Bench Disappears

It appears that some little loves have amused themselves by nicking a bench from Studland Common. The bench had previously been in the middle of the area of the Pleasure Grounds in Milford on Sea and was a popular meeting place for dog walkers.

As it is extremely unlikely the bench will be recovered or mysteriously replaced in the dark of night, many local people feel that it is important to replace the seat.  Stepping up to the plate is Milford on Sea resident, Amanda Tanner, who has started a campaign to raise the funds for a replacement. The Parish Council have estimated it will cost £300, so Amanda has set about trying to raise the funds.

We know times are tough, but if you are willing to donate, contributions can be put through Amanda’s door (at Woodside, Pless Road) or dropped into Hugh Whitlock’s office, clearly marked “Bench”.  Alternatively please contact Amanda Tanner on 01590 645119, or amandatanner@sky.com

Lionel’s up in the air

We have heard that Lionel Illgner is jumping out of a plane.  Rather him than me!  Lionel & his wife Nici, are busy people in the village, running three Milford on Sea businesses, ‘Hardware@Milford’ (the shop that has everything for home DIY jobs!) and ‘Jaws & Paws & Claws’ (the pet shop) in the village, they also own the bed & breakfast at Carrington Farmhouse Cottage. 

My wife tried to organise a ‘Skydive’ for me once, but when she realised I would be given a parachute she lost interest. 

Anyway, Lionel’s Charity Tandem Skydive is on the 25th September, and in aid of Leukaemia Busters.  I f you fancy chipping in a pound or two I know he would be very grateful.  If you want to donate, you can do so here:
www.justgiving.com/Lionel-Illgner

www.skydivesouthcoast.co.uk

www.hardwareatmilford.co.uk

Tel: 01590 641684

A new Zest in the village

We heard of a new business in the village this week.  Zest Services have been set up by a young local couple who live MIlford on Sea.  Carley & Andy are now offering home cleaning, or domestic help services to local people.  To keep things simple all round they have a fixed price structure, and to give additional value they have a loyalty scheme which offers ‘freebie’ services for continued custom.  In addition to cleaning, they also undertake other services as well (for example ironing, washing, shopping, gardening, basic handyman services etc), as well as commercial cleaning  for Offices and shops, etc.

Andy said “We aim to give a high quality service that customers are happy with and will tell their friends about.  We would be happy to offer your readers a 10% discount on their first clean and with our already low rates, that is great value."

If you would like to find out more about Zest Cleaning, their prices & offers, please take a look at their website.

www.zest-services.com

info@zest-services.com | Tel: 07543 294830

The Milford Beach Sign Mystery

We received a report this week that the ‘Tourist Information Sign’ in Sea Road car park contained a picture of a strange beach. Naturally I felt compelled to investigate, but not compelled enough to go and look myself. Instead I cajoled my long suffering friend in to yet another favour, by asking him if he would take a picture of the sign for me.

Although he agreed, like myself he also couldn’t be bothered to go into the village to look. He did however take a picture of the ‘Tourist Information Sign’ at The Needles Eye Café. (Where no doubt he had popped in for a fried breakfast he shouldn’t be eating.)

click image to enlarge

The picture of the sign was soon on my desk, and on taking a look I could see no problem with the picture of the beach at all. I duly went back to the whistle-blower who had given me the information in the first place, to be told the other sign is different. If she had worked out that I was too lazy to look for myself, she was far too polite to say anything.

Back to square one, I now needed a Plan B. It had also now become a personal challenge to resolve this without leaving my desk. I considered asking my wife to participate in the research, but as a policeman’s daughter, she already knew the current progress on this case, and simply suggested I got off my ample rear to look myself. (Her actual words were slightly different.) Undeterred, and immune to insults, I called my friend again. My luck was in, as he was going to buy a newspaper, so within the hour I had a picture of the Sea Road car park tourism sign. Yep, my informant was right, a picture of a beach, but certainly not Milford on Sea beach.

