Island Magazines January 2023 Freshwater, Totland & Yarmouth area

We’re adding barcodes to our regular stamps. After 31 January 2023, regular stamps without a barcode will no longer be valid. You can either use up these stamps before this deadline or swap them for the new barcoded ones.

The stamps that are changing are the stamps (pictured below) that will be very familiar to you. They feature the profile of Her Late Majesty The Queen on a plain coloured background.

Your non-barcoded stamps can be exchanged for the new barcoded version through the Stamp Swap Out scheme. To swap out your stamps, simply complete one of our Stamp Swap Out forms and send it back to us along with your non-barcoded stamps. The step-bystep process for doing this is explained below.

How to get a ‘Stamp Swap Out’ form

• If you have a printer, you can swap out up to £200 worth of non-barcoded stamps by printing out and completing the online form. Go to www.royalmail.com and search for ‘Stamp Swap Out’ form. You can send this back to us free of charge, along with your stamps, by writing on the envelope Freepost SWAP OUT. No other address details or postcode are needed.

• If you don’t have access to a printer you can request a Stamp Swap Out form to be posted to you at www.royalmail.com or pick one up from the Customer Service Point at your local Delivery, or you can call our Customer Experience Team on 03457 740740.

Note: Special Stamps with pictures on and Christmas Stamps without a barcode will continue to be valid and don’t need to be swapped out.

Welcome to the first edition of 2023... I’ve got everything crossed that this year is going to be a great year for us all!

Here at Island Magazines HQ, we are going to continue bringing you a monthly community magazine packed with news, information, advertising, articles, puzzles and much more and I would like to personally thank everyone that picks up a copy to read, all contributors and to the many wonderful local businesses that advertise.

This year I have the pleasure of working with local nature and wildlife expert, Jim Baldwin. Jim is known by many for his outstanding contribution to this field and even calls himself a ‘Nature Nerd’ (his words not mine!), personally I think of him more as a local Isle of Wight David Attenborough!!

Jim will be writing fascinating articles each month which are both informative and are ways to get you involved in nature and projects throughout the year. You can read his first article on page 8.

January is a very quiet month especially after such a busy Christmas period. Our ‘Dates for your Diary’ section on page 18 has details of the few community events happening and if you are planning any future events please let me know and I can include them in the next issue.

In this cold weather we have been having please keep warm, keep safe and please check on others, especially if you have elderly neighbours.

As always, thank you for picking up a copy and I hope you have a great first month of the New Year and I look forward to catching up with you again soon.

Totland Parish Council News

Councillors would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Safe New Year.

We start with clearing up a matter from the report made last month by George Cameron of Freshwater Parish Council. Councillor Cameron made a claim that Freshwater had always tried to keep good relations with Totland Parish Council as we had shared the skate park and MUGA with them and the Memorial Hall. He claimed that there was trouble ahead because Totland pulled out of the relationship with the skate park and MUGA; this is incorrect, and it was in fact Freshwater Parish Council Chairman who wrote to Totland stating that at their Parish meeting on 6th October 2020, an agenda item was tabled asking whether the Joint Committee system should continue or whether Freshwater Parish Council should take back these assets under their own control. All Freshwater Councillors voted to take back control over the management and future development of the two sites. This therefore ended the joint working between Totland and Freshwater Parish Council. It was also claimed that Totland Parish Council wanted to withdraw from the Memorial Hall, again this is incorrect. Totland residents will be aware the Parish Council has agreed to purchase the Church Hall on The Broadway and therefore asked Freshwater Parish Council if they would be interested in purchasing Totland Parish Councils share as they wanted to concentrate on the development in Totland. Totland Councillors felt this would be a great opportunity for Freshwater Parish Council and not about Totland withdrawing and costing them to raise their precept to allow for this. This would not happen until 2024 at the earliest. The report from Councillor Cameron was very

disappointing to read and we hope this month he has corrected this for the residents of Freshwater.

2023/2024 Budget.

Councillors met in December to discuss the budget for 2023/2024. It was resolved to continue supporting the West Wight Sports Centre, Community Connector and West Wight Nursery. The Beach Buoys would also remain at Widdick Chine and Colwell. The Church Hall and upgrade to the public toilets was included and there will be no increase to Totland residents’ precept. The Responsible Financial Officer with Councillors worked hard to ensure there would be a 0% increase and wanted to be able to do this during these tough financial times whilst still offering good value.

Warm Spaces at the Memorial Hall. Totland Parish Council have teamed together with the Memorial Hall and the Friday Market to offer a Warm Space between 8.30am and 12.30pm starting Friday 6th January 2023. There will be tea, coffee and biscuits available in the small hall. You will also be able to charge your phone, relax and have a chat with us.

