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Thursday 26 January 2012

Village Voice Useful Numbers

Sue from the Village Voice has been in touch to say she has had a bad day at the office!  To explain; one column on the useful numbers page in the latest edition of The Village Voice has slipped slightly, so a lot of the numbers are incorrect. (Desmond Swayne cannot be reached by dialling 999!)

She is busy beating herself up for the error, and sends her apologies to all readers.  Normal service will be resumed in the next edition!

Seven great days for ‘Foodies’!

Don't miss Milford on Sea Food Week: 9th April to 15th April 2012

Milford on Sea is fast becoming recognised as the South coast’s ‘Foodie Heaven by the Sea!’. This small seaside village boasts over twenty places to eat, offering everything from fine dining to boutique cafés. It is also a vibrant village with an extremely active community spirit, and is home to the ‘Hampshire Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Hampshire Chef of the Year’.

Food Week is a celebration about local food, with all corners of the community taking part.  The event is designed to for people to have a lot of fun, and at the same time establish Milford on Sea as a ‘Foodie Destination’, which will create long-term sustainability for the village centre shops and its restaurants, for the benefit of local residents and visitors alike.

From Easter Bank Holiday Monday Milford on Sea Food Week celebrates all that is great about food for an entire seven days.  This New Forest seaside village is blessed with great places to eat and surrounded by quality local producers, so what better way to celebrate this, than to have an entire week dedicated to the joys of food!

Everyone at every age is welcome, and Milford on Sea Food Week has over 100 activities including: Themed Dining Evenings, Professional Cookery Theatre, Celebrity Shows, Cooking Demonstrations, Educational Talks, Film Shows, Cookery Competitions, Wine Tastings, Dining Offers, Kid's Events & a large Sunday Food Market, all are organised by local organisations, clubs, businesses and individuals.  A Programme detailing all of the events will soon be on sale in the village shops.

This year’s Food Week celebrity shows include ‘An Evening with Tom Kerridge’, a two star Michelin chef and TV personality, a ‘Comedy & Cake Night’ starring TV & radio comedian Jo Caulfield and the ever popular ‘Big Cook Off’ between top chefs in the local area. The ‘Great Dining Bus’ is also taking to the road, transporting diners to eat a different course in four village restaurants.  Now that really is a dining experience with a difference!  Tickets for the large events are available from the online ‘Food Week Ticket Office’ as well as in the village.

All of the village restaurants are running themed evenings & special offers throughout the week.  There is also a full programme of events to entertain the kid’s on half-term holiday. The professional Cookery Theatre provides a varied programme of events and activities that should excite every ‘foodie’.

On the final Sunday, the Food Market takes centre stage with over 60 stalls on the village green & along the High Street.  Local producers from throughout the New Forest will be selling tasty treats, and various types of hot food will be available.  You can also visit the many village shops that will be open.  Last year over 6000 people attended the Food Market, and this year all visitors will be entertained by a jazz quartet as they shop.

Food Week is co-ordinated by a small dedicated group of volunteers who provide their expertise and time for free. We are also fortunate to have a generous group of sponsors & supporters. Any income generated by Food Week is only used to cover promotional costs, and no fees or expenses are taken by any of the Food Week organisers. Food Week is not a fundraising event, however it is ‘not for profit’ and we are delighted to support local charities from any profits that are made.

David Long one of the organising team said “Milford on Sea is a great place to eat and a fun place to visit, so we wanted to celebrate this with a series of varied food related events around the village for all locals & visitors to enjoy and learn.  Why not come & join in the fun!”

Our event is truly ‘By the community, for the community’.

To find out more please visit:

BUY YOUR TICKET TODAY!  To see tickets now on sale please visit:

New Seafront Houses Approved

A prime seafront site has been granted planning permission in Milford on Sea.  New Forest planners have approved that the old NHS care home site on the cliff top at Ravenhurst, Ravens Way, Milford on Sea can be developed as four detached luxury homes.

This former home for people with learning difficulties has been vacant for the last three years since the NHS Trust had moved the former residents to other premises in the District more suited to their present day needs.

The new development will be built by Pennyfarthing Homes with the existing dilapidated buildings on the site to be demolished to be replaced with four contemporary designed two-storey detached houses that will enjoy spectacular panoramic sea views of Christchurch Bay and the Isle of Wight.

This planning permission comes after an earlier appeal for 13 houses on the site was dismissed by a Government Inspector in November 2010.  That scheme was considered to have had adversely affected the setting of the nearby landmark building, ‘The White House’, a grade II listed building. In granting planning permission for the four modern seaside residences New Forest planners were satisfied that the revised proposal would preserve the setting of The White House and would maintain the spacious appearance of this cliff-top location.

