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...

Back to the '80s Fundraiser - Shanklin Old Town, March 27th

By Dizzy Daniels

Saturday, March 27, at Holliers, Shanklin Old Village come and join us and GO BACK TO THE 80S!!

This will be an all out 80s mania night to raise money for cerebral palsy sufferer, Gracie-May Fuller, who needs to raise £40,000 for an operation in America.

It will be 80s fancy dress and there will be a prize for the best dressed. There will also be a little raffle, bar dash and a dance-off competition, so make sure you come along and help this very worthy cause!!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the cause so far!!

There will be a charge of £3 to get in and every penny made goes towards Gracie's fund.

Please click here to read about this event or leave a comment on Facebook.

BootCamp IOW Island Run for Earl Mountbatten Hospice

By Mark McIntyre

My name is Mark McIntyre and the crazy act I will be performing is running around the IOW in one day... well, ideally in under a day but as long as it takes to get around the Island.

I will be starting at the Seashells Café by the Inshore Rescue Centre at Appley Beach on the 3rd April 2010 at 09:15.

As part of a BootCamp IW class I will begin the 64 miles heading initially to Seaview, then Sandown, Shanklin, and the Military Road, after this the run will take me ultimately to the Needles then up to Cowes, across the Floating Bridge to East Cowes then it's the home straight.

As you can imagine, running, walking, jogging and in the latter parts crawling this distance will be incredibly exhausting, to aid in this I will be supported by Nikki in the support vehicle and James who will run parts of the route with me.

With this I am hoping for clients or anyone really to run part of the course with me for about a mile or so, this stops me from going running crazy or just talking to myself too much.

I am now down to 4 weeks until the run starts, I know I will complete it but if the local media can find a way to get onboard and help push this, that in turn will increase my motivation to not only finish, but finish in the fastest time ever.

So why do something like this? Why not just grow a beard for charity or walk on hot coals or something?

Firslty I want to raise some money, expend blood sweat and maybe a few tears for a very good cause, it's good for the soul to do so.

Secondly this proves to my clients that anything is possible, we should all look at barriers in life not as obstacles but as a unique opportunity, after all if it weren't for barriers then everything would be blandly achievable to anyone, to attempt to overcome a barrier can teach us more than the reward at the end.

Thirdly, as I live on the IW - why not? It's an incredible place and one to be in awe of. Having moved here in September 2009 I haven't had the time to discover much of it, so this gives me the tourist type opportunity, lots of photos, a jog, more pictures etc. It's great fun..

All I ask you is this - when you see me in BootCamp why not stop me and sponsor me?

Visit the website and sponsor me or check out the FaceBook page.

Thanks for reading this.

Mark

www.ptfit.co.uk

STOP PRESS...Missing person found safe and well

A big thank you to all those who responded to our appeal to look out for missing missing pensioner Frederick Simpson (see below). According to the County Press and Ventnor Blog, Mr Simpson has been found and is safe and well.

IMPORTANT - Missing Person Appeal

An elderly man has gone missing from Ryde and the police are concerned for his welfare. If you have seen him please contact either Ryde Police Station or Crimestoppers on the numbers shown...

http://ventnorblog.com/2010/02/28/missing-person-appeal/

(article includes photo).

The Isle of Wight Festival - should IOW residents get discounted tickets?

As every Island resident will know the Festival returned in 2002 after a 32-year layoff. The Who, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, REM, The Kaiser Chiefs, Neil Young and Razorlight are just a few of the names who have crossed the water to play.

For those who don't appreciate the music the whole experience is just a whole lot of noise and a whole lot of inconvenience, with closed roads, congestion, queues for everything and full ferries. Those who do don't really mind the noise, but the inconvenience caused by some 50,000 visitors arriving from the mainland all at once remains the same.

Residents of the Island who actually attend the Festival get hit twice. Not only do they have to fight their way through the invading hordes but when they arrive at the event they find themselves at least £130 lighter - £150 if they intend to pitch a tent. That is the adult price and for the purposes of the Festival it would seem an adult is anybody over the age of twelve.

Perhaps not surprisingly, an enterprising group of young people from the Island have set up a Facebook group called Join if you think Isle of Wighters should get cheaper festival tickets.

So, should they?

Not everybody who has posted on the group's page agrees. Tickets are even more expensive at Glastonbury, it would seem, and there are no local discounts there. On the other hand the Rugby Football Union routinely makes 1,100 discounted tickets available to local residents for summer concerts held at Twickenham Stadium.

Personally I admire anybody who makes a stand against the rip-off culture which seems to predominate these days. I wish the campaign every success.

Message from New Zealand

Hi from New Zealand

Here's a photo of my car and it's personal plate. It's "world famous in New Zealand".

You wouldn't believe the number of people who come up to me and ask - and then they launch into a blurb about going on holiday to Shanklin several years ago!

I keep "IOW" going from car to car - fond memories, etc., lived on the Island for 15 super years (1974-1989), the kids were born there and it's only the winter climate that keeps us from returning.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers
David H

Campaigning for equal access on the Island

By Alan Davies

I regularly hear, I regret to say, of inadequate provision made by suppliers of goods and services here on the Isle of Wight.

As a person with a disability it is important to get the most out of local services you use most often. It is a good idea to talk to the service providers you use most often, like your local doctor's surgery or a shop you use a lot, and explain exactly what your needs are. This will help them understand what adjustments they might need to make to the way they provide their services.