St Saviours Y5/Y6 decorated the Cokes Green Christmas tree in early December and the Parish Council purchased new lights. Sadly, both the baubles and lights were vandalised on several occasions, and this had been reported to the Police.

**** NEW Emailing List ****

Councillors are building an emailing list for Totland residents in order that we can communicate with you quicker. Information will only ever come from

Totland Parish Council News

Totland Parish Council and no junk email will be involved. If this is something you would be interested in joining, please email totlandmail@gmail.com with your name, address and postcode.

Recycling: Afton Marsh Recycling Centre – This is open and you can now take household rubbish, however, you MUST book a time online or over the telephone. You cannot just turn up; you will be sent away.

CONTACT DETAILS: Parish Clerk – Mrs

Helen Gibbs - Telephone 01983 756028

Totland Parish Council, Winchester House, The Broadway, Totland Bay, PO39 0AX. The parish office opening days and times are: Monday – Thursday 9.30am to 12.30pm.

Email: clerk@totlandparishcouncil.org. uk or follow the Clerk on Twitter @ TotlandClerk. The parish council also have a Facebook page which is updated regularly.

Ward Councillor Chris Jarman – email: chris.jarman@iow.gov.uk Telephone 0790 500 2834

Ward Councillor Surgeries are held in the office on a Thursday between 9am and 10am. Please check in advance to ensure this is going ahead should you wish to talk with Councillor Jarman.

Your Parish Councillors’ are: Chairman Jan Cave, Vince Fennell, John Howe, Steve Blamire, Helen Wood, Gareth Wyre, Hilary Benns and Chris Jarman

Age UK Isle of Wight operates a loan scheme for older people lending out tablets and smartphones. We will teach them how to get online and provide enough data to browse the internet. It’s a FREE service and gives people the opportunity to try without needing to make a financial investment.

Do you know someone over 50 who would like to get online?

Baldwin

Tel: 07528 586683

Well, here we are at the start of a New Year and I have been given this great opportunity to write a regular article for Island Magazines.

As a nature nerd, I get equal enjoyment from watching the smallest insect to viewing our brilliant White-tailed Eagles. My hope is this monthly article will get you enthused enough to go out and experience and enjoy nature, perhaps even taking part in some of the projects I will be highlighting during the year.

Getting involved with nature has been proven to be beneficial for our mental health and as we found out during the Covid lockdowns, you can enjoy nature in your own garden or local green space, you don’t need to travel miles!

Among my various nature-based roles, I am the British Trust for Ornithology Regional Representative, County Moth & Dragonfly Recorder and Butterfly Conservation’s Isle of Wight Group Leader.

We start the year with the largest garden-based “citizen science” event in the UK – the RSPB Big Garden BirdWatch 2023. Big Garden Birdwatch is a great community event; it is fun, free and for everyone. And you don’t need a garden to take part! Counting birds from your balcony, or your local park will play a vital role in helping the RSPB understand how UK birds are doing. We have lost 38 million birds in the UK during the last 50 years; House Sparrow and Starling have suffered severe declines and are red listed.

Big Garden BirdWatch takes place on 27-29 January. Choose the date of your choice, watch the birds around you for one hour (you can invite your friends round and make it a social event!). Count how many of each species of bird lands on your patch. When you have finished, go online and enter your results. Not sure of the ID of the birds? The RSPB have produced an ID guide of the common garden birds which you can download. You can register for Big Garden BirdWatch and your free guide now at www.rspb. org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch

Don’t forget if you’re a teacher, your school can take part in the RSPB Big Schools’ Birdwatch which runs from 6 January to 20 February 2023. See www.rspb.org.uk/fun-and-learning/forteachers/schools-birdwatch

Good luck with the BirdWatch and, most of all, enjoy it.

House Sparrow

Photo: Jim Baldwin

Cllr Chris JarmanTotland & Colwell

Tel: 07905 002834

E: ChrisJarmanforTotland@gmail.com

The West Wight community came together and organised Christmas Fayres, sponsored lunches and community events throughout December. We are ever grateful to those special individuals that year-on-year pull out all the stops and arrange celebrations, collect donations and raffle prizes and dedicate the time to organise these cheerful events that bring such joy.

