IOW Council Consults on £13.5m Savings Package

Isle of Wight Council is looking to save £13.5m from next year's budget and is looking for input from Island residents on how best this can be achieved.

The local authority has launched an online budget consultation, although paper copies of the survey are also available upon request. Leader of the Council Ian Stephens hopes the exercise will give residents the opportunity to decide which services should be prioritised as the authority struggles to adapt to reduced grant support from central government.

A series of public forums will also be held at the following venues (start time 6.30pm):

Wednesday, Nov 12 – Newport – Riverside Centre, The Quay
Thursday, Nov 13 – Ryde – George Street Centre, George St
Monday, Nov 17 – Freshwater – All Saints' School, School Green Rd
Tuesday, Nov – Cowes – UKSA, Arctic Rd
Monday, Nov 24 – Ventnor – St Francis School, Newport Rd
Wednesday, Dec 3 – Sandown – Main Hall, Broadway Centre
Thursday, Dec 11 – East Cowes Town Hall, York Ave
Monday, Dec 15 – Shanklin – Shanklin Theatre, Prospect Rd

Ready Teddy Go for the Big Challenge

By Jon Moreno

THE Earl Mountbatten Hospice’s Challenge 1000 initiative is set to benefit from a Shanklin woman’s fundraising enterprise, transforming neglected teddies into care bears.

Over the past 30 years, Jane Page has become a well-known fundraising figure, having raised well over £10,000 for the hospice, Macmillan, Breakthrough Breast Cancer and other local causes.

She also helped to co-ordinate a big fundraising minibus appeal for Sandown High School.

COLLECTS AND RECYCLES

The grandmother of four, of Collingwood Road, collects and recycles teddies — mending them, washing them, hanging them out to dry and then selling them at fairs and festivals on the Island throughout the year.

The 64 year old also knits scarves and makes hats and ribbons for the teddies.

The retired Isle of Wight receptionist, who developed a passion for teddy bears as a collector before she began selling them, said: "When I first heard about Challenge 1000, I thought raising £100 should be easy enough."

Jane’s next teddy sale will be at St Saviour’s Church, Shanklin, on Saturday, November 22.

Anyone wishing to donate their old bears can send them to Jane at 34 Collingwood Road, Shanklin, or phone her on 862081.


Reproduced with acknowledgements to Isle of Wight County Press

The Sandringham Hotel, Sandown

The Sandringham Hotel along the seafront, overlooking Sandown Bay, provides a seamless fusion of a traditional seaside hotel with all the modern facilities that holidaymakers have come to expect.

A large, spacious lounge abuts an ample ballroom where entertainment is provided on four evenings each week.

The Sandringham offers a full English breakfast and dinner menu with efficient sit-down table service in a large and uncrowded dining area overlooking Culver Cliff.

Bedrooms are en-suite and include colour television and tea and coffee making facilities. There is an option for adjoining rooms or for a superior sea-facing room with a balcony. The hotel also has a small number of self-catering apartments for hire.

JACUZZI AND SAUNA

Elsewhere in the hotel the swimming pool is clean and well used but seldom overcrowded, even during peak season. Around the pool area there is also a jacuzzi and a small sauna. A full-size snooker table, pool table and gaming machines are available for customers, and a small selection of board games can be borrowed upon request - useful for helping to keep the kids entertained whilst enjoying a nice relaxing drink from the bar.

Rooms are good value, especially when taking into account the fact that a free ferry is provided for mainland visitors who book beyond a certain number of nights (always check this at the time of booking). Parking can be a bit of an issue as spaces outside the building are few and using certain of them often results in you being "blocked in", with hotel staff having to rectify the problem. For those who don't mind a short walk the hotel has the use of a larger car park a couple of streets away which customers can use. There is a small charge for this.

All in all the Sandringham ranks amongst the better coastal hotels as the fact that it boasts many returning customers bears out. Our advice - give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Spooktacular Half-Term Breaks at Whitecliff Bay

Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park in Bembridge, Isle of Wight are organising "spooktacular" family fun activities and themed entertainment for Hallowe'en.

Activities during the half-term break include pumpkin carving, face painting, gruesome food making, Laser Zombie Tag, crafts and ghost stories.

Plus there is, as always, lots to do elsewhere on the Island - including the Isle of Wight's first Festival of Light at Robin Hill and the Autumn Walking Weekend.

Dogs are allowed on the holiday park in selected accommodation and on the touring field. For more on Whitecliff Bay's programme for October please click here.