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) gave disabled people important rights of access to everyday services. Service providers have an obligation to make reasonable adjustments to premises or to the way they provide a service. Sometimes it just takes minor changes to make a service accessible.

Under the DDA, it is against the law for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably than other people for a reason related to their disability. Service providers have to make "reasonable adjustments" to the way they deliver their services so that disabled people can use them. Examples of reasonable adjustments include: installing an induction loop for people who are hearing impaired, giving the option to book tickets by email as well as by phone, providing disability awareness training for staff who have contact with the public, providing larger well-defined signage for people with impaired vision, putting in a ramp at the entrance to a building as well as steps.

What is considered a "reasonable adjustment" for a large organisation like a bank may be different to a reasonable adjustment for a small local shop. It is about what is practical in the service provider's individual situation and what resources the business may have. They will not be required to make changes which are impractical or beyond their means. Failure or refusal to provide a service that is offered to other people to a disabled person is discrimination unless it can be justified.

If you find it difficult to access a local service - for example, you cannot use a local takeaway or sandwich shop because the counter is too high - you should contact the organisation and let them know. It is in their interest to make sure everyone can use their service. It is best to offer constructive suggestions as to how the service provider could improve the way their services are provided. Explain the difficulty you have in accessing their service and give examples of how other businesses have solved the problem, if you know of any. If the service provider agrees to make an adjustment, ask if they can put it in writing. This will help you follow up your request if the service provider does not keep their promise.

You may find it useful to refer service providers to the Equality and Human Rights Commission website for more information about making their services accessible to disabled customers. You could also tell them that the Equality and Human Rights Commission can advise service providers about their responsibilities under the DDA and how they can meet them. The document "Making access to goods and services easier for disabled customers" is a useful guide for service providers to their responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act. It was published by the Disability Rights Commission, which was replaced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on 1 October 2007.


Please join Alan's Facebook group Diversi-TIES. Or visit the group's Diversti-TIES website.

Isle of Wight Review - it's here for you!

Sorry we've been a bit inactive over here lately but recently I've been working on the blog's Facebook account in the hope of bringing IOW Review to the attention of a wider audience.

I want this blog to become a resource for businesses and individuals based on the Island, to tell us what's going on over there right now and let us know if there is any activity going down that ought to be reported.

If you are from the Island and would like to contribute to these fine columns, please e-mail us at isleofwightreview@live.co.uk and let us know.

To link up with us at Facebook, please click here. We are also on Twitter and would love you to follow us.

Anyone for darts?

If you take a look down the right-hand column you'll see I've introduced a little online darts gaming thing.

Why? No particular reason, other than for the fact that I found it pleasingly addictive and I hope you might enjoy it also.

Simply maximise it to full screen and follow the instructions. I managed to beat the "very easy" guy - eventually. See whether you can improve on that!

Waxworks resident ghost won't be homeless

By David Newble

When Brading’s famous wax museum shut its doors for the final time — one spooky exhibit was still promised a permanent home.

The skeletal remains of Frenchman Louis de Rochefort, who was murdered by Puritans at the former Crown Inn site, are set to remain in-situ, in his glass-topped coffin, whoever occupies the building.

And they had better not be scared of the dark, as people say Louis’s ghost is regularly seen in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

There are also rumours Louis’s dying screams and the sound of a coach rattling along the street outside can still be heard at night.

Last week, the County Press reported how the attraction, renamed Brading the Experience, had closed, with its collection set to be broken up and sold off.

Val Monger, of Daniel Street, Ryde, contacted the paper, anxious to find out what would happen to Louis’s remains, which was her favourite exhibit when she was a child.

The skeleton was unearthed by workmen in the 1960s, when they were putting in a water main.

They were found to be the remains of Loius de Rochefort, who was assassinated while trying to get a message to Charles I, when he was imprisoned at Carisbrooke Castle.

Efforts to track down Louis’s relatives failed, with nobody claiming the bones and he is set to remain interred on the IW.

Robert Ball, director of Brading Trading, the operating company for Brading the Experience, said he remained sceptical the skeleton was actually that of Louis.

He said: "There is a skull there but I would not suggest the skull is original. There is a little bit of artistic licence going on there."


Acknowledgements Isle of Wight County Press. Reporter davidm@iwcpmail.co.uk.

About Robin Hill Countryside Adventure Park

This popular venue is set in 88 acres of wonderful country and woodland on the Arreton Downs.

It offers fun attractions and some really fun activities for people of all ages as well as lots of open space for walking and leisure. The Island's native red squirrels can often be seen whilst one is enjoying a walk around the Park, and carp so tame that they eat from your hand are to be found in abundance at Carp Quay.

At the top of the hill the famous Colossus swinging galleon is not for the faint hearted. The Toboggan Run, Maze, Play Village, Time Machine and (new as from last year) Children's Train Ride are just some of the attractions to be enjoyed, not to mention the highly entertaining and informative twice-daily falconry display (weather permitting).

Visitors also have the opportunity to relax at the café where drinks and warm and cold food can be purchased and consumed either inside or out.

This year the Adventure Park opens on March 30th. As always visitors can return free of charge within 7 days of their first visit.

The Park (Sat Nav PO30 2NU) is located at Downend, near Arreton which is just outside Newport and boasts a large, free car park. Opening times are from 10am till late afternoon.