Lunch for the Carnival

Many of you are aware and were saddened that the carnival procession did not take place in 2011. However, the VCC are delighted to announce that a subcommittee has been formed to assist the Milford on Sea Village Community Committee to organise and run the procession in 2012.

They are in the process of organising and fundraising for the 2012 procession and are getting great support from the local community which is very encouraging.

The committee are delighted to inform you that their second fundraising event is the 'March First Friday Charity Lunch' held at Milford Community Centre. Some of you may know all about the First Friday Lunches that are organised by dedicated team of volunteers and raise money to support many charities.

The team would love to see as many of you as possible on Friday 2nd March 2012 at 1pm where you can feast on a main course and desert for only £4.50 per person.

Everyone is very welcome and no booking is necessary. Just show up, have a tasty meal and support a local community event.

If you would like further details about the First Friday Lunch Club or helping to support the carnival procession please do not hesitate in contacting Sean Reeves of Hugh Whitlock Solicitors at sean@hwsolicitors.com

NHS Protest from Milford!

We have heard that a protest song has been published on You Tube by a group of Milford on Sea village residents.  Your editor is naturally A-political, based mainly on his inability to understand grown up issues.

However, Joey has explained the reason for their song: “As the health professions one by one came out in opposition Alan Lansley’s deeply divisive Health and Social Care (“NHS reform”) Bill, most people in England hadn’t a clue what the row was really all about. So, lifelong health service researcher, John Gabby decided to try and help put that right by writing a catchy song about all the things that incensed him about the Bill.”

The catchy song was created in the kitchen on a cold Milford on Sea night by John, his daughter Joey Owen, accompanied by her husband Mark, brother Michael, and neighbour Nick Gill.  Nick then mixed the song the next day, while John and his wife Andrée le May, a nurse, added the graphics. 

Early next morning, February 7^th, the video was on You Tube.  Within a week, the ‘Song for Lansley and His Pals’ had nearly 8000 views, and was already being hailed on the internet as the campaign song for the opponents of the Bill.

The ‘Gabbay family and friends team’ have designed the song to convey their main concerns about the proposed reforms of the health service.  The video describes how, in their view, the NHS will become fragmented, how private corporations will undermine the control intended for GPs, and how high quality patient care will eventually cease to be freely available.

If you fancy listening to the song please click below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7onNFNKH6Y

HELP!

With Food Week fast approaching, and free programmes arriving next week for everybody,  we are now starting to look for helpers! 

This year we are giving Milford on Sea Food Week a focal point by have the ‘Shorefield Trailer’ on the village green as a ‘Food Week Information Centre’.  This will give locals and visitors somewhere to go the collect a programme and to find out what is happening. 

We already know we will need a large volunteer team to cover the ‘Food Week Information Centre’, as the trailer will be arriving to open every day as follows:

Food Week Information Centre Opening Times:
Good Friday 6th April until Sunday 15th April
AM Shift: 10am to 1pm – PM Shift: 1pm to 4pm.

The plan is to have two shifts a day, with at least two people on each shift.  It would be great if anyone out there would be willing to do a few shifts?

Amanda Tanner has kindly been pressganged volunteered to coordinate the rota for us, so if you are happy to do some shifts, (and/or can persuade some of your friends to get involved as well!), can you please drop her a line to let her know.  (She will be very relieved, as she is worried we won’t get the quantity of volunteers we need!) 

Contact details: Amanda Tanner: amandatanner@sky.com

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Food Week Volunteer Team: If you are not already on our ‘Volunteer List’, and would like to help out for a few hours at various events, please feel free to let me have you details:

david@milfordonsea.org

Youth Drama Group is Back

We have been informed that the Milford Youth Group's Drama and Film Making Project is finally back!

Last Summer's workshops and the final event that took place last Autumn and were a great success .  The young participants showcased their performance and screen production skills to a wide audience from Milford's community, while revealing plenty of their views and ideas on what it is to be young in Milford on Sea in 2012.

Needless to say it was quite an insight for some of the audience's members!  The bridging of young and old was great to see, when followed by some yummy cake and tea and a talk laid on by the young group themselves.

The youth group are now running another project for two age groups once a week at the Community Centre with massive thanks to Artswork and Hampshire County Council who have awarded the grant to make it possible.

For extra inspiration the project will also involve trips and workshops at Winchester University's Performing Arts Centre, visits to youth clubs in Southampton, and cultural trips to places such as Medina Mosque and Arts Asia.

The project is FREE to join (however donations are always welcome to support village youth work), and will run on a Wednesday from 4:.30pm until 6pm (for school yrs 5 and 6) and 6.15pm until 7.30pm (for school years 7 to 10).

If you are interested in joining please contact Joey at the youth group, 01590 644961 or 07557 658495, or email joeyruthowen@yahoo.co.uk

Winter at Hurst Castle

Maintaining Hurst Castle is, as you may imagine, quite a complex and ongoing job.  Being at the end of end of the spit in Milford on Sea it is also not the most accessible of locations in winter.

English Heritage, who own the castle, have employed contractors to undertake some major renovations this winter.  The castle is managed by Sean, Mary & Jason of Hurst Castle Ferries and this winter has been a busy time for all of them and their team.

Amongst the larger jobs was making safe and rebuilding parts of the searchlight emplacement at the end of the West Wing, Re-rendering the emplacement on the South side of the West Wing, replacing the rotten timber framework that supported the steps outside the centre keep, rebuilding the chimney above the guardroom, plus some smaller jobs.  The work was awarded to Banks builders from the I.O.W. and Hurst Ferries have been employed ferrying men and materials from Yarmouth.  The main bulk of materials and scaffolding were transported down the beach by the Hurst Ferry tractor and trailer, with over 30 ton delivered so far.  The work is progressing well and will be completed by mid-March.

There was also funding for exterior painting which was undertaken by the ferry staff and will recommence as soon as the weather warms up a little.

The latest really good news is that funding has also been acquired for a new generator to replace the 40 year old Lister.  The Contract has been awarded to Hurst Castle Ferries and the work has to be completed by 31st March.  This is tight for time but they are optimistic it can be completed.  The new set is a 40kva prime power generator powered by a John Deere diesel all in an acoustic container.

Apart from the above works, the ferry team have now almost finished the winter fleet refits and are currently working ferrying men and materials to The Needles and Nab Tower lighthouses.

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Friends of Hurst 

The castle is helped on a regular basis by the Friends of Hurst Castle.  The friends were was formed in 1986 to act as a support group.  At that time the Castle was managed by English Heritage, but since May 1996 there has been joint management; with English Heritage still in charge of the fabric of the building and general policies and the Local Management, Hurst Castle Services, running the everyday management and services.

The Friends’ aim is still to support in any way they can: physically and financially with any project, enhancement of the building, to assist educationally and in any research that they can. We arrange social events and from time to time Newsletters for our Members. 

Hurst Castle Ferries offer a 10% discount to Members when buying season tickets and free passage to any Friends who are going to work at the Castle. The Friends have a workshop at the far end of the West Wing for leaving belongings, tools, artefacts, etc. and for holding meetings. There is