The past 8 weeks have seen a major effort to collect items and pack Christmas Shoeboxes for Ukrainian soldiers that, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and democracy, deserve to know that we continue to support them and to offer our thanks and respect at this very cold time of year. The Island wide effort has seen an outpouring of West Wight support with donations being routed through Totland Parish Office and local homes. Regular loads of packed Christmas Shoeboxes have been delivered to MADaid in East Cowes for collation and shipping to the front line in Ukraine. Each contains medical supplies, bobble hats/gloves/socks, personal hygiene products and lots of chocolate – with around one in six of the boxes labelled for females.

My Ward surgeries on Thursdays have frequently overrun to Saturday sessions reflecting the growing frustration with complaints ranging from conditions of roads, very frequent sewage spills (often lasting days) and the seemingly eternal disruption of digging up roads and pavements to lay new broadband cables. Given the improving reach of fast wireless networks the comparison of local disruption vs benefits to our community is increasingly challenged.

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News Report from Brian Jacobs - Town Clerk

CHOYD, St James Street, Yarmouth, PO41 0NU

Opening hours:Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30-12:30

Email: ytc1135@gmail.com

In spite of a spirited campaign by local residents, businesses and Yarmouth Town Council in 2019, Yarmouth C of E Primary School has now officially closed its doors and its pupils moved to a new £5M school at Freshwater. In spite of massive local support for a highly valued community asset, the only effect the 2019 campaign had on the Isle of Wight Council was to marginally delay the move, even though Yarmouth School enjoyed one of the most impressive education records on the Island.

The school premises and playing fields are now being actively marketed by IWC, from which £400K will go towards the development costs of the new school in Freshwater, with any balance going to the Government. In November, Yarmouth Town Council submitted an application to register the School premises and associated land as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), and the IWC panel is considering the application as this article is being written. A huge local campaign is under way to preserve the School as a community asset and a public meeting organised by West Wight IW Councillor Peter Spink on 6th December to discuss the sale attracted some 150 residents. Disappointingly, there was no representation at that meeting by IWC officers. A Steering Group has been

established which will co-ordinate the campaign, and legal advice is currently being sought as to the disposal of the property.

What particularly upsets local residents about losing their local school at which many of them and their children were educated is that the land on which the School stands was originally gifted to Yarmouth borough by local landowners on the proviso that it would remain as an educational establishment in perpetuity, and there is believed to be a covenant on the property which reinforces this. In addition, a local campaign in the recent past raised some £20K towards mobile classrooms, and no information has yet been forthcoming about the impact of this on sale proceeds. Indeed, there has been no consultation by IWC with residents about the sale, and it is understood that its only brief is to sell the site for the highest price, in spite of its provenance as a gift to Yarmouth.

Successful registration as an ACV will not guarantee the site’s future, but it does give local residents the opportunity to raise money to preserve this valuable community icon for generations to come.

A lz he im e r C a fé IOW

Tel: 01983 220200

Email: info@alzheimercafeiow. org. uk Website: www. alzheimercafeiow. org. uk

East Cowes Alzheimer Café

East Cowes Town Hall

York Avenue, East Cowes, PO32 6RU

Ryde Alzheimer Café

All Saints’ Church Hall

Queens’s Road, Ryde, PO33 3AF

First Tuesday of the month

2pm 4pm

Cowes Alzheimer Café

Football Club, Reynolds Close off Park Road, Cowes PO31 7NT

Second Wednesday of the month

Sandown Alzheimer Café

The Broadway Centre

1 Broadway, Sandown PO36 9GG

Fourth Wednesday of the month

First Friday of the month 11am 1pm 2pm 4pm An Alzheimer Café

Totland Alzheimer Café

St Saviours Holy Family Centre

Weston Lane, Totland PO39 0HE

Third Wednesday of the month

If you are worried or concerned about memory loss, please come along to an Alzheimers Café for information and informal education about memory loss and dementia. You do not need to have a diagnosis to attend, everyone with an interest in dementia or memory loss is welcome. 2pm 4pm

Newport Methodist Church Quay Street, Newport, PO30 5BA

Last Wednesday of the month

Newport Alzheimer Café 6pm 8pm

Report from George Cameron - Freshwater

One of my favourite bands happens to be Level 42 who originate from the island and I know that Mark King is a supporter of many island charities, the reason for me mentioning them is that they recorded a song called “Hot Water”. Well, after my report in last month’s issue of this magazine I landed myself in hot water! I mentioned about Totland Parish Council pulling out of the Skate Park and MUGA partnership with Freshwater Parish Council, I also mentioned the fact that they are considering withdrawing from our Memorial Hall partnership. Well, on the first count I remember that a very awkward meeting took place in 2020 and there was clearly no appetite for the partnership to continue therefore at the next FPC meeting it was proposed that we withdraw from the agreement. So, my report was inaccurate and I withdraw this statement and sincerely apologise to Totland Parish Council. I do want residents to be correctly informed and as this was pointed out to me I now wish to set the record straight. On the Memorial Hall issue, I would also like to apologise to Totland for jumping the gun and I withdraw this statement as well. I do hope that our partnership will continue to grow and wish them all the best.