Reproduced with ackowledgements to The Holiday Zone

Minghella to Remain on the Island

Popular ice cream manufacturer Minghella has announced that it will be relocating to another premises, but that it will remain on the Island.

Currently based in Wootton, news of the company's plans coincided with the announcement of the retirement of its founder Eddie Minghella at the tender age of 93. According to Mr. Minghella's daughter Gioia, Eddie had originally intended to work on to the age of 100 but in the light of the sad death of his wife had decided to take early retirement.

The Wootton site is to be placed on the market and the company hopes to find a suitable new home on the Island by 2015.

Red squirrel and hedgehog under threat, study says

Red squirrel and hedgehog populations in the UK have continued to fall over the last decade, a report suggests.

The 2011 State of Britain's Mammals study says the species are still under threat despite efforts to protect them.

But it says conservation schemes have benefited otters, polecats and water voles and half of the monitored species have stable or rising populations.

Animal charity the People's Trust for Endangered Species commissioned the report from Oxford University.

It provides an overview of research by wildlife and conservation experts across the UK.

Researchers from the university's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) found the hedgehog population had dropped from some 30 million in the 1950s to 1.5 million.

Report author Professor David Macdonald said the impact of agricultural management and environmental schemes on hedgehogs would be monitored over the next few years and used to influence agri-environment schemes.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

The report found that red squirrels were almost extinct in England.

"We expect the future of red squirrels to be confined to a few islands, such as Anglesey and the Isle of Wight, or in the Highlands of Scotland," Prof Macdonald said.

He expressed the benefits of land being taken out of agricultural use and allowed to grow wild and called for the reintroduction of extinct species such as the beaver. Beavers have been brought back in a trial scheme in Scotland.


Republished with acknowledgements to BBC News.

The Be All And End All: IW Screening With Q&A

By Sally Perry

Regular VB readers will remember us raving on about feature length film, The Be All and End All, produced and directed by Island-based film-maker, Bruce Webb.

The film releases in the UK at the end of next with with a premiere screening at the Empire in Leicester Square, before heading North where the film was made.

Digital projection enabled screening

Sandwiched between multi-million pound films like Harry Potter and Narnia, Bruce was pretty chuffed to be able to share his film with fellow Islanders.

“The film is opening in the Empire Leicester Square and on screens in the North West where the film is set, so to be able to have it on at one of my local cinemas is great news, made only possible by new digital projection” said Bruce.

Many awards and accolades

The film has already appeared in over 20 international film festivals including Rome, Berlin and Cannes where it has picked up over six awards, and the prestigious Variety Critics Choice award in Karlovy Vary.

“I am busy writing a new film, when I get the time in between festivals and releasing Be All and End All, which is set in the Isle of Wight. I started the Isle of Wight Film Network with my friend Eric to try and increase film-making on the Island and though this has helped, there is only one way to increase what is filmed here, and that is to shoot as often as you can on the Island. I’ve shot for CBBC and BBC2 here and the locations are second to none and probably the most diverse landscapes this close to London."

Where and when

Make sure you pop over to Events on the Wight to check out times and how to book.

Reproduced with acknowledgements to Ventnor Blog

Lose Some Pounds for the Christmas Party Season

PTFit provides fun and effective personal training, delivered on a one-to-one basis by experienced and motivational trainers. The workouts can be accompanied by nutrition guidance that will boost your energy and support weight management.. Sessions can be delivered outdoors, at your home or even virtually via Skype.

For more information visit the website.

Overflow Parking at the Studio, Newport - Saturday, 20th November

A night of Bands and DJs to keep you dancing till the early hours.

DJ Leeboi (Winner of King of the Decks 2010) - First DJ set since winning the national King of the Decks final on October 15th.

Culver Jam - 5 Deck Special, Expect something special from the culver jam boys spread over five decks, a welcome return.

Golden Strands (Back by popular demand) Absolutely fantastic the last time we had them here and due to such an amazing response we're getting them back again, wicked band, not to be missed.

Plus others.

and only £3.00.

Isle of Wight Review is back!

Well, it's been a long time!

Too many other things on, and sadly IOW Review has been a casualty. To our loyal readers and visitors we can but sincerely apologise.

But the good news is that the Isle of Wight Review is back to stay.

As fate would have it we're off to Gurnard Pines tomorrow, two of us for the weekend and my wife and daughter for the week. I'm hoping to pay Rookley Country Park a visit at some point, most likely on Saturday evening.

If you enjoy this blog please help us to reboot it by sending us your news, comments and articles.

More soon...