held around the island, once restrictions ease.

The Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Susie Sheldon says, “This is an exciting project that should give everyone an incentive to concentrate their talents for a purpose. In these difficult times, we all need a purpose to keep us motivated. Everyone has the ability to be creative in different ways and I am really excited at the prospect of seeing all the works, ideas, inventions, thoughts etc that have come out of the time Islanders have spent in Lockdown both in 2020 and again now. Let this be something really good that comes out of the difficult times we are all going through.

Lisa Gagliani MBE, Chief Executive of Independent Arts says, “When we heard about this idea, we knew it was perfect to add to our existing Islesolation Gallery developed in lockdown one – with this new impetus, we hope many more Islanders will find inspiration to have a go and submit something, as we know just how valuable making, doing and displaying one’s creativity can be at a time of stress.”

Jo Dare BEM, CEO of Age UK Isle of Wight commented: “Lockdown is challenging but to keep positive we know Islanders have been turning to existing talents or learning new skills, some of which may have included, or been taught by, older residents. Whatever your age, whatever your way of letting time pass whilst keeping safe, and hopeful for the future, we want to see what you’ve been up to. You may even inspire someone else to have a go as well!’

Mayor of Ryde, Cllr Michael Lilley: “Looking out from Lockdown is a great project idea as it provides a message of hope and an outlet for voices and creativity of all our Island residents from their homes during the lockdown. We need our community to stay safe but not silent and this provides an outlet to share our thoughts for the future and the fantastic imaginations within our community”.

To find out how to get involved, head to Independent Arts online 

https://islesolationgallery.com/LookingOutFromLockdown 

Submissions are welcome from any Island resident, of any age, preferably via email attachment to gallery@independentarts.org.uk Please check the Tips & Tricks section for help in providing a  good quality image so that your creativity shines. For video or musical submissions, email and attach a YouTube link. 

And finally, Island Radio Introducing Hidden Island!

We hope you’re keeping well. After the difficulties of this year, we’ve decided we want to give something back in 2021 to help our local community. So we’ve got something really exciting to share with you… 

From January 18, we’re launching Hidden Island, a brand new membership service from Isle Of Wight Radio full of exclusive content about the island we call home, including new hidden features, recipes, event invitations,  competitions, exclusive vouchers and offers, and much, much more! Best of all, it’s absolutely  FREE to sign up to. So for example, in week one you could win a new 40" TV and an Amazon echo, register for our online wellbeing event, and enjoy a four week baking or photography course for free! And as a thank you for joining, we'll also give you access to our exclusive digital e-magazine, New Year, New You for 2021! 

We want you to feel part of a new, online community on the Island, so we’re also launching a new community forum as part of this project. The membership is set to launch on Monday, January  18, but you can sign up HERE now to get access as soon as we launch. 

It’s time to make the most out of the IOW. Welcome to Hidden Island. 

PARISH COUNCIL CONTACT DETAILS 

Chairman: Cllr Martin Kimber – martinkimberapc@gmail.com 

Clerk: Mrs Sheila Caws - arretonpc@outlook.com 07587 008183