So, as I mentioned in my last report, Freshwater Parish Council is having their annual consultation day on Wednesday 25th January. I have asked you to save the date and the consultation takes place at the Memorial Hall with morning and afternoon sessions to give everyone a chance to pop in and have a look at the display boards and make your comments on the projects in hand. We really value your input and it helps us to formulate our budget according to the wishes of the community as well as what we can afford at the time.

One project that I would highlight is the newly proposed skate park and pump track which is a big task to put together but the benefits to the community is immense, not to mention the economic benefit to our local shops and businesses. This proposal is supported by many people and residents from all over the island and include many local skaters, Rob Drake-knight from Rapanui, Oliver Boswell, Rob Da Bank (Radio 1 DJ), Tom Court (Freshwater athlete / creator), Hamish (Owner of Canopy skate parks) and Chris Mannion from iSurf. The list goes on and is growing by the day, I am proud of our office staff who are working very hard to keep the momentum going on this project. I plead with you to support this for the benefit of all.

Dimbola museum and Galleries is having their exhibitions and currently coming to an end is the County Press’s Camera Club 50 which started in October and finishes on the 1st January, please come and see the work presented as it is a fantastic exhibition. Also, we have our resident artist, Anna Keen’s exhibition aptly named from Brackish Thames to Freshwater and this is well worth a visit. The original framed ink drawings from London and The Thames Estuary are absolutely stunning. They have Tennyson and his friend which is also good and The Iconic Bowie by Terry O’Neill mini exhibition remains my favourite along with the Isle of Wight Festival. You will not be disappointed when visiting the museum.

All the best for 2023 and have a prosperous year.

From joy’s humble crumble kitchen

A slight change from our usual recipe page this month but still staying with suggestions to make the most of our available resources and looking after our wellbeing. We are starting the year with some energy saving ideas and tips. Enormous respect to our forefathers who had even less than we have today – no central heating – bigger families – no financial help, probably wasn’t great but they just got on with it - AND so shall we!

HOW TO MAKE A DENIM DRAUGHT EXCLUDER.

* measure the width of your door (or window)

* turn the jeans inside out and cut the leg to required length

* laying the leg flat, you will need to mark, approx. 5 – 6 inches width from top to bottom and stitch along the ‘leg’ length, by hand or machine.

* If making window excluder, follow the same method but make it half the width of the door excluder. (You can also use the sleeves of unwanted garments.)

* turn the jean leg right side out. Stuff with shredded old T shirts, fibre fill from old cushions, tights, old towels etc. Finish off by sewing up the ends.

* You can use any ‘trouser’ leg, or a no longer used towel, old curtain – just roll up and sew to above method. Charity shops are an excellent place to look for these items.

* for the window excluders, add rice or lentils (uncooked) to give weight plus you can squish them into odd corners.

* for the more creative among us, try knitting one using left over balls of wool, or perhaps the excluder becomes a long sausage dog, a snake/crocodile or a ‘whatever you want it to be’!

• If you can’t heat all the rooms you use – try heating the living room for as much of the day as you can, (suggested temperature 18 degrees) and heat your bedroom just before you go to bed.

• wearing several layers of clothing will keep you warmer than one thick layer.

• don’t delay treating minor winter ailments – ask your pharmacist for advice or treatment.

• if bad weather is forecast, it may be harder to leave the house - check you have enough medication and food.

dates for your diary

Every Tuesday. Badminton at Yarmouth Sports Hall. From 2pm to 4pm. Beginner’s welcome. A fun, social place for noncompetitive games. £1-50 per session. Please contact Den 07539 066672.

Every Tuesday Morning – Coffee Morning at the Community Hall of Yarmouth and District (CHOYD), St James Street from 10.30am – 12.30pm. Everyone welcome.

Every Wednesday. Mahjong at Freshwater Library. From 10am to 12pm. Turn up and give it a whirl. Participants are beginners and intermediate players who ultimately have fun together.

Every Wednesday – Duplicate Bridge at 2pm at the Community Hall (CHOYD) in Yarmouth. For a partner, please ring Dave on 761394

Every Wednesday. Social Bridge at West Wight Sports & Community Centre. From 2pm to 4pm. Turn up and play for £2. Participants are learners, intermediate and experienced players who play noncompetitively.