So, there we have it. A unknown beach on one of our tourist signs, and a confused and clueless reporter at this desk. I will do my best to sleep whilst this sand based mystery remains unresolved, but be assured, as soon as someone can explain the whole affair without me having to leave my desk, you will be the first to know.

---------------------------------------------------

Guess the Beach Competition

If you have any idea where the mystery beach may be, please ‘Add a comment’ below. I fully expect some ridiculous comments and look forward to providing some suitably ridiculous replies!

Katie's talent shines

Katie Gates, a local girl born & bred in from Milford on Sea (and also daughter of our Village butcher, David Gates from The Butchers Shop) has been given the big thumbs up by judges at the Open Mic UK auditions. Along with other impressive acts, Katie has made it through to the Regional Finals and will now be performing at the live showcases of Open Mic UK 2011.

Open Mic UK 2011 is an exciting national talent competition which searches for the UKs best singers, singer/songwriters, rappers and vocalists of all genres who perform either covers or original material.

One contestant who has evidently caught the judge’s eye is local talent  Katie Gates, now competing for a place in the National Final at The O2 in London and the chance to grab a breakthrough recording contract. Thousands of hopefuls entered nationwide and hundreds of auditionees queued patiently on the day for their turn to impress the judges. The overall winner of Open Mic UK 2011 will be offered a recording contract, with up to £30, 000 investment! They’ll also have the opportunity to tour across the UK.

Good luck Katie, it would be great to have a new recording star from Milford on Sea!

 

Listen to Katie on her Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=270225002995869&sk=yoursettings#!/pages/Katie-Gates-Open-Mic-Regional-Finalist-2011/270225002995869

www.openmicuk.co.uk

The Marine makes the Good Food Guide

Yet another Milford on Sea restaurant has made its mark on the National culinary scene.  The Marine Restaurant & Bar on the seafront in Hurst Road has been awarded an entry in ‘The Good Food Guide 2012’.  This is an excellent accolade for a restaurant that only open around one year ago.  All entries in the guide are based entirely on readers' recommendations and inspection reports, so congratulations are certainly in order.  Owner Richard, Head Chef Sam, and all of the rest of The Marine team must be extremely proud.

 

Every day it feels that Milford on Sea is fast becoming a ‘foodies heaven’.  Along with Verveine winning the ‘Hampshire Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Chef of the Year’, we also have the exciting new French restaurant ‘La Perle’, the constant high quality & AA Rosette Westover Hall Hotel & Park Lane Restaurant, the deliciously spicy Zaika Indian Restaurant, The Britannia Thai Restaurant with authentic dishes, plus the many fine pubs and cafes all serving great food to suit any taste or budget.  If there are still eating places in the village you have yet to try, go on… treat yourself to a great meal!

www.themarinerestaurant.co.uk

Carol Singers Wanted

Jan Rook at Seahorses Community Playgroup is looking for some carol singers to appear at the Seahorses Christmas Fair. 

The Fair takes place from 10am to 12 noon at the Community Centre on Saturday the 10th of December.  Along with the stalls, coffee, cakes and Father Christmas she would love for a choir or some gifted amateurs to sing some carols for the visitors.  If you & a group of friends fancy giving the day a special festive feel please get in touch with Jan.

Seahorses Community Playgroup | Jan Rook | 07801 624324

seahorses@btinternet.com

New Fundraising idea for clubs & charities

Gary Price, local businessman, and editor of The Barton Bugle, has launched ‘Peel2Save’, which is a new fundraising idea for charities, schools, clubs, churches, youth groups and other non-profit organisations to raise much needed money.

The Peel2Save fundraising card is full of local discounts and savings from more than 20 businesses including Westover Hall Hotel, Verveine, Westover Hall, La Perle, The Marine, South Lawn Hotel, Smuggler's Arms, Brittania Thai, Sears Barbers, Bon Appetit and New Seasons Florists.