The proposal generated a requirement for the provision of two affordable dwellings to be provided.  Normally the local authority would seek these to be provided on-site.  However Pennyfarthing have offered to provide 3 affordable family homes on one of their other sites at 29 Keyhaven Road in Milford-on-Sea, close to the village shops and facilities.  The New Forest District Council considered this a suitable offer.

Faster Broadband in Village

BT have announced that Milford on Sea had had an upgrade to make available download speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) – more than double the speed previously available from BT.

Around 30,000 more homes and businesses in Hampshire have now benefited from access to faster broadband; Hartley Wintney, Alresford, Bransgore, Medstead, Twyford, Hook, Lee-on-Solent and Milford on Sea.

This investment in the copper network is in addition to BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out of fibre-based broadband, which will bring even faster speeds to around two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2014.

Saturday 14 January 2012

Don’t get nicked!

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There I was, wandering down the High Street minding my own business, when I spotted an innocent car parked on what I understand is technically called the ‘funny paved island thing’ on the outer edge of the parking spaces outside of the Co-op.  I say, innocent, because I was under the impression that this was a legitimate parking space.  In fact, I am sure someone in a grown up position in village had told me that.  But true to form, I can’t remember who it was.

Well, the traffic warden who must have only recently passed by thought differently, and they had awarded the car with one of their special self-adhesive plastic wallets, containing a delightful parking ticket.  I then spotted a couple of police officers sitting in a car nearby, so I stopped for a chat.  They had also seen the ticket being awarded and thought it was probably a ‘traffic calming island’ rather than for parking.

I then decided I would wander to the Parish Council to see if I could clarify the situation.  However, I then couldn’t be bothered, and went for some tea and cake in the village instead.

So there you have it, no clarity on the parking situation and some badly researched useless information. (Up to par for these pages really.)  I guess the conclusion is, park at your peril!

Arts & Music Festival AGM


Everyone is invited to the Milford on Sea Arts & Music Festival  AGM next Wednesday (18th January) at 6pm in the Community Centre.

Feel free to come along if you are interested to hear how the festival is progressing.

If anyone wants to make any comments or representations please contact Sean below:
Tel: 01590 644777 | sean@hwsolicitors.com

New Writer’s Café

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If you are interested in writing there is now an informal gathering of village writers of all abilities in Inger-Lise’s Coffee Shop in the High Street, Milford on Sea every Tuesday afternoon.

The hour get together of the ‘Writer’s Café’ is from 3.30pm to 4.30pm and provides an opportunity to meet other writers, share information and basically enjoy a social get together for the price of a cuppa. (and if you are in the mood, perhaps a slice of cake!)

The organiser, Cate Sweeney said “Sometimes we do a brief exercise or share a short piece we’ve written, but mostly it’s a social thing, it gets us writers out!  Everyone is welcome to just come along, and it’s free, too!”

Cate is a published author, who also runs some formal writing courses at the Community Centre, there are a few places left if you are be interested.

If you would like to contact Cate her e-mail is below, or of course just pop along to Inger-Lise’s Coffee Shop any Tuesday afternoon.

www.wordaction.co.uk

Story of Bay Trees

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A few months ago Sarah & Mark Clayson took over The Bay Trees B&B in Milford on Sea High Street.  They are very keen to be involved in village life and Sarah is already involved in Food Week this year.

They are also very interested to learn about the history of The Bay Trees building and no doubt the many stories that people have.  So far they have heard about flooding in Milford on Sea, the buildings various reincarnations of restaurant, café & cake shop, and now of course it current life as a bed & breakfast.

Sarah & Mark would love to build up a photographic portfolio of stories and memories in relation to The Bay Trees formally known as Bridge House.  They have already joined the impressively informative Milford on Sea Historical Society, who I am sure can provide a lot of history for them.

If you have any personal or village stories to share, or photographs that you are willing to lend (they can to scan them and give back the originals) they would both be very grateful.

Please contact Sarah on:
01590 642186 | sarah.clayson@btinternet.com, or just call in when you are passing.

Chest Freezer Anyone?

The volunteer cooks at the Community Centre are in need of a chest freezer.  The valiant kitchen team provide the catering for many events in the Community Centre throughout the year, and it would really help them out if they had further storage for frozen food.

I did think I had this one sorted myself.  I was going to offer the services of a few people I know in the village, but then I realised they were after a 'chest freezer' and not an 'old geezer'.

Should you have a chest freezer you no longer require, or are feeling particularly generous and fancy sponsoring one, please contact Sue Whitlock on:
01590 643404 or susan@hwsolicitors.com


Singing Superstars!

Young singers in the village have an opportunity to join in a singing workshop run by professional singing teacher, Christine Mulgrew, who all runs the successful Total Voice Choir in the village.