First Thursday of every month – Teen Epilepsy Café at Richmonds, Bath Road, Cowes from 6.30pm. It’s an opportunity for teenagers with epilepsy to meet those in the same boat, to chat and listen to music in a safe and supportive space.

Every Thursday - Beginners Bridge, with tuition and supervision, is played at 2pm at Green Meadows, Colwell Lane. For details, please phone Philip on 07712108645

Every Friday - Freshwater Market from 8.30am-12noon at the Memorial Hall.

Sunday 1st January – New Year’s Day Dip in Sandown raising funds for Sandown & Shanklin Independent Lifeboat. Meet at the Royal Pier Hotel at 11am then head down to the beach next to the pier for the dip.

Sunday 1st January – Sandown New Year’s Day Firework Celebrations – This spectacular fireworks display will be from Sandown Pier at 6pm. FREE ENTRY! Donations are gratefully appreciated. Friendly volunteers will be positioned around the esplanade with collection buckets. Road closures will be in place before, during and after the display for crowd safety. This event maybe subject to last minute changes or cancellation due to weather conditions.

All event information was correct at time of print but could be subject to change at any time.

Freshwater Community Speedwatch – Eight Months On

By Huw Jenkins

Community Speedwatch enables members of the public to volunteer alongside Hampshire Constabulary to monitor the speed of traffic passing through their area and identify vehicles which exceed the speed limit.

You may have seen us in operation; there are between 3 and 5 of us at a session, all wearing hi-viz jackets – our presence alone has proved to reduce the speed of vehicles in the area. One of us will be holding a radar speed detection device that measures speeds.

We manually collect the details of speeding vehicles (we are not using a camera to capture or store this data) and pass this onto Hampshire Police. Vehicle checks are undertaken by the police and entered onto a database. The registered keeper of the vehicle will then be sent an educational letter telling them that their vehicle was seen exceeding the speed limit and the impact their actions have on our local community. If the same registration number is logged again within 2 years, the registered vehicle keeper will receive a warning that if the vehicle is seen a third time the details will be passed to an officer who may take further action. Community Speed Watch is not enforcement, it is education.

Our initial investment in equipment was funded by the Freshwater Bay Residents’ Association.

In our first 8 months we have run 80 monitoring sessions and checked the speeds of 9,000+ vehicles. The good news is that the vast majority were not recorded as being over the limit, but 6% were. For SpeedWatch purposes, we only record vehicles that are 10% + 2mph over the limit (i.e. 35 in a 30mph zone).

When we started, we all had our own ideas on speeding hotspots. By systematically measuring speeds we’ve discovered that some roads are scary, but speed is a perception not a fact. The width of a road, lack of pavement, maybe compounded by parked vehicles, and the loudness of traffic bouncing off walls – these can all increase a feeling of danger and speed.

It’s very easy to exceed the speed limit. Speed can creep up, especially downhill, unless you take steps to slow down. We hope that the presence of Community Speedwatch in Freshwater can be a timely reminder to slow down, and to help keep our community safe.

Volunteer for FYTbus

Evenifyoucan’tdriveyoucanmakearealdifferenceasa volunteerPassengerAssistant.PAsarethe“cabin-crew” for FYTbus on our scheduled week-dayservicesandtheirrole includeswelcomingpassengerstothebusandhelpingwith theirseatbeltsandanyluggage(orshopping).Theonly thingmissing isthatthere’snodrinksserviceonboard! PAs alsocollect fares anddonations andassistthedriver withpick-upanddropoffpoints.

FYTbus Community Bus Services

Our scheduled weekday morning services can be used by anyone. The standard adult fare is £2.50 but travel is free if you have a concessionary bus pass. and if you have a FYTpass , available at our office, your fare will be just £1.00. We will help you on and off the bus with your shopping.

Medical Trips are available to help you reach appointments in Newport (£15.00) or at Brookside Health Centre, (£7.50) and can be booked via our website or by phoning the office.

Our wheelchair accessible car can convey a disabled passenger, and their carer if required, on medical trips in their own wheelchair.

Saturday shopping trips to Newport are available at two-weekly intervals to the Newport shops and Waitrose at East Cowes. This month’s door-to-door shopping trips will run on January 14 th and January 28th please ring us to book.

To Volunteer or to book medical or shopping trips call us on 01983 752917 on weekday mornings.

Wight Community Access - FYTbus, Winchester House, The Broadway, Totland Bay. PO39 0AX Web: www.fytbus.org.uk Email: info@fytbus.org.uk