 

Elliotts of Lymington, The Mill at Gordleton and Vitality Day Spa in New Milton.  Basically, the fundraiser sell the cards for £10 each and get to keep £5 from every card sold.

 

Gary aims aim to raise £50,000 for New Forest groups in his first year with this project.

If you would like to find out more, Gary is running a presentation at 41 Farm Lane South, Barton on Sea on Wednesday 14^th September between 12noon-2pm or Thursday 22^nd September between 7pm-9pm.  If you would like to go along, please let him know.

 

RSVP: gary.prince@peel2save.co.uk  or ann.henderson@peel2save.co.uk  or call 01425 629841.

www.peel2save.co.uk

Be a part of the ‘Big Wildlife Garden’

Everyone has the opportunity to help create the UK’s largest nature reserve from today – with the launch of the ‘Big Wildlife Garden’ (BWG) competition.  The competition is being run by The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society, with funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The Big Wildlife Garden competition encourages everyone to do some wildlife gardening on their doorstep.  Anyone is eligible to take part – including individuals, communities, businesses and schools – and no space is too small to be transformed; be it a window box, school playing field or retail park in a town, city or in the countryside.  There are six categories and entry is free via the BWG website www.bigwildlifegarden.org.uk 

It is hoped that, through showcasing some of the best wildlife gardens in the UK, the competition will inspire everyone to take action and turn their gardens into wildlife havens; a great way of getting active and fit.

Natalie Rogers, Wildlife Information Officer for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust says "Gardens are vitally important for wildlife and create a patchwork of habitat for local plants and animals. The Wildlife Trust's 'Living Landscapes' vision involves linking up habitats to conserve nature, and gardens will play an important role in this. Hampshire and the Island have some wonderful wildlife gardens so please enter the competition to show the UK how fabulous our two counties are for wildlife!"

Entries for the BWG competition can be submitted now. The competition closes on Sunday 20 May 2012.  Prizes include a wildlife gardening masterclass at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, where the prize-giving ceremony will take place, along with membership of the Wildlife Trust and the Royal Horticultural Society.

The BWG website contains top wildlife gardening tips and links entrants to a community of gardeners throughout the UK, with a facility to view BWG entries in their locality.  It also includes a ‘My Garden’ page where information about gardens can be uploaded and stored.  To find out more visit the BWG website www.bigwildlifegarden.org.uk

To find out more about Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust see www.hwt.org.uk

Police Alert for Mum's

Milford on Sea Police Alert: On 29th August a male possibly of Asian appearance was seen driving a silver Vauxhall Corsa, stopping in a quiet residential area and giving sweets to a young boy.

Please be aware of children's safety and report anyone acting suspiciously.  Also, please pass this information on to any Mum’s with young children you may know.

 ------------------------------------------------ 

Andy Brown | PCSO 13355

Safer Neighbourhoods Team | Lymington Police Station | SO41 9GH

External Tel: 0845 045 45 45

Mobile Tel: 07901102272 

andrew_brown@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

Have you seen any nude sunbathers recently?

At last, a bright sunny summer day welcomed my early awakening in glorious Milford on Sea. Having walked & fed the dogs, I was waiting for my wife to arise from her slumbers to let me know what I was doing today. As I patiently waited for her dreams of me to cease, I thought it might be interesting to find out a bit more about our Milford on Sea village beaches from my friends at Google. I started with ‘Paddys Gap’ and identified a ‘smuggling connection’. Point noted to research at a later time. I then did a search for ‘Taddiford Gap’. As some of you may know there is a Second World War pillbox on the cliff top, and during World War 2 the gap was 'plugged' with the concrete obstacles commonly known as 'dragons teeth'. There are still a few remains of the anti-tank defences (dragons teeth), some of which have now fallen to the beach from the eroding cliffs. 