The workshop will focus on singing skills, performing on stage, using a microphone and singing in harmony.  It sounds like it will be a bit of fun and likely to sell out quickly.

The workshop is on Saturday 4th February at the Guide Hut.  The cost is £20 and you can book by contacting Christine on:
0845 900 5929 or info@totalvoice.co.uk

www.totalvoice.co.uk

Charity Shop Helpers

Our busy and vibrant Village Charity Shop is looking for volunteers to do a few hours helping out serving in the shop.  It is a great place to meet people and have a good time.

Cover is required on regular or occasional basis throughout the year. 

Also, Shop Manager, Judit is taking a well deserved holiday for a couple of weeks in February and some cover is still needed for parts of those weeks.

If you can lend a hand please contact: Sue Whitlock on:
01590 643404 or susan@hwsolicitors.com

Friday 6 January 2012

Go on, get involved!

The events and activities for the Food Week programme are now almost complete. However it is not too late to get involved if you would like to.

If you have a cooking skill you would like to demonstrate, or are a organisation, club or society who would like to get involved in any way, please just drop me a line at the e-mail address below.

The Food Week Ticket Office is now open and contains lots of the main events we are running during Food Week.

If you fancy taking a look please just hit the ‘Ticket Office link’ on the Food Week website below.  Best to get your tickets before the events sell out.

david@milfordonsea.org

Local Artist in London Exhibition

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Local pastel artist Barbara Rousseau has had her painting of a “Storm over Dubrovnik” accepted for exhibition at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London from 14th to 25th February 2012 by the Pastel Society. Her work was selected for exhibition from amongst hundreds of entries.

Barbara has previously won the Society of All Artists (SAA) Artist of the Year competition in 2006, however she looks on this accolade by fellow pastelists to exhibit in London as the pinnacle of her career.

Barbara will be exhibiting more of her work at Exbury Gardens with the “Four Seasons Art Group” from 9th April to 9th June 2012.

Be a Food Week Sponsor

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To cover the cost of advertising for Milford on Sea Food Week we are delighted if anyone decides to become one of our sponsors.

This year we are offering even more for your money, with your sponsor advert appearing in 15,000 free programme which we will be delivering to homes in Milford on Sea, Barton, Lymington plus surrounding areas across the New Forest.

Your advert also appears on the Food Week website, and can be seen all year round at:

Prices are: Baby Silver £50 | Silver £75 | Gold £150

If you would like to support us with our community event please just drop me an e-mail at:
david@milfordonsea.org

http://www.milfordonseafoodweek.org/
Bank Holiday Monday 9th April to Sunday 15th April 2012

New Carnival Route

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We have received the letter below from Sean Reeves, with the arrangement details for the Milford on Sea Carnival in August 2012.

The committee have worked very hard to make it easy to join in, so if you have a club, organisation, business or even just a group of friends, why not become part of the carnival procession this year?

---------------------------------------------------
I am a member of the Milford on Sea Village Community Committee and as I am sure you are aware we did not to organise the procession this year. I have (with the assistance of four other volunteers) created a sub-committee whose specific remit is to revitalise the procession for the Milford-on-Sea August Carnival Procession 2012.

As a sub-committee we have opted for a smaller provisional route and a copy of the proposed route is enclosed for your information. This is of course is subject to the number of entrants and the council agreeing to the road closures (which they have in principle). The date for the event is 25 August 2012 and starting at 4 pm.

The theme as you can imagine can only be one thing and in keeping with the big event next year – the Olympics. We therefore are organising the ‘Milford on Sea Village Olympics’. With this in mind we are looking for entrants to enter the procession either on a motorised display float or as a walking display with the design consisting of anything to do with the Olympics.

The main committee shall also be organising (hopefully) village games on the green throughout the day and hope, like previous years, the event will be well attended.

Insurance has been arranged insurance through Events Insurance and the policy is underwritten by AXA. We are also happy to advise you that they have agreed to cover third party motorised float entrants for an administration premium of £30.00 per float subject, of course, that the vehicle is insured against all usual comprehensible risks under the Road Traffic Act. With this in mind we would be obliged for a minimum contribution of £15.00 for any motorised entrants.

On previous years we understand that you have participated in the procession and we would be very much obliged, at this early stage if you would confirm that you would be willing to participate in next year’s event. I attach a copy of our entrance form which should be returned to me together with the contribution for insurance or a copy of your insurance policy confirming that you are covered by your own insurance (if you are entering a motorised float).

We are unfortunately not able to accept any further entrants after 17 August 2012.

We look forward to hearing from you.


With kind regards

Sean Reeves

For and on behalf of Milford-on-Sea Carnival Sub-Committee

*Please contact Sean for an Entry From at:
01590 644777