A bit more delving and I found out a bit more than I had expected. Oooo, it appears I had found an unofficial local nudist beach! I felt like Kojak when he had just latched onto an unexpected case, other than I was eating a KitKat rather than a lollipop. I obviously now had a choice, continue looking into information about the local beaches, or research the nudist bit a little more. I think you probably know what I decided.

I have to say, on previous walks on Taddiford Gap beach I had never seen any exposed ‘wobbly bits’. I can’t make up my mind if I was fortunate or not, however my intrepid research needed to continue. One web search revealed the statement that: ‘Taddiford Gap is an unofficial naturist beach. The area to the west of the access point is much favoured by nudists. Naturists might also learn something about wildlife in the area’. Good point, I suppose a bit of bird watching whilst nude sunbathing can be educational. 

I also found out that a couple of years ago the British Naturism website was requested to remove the beaches location from their directory of naturist beaches. The request had been made by Longdown Management Ltd, on behalf of the landowners of this beach (The Trustees of the Barker-Mill Discretionary Trust.) Reading one of the web entries, I have to say I did giggle immaturely when they mentioned the ‘Pay & Display’ car park! Why is it that any beach with a name containing ‘Gap’, and an association with nudists, just gets me sniggering like a five year old.

Milford on Sea of course need more signs on the seafront, so how about one saying; ‘Attention: Nude bathing is prohibited, but encouraged’.

 

Now, I have never been, or even knowingly known a naturist, so to find out more I felt we had to visit to research the beach in person. I suggested to my wife that we should go ‘under cover’ to blend in. I have never seen her so horrified! Her complexion changed from warm pink to stark white, her mouth dried in front of my eyes and she wobbled as if her legs were about to give way. It was obvious this plan was not going to work.

Oh well, I would need to diet before going anyway. So for now, I think I will pop down to Boots for a heavy duty body razor and some sun cream oil in preparation for next summer.

All Total Voice Need is Love



click to enlarge

Total Voice, our very own Milford on Sea village choir are holding a very special charity concert on the 15th October.  The concert will be a celebration of songs about love and friendship with performances from the adult and children's choirs as well as solos and smaller groups. 

The concert is being held to raise money towards parental rooms at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton.  Choir leader Christine Mulgrew said "The charity we are supporting is very close to my heart as the Neonatal Unit took care of my little boy Archie who was born in February this year.  Archie was in the unit for just a few days before coming home with us but the care we received was outstanding and I really wanted to do something to say thank you.  I also know there are other families within the choir whose children or grandchildren have been taken care of by the Neonatal Unit at Princess Anne Hospital so it means a lot to us.  Do come along and support us, as ever we promise a night of great songs and performances packed with fun and enthusiasm.”

The Princess Anne Hospital provides specialist care to around 600 sick term and pre term (premature) new born babies a year from Southampton, Bournemouth, Poole, Chichester, Dorchester, Basingstoke, Isle of Wight, Salisbury, Winchester and the Channel Islands - with such a wide-spread 'catchment' many parents do not have the option to go home.  The Neonatal Unit has already raised £75,000 towards a new suite of parental rooms, Christine aims to bring them even closer to their £100,000 target.

Christine is also looking for sponsors, raffle prizes and donations.  Perhaps you have a Beach Hut and would be willing to offer a week’s use for a raffle prize?  Maybe you could take someone out on your boat?  Ideally she would like some unusual raffle prizes that people would really, really want, as well as the delicious meals from our lovely local restaurants!  So if you fancy getting involve please drop her an e-mail.

Total Voice are also performing a concert for the RNLI on Sat 24th September in the Community Centre.

Tickets are now on sale at Gwen’s in the High Street and buying one will give you a great night out, whilst doing good for those less fortunate.

-----------------------------------------------------

If you are able to help with any of the above please contact Christine Mulgrew on 07824 388263, or email: info@totalvoice.co.uk  |  www.totalvoice.co.uk

click image to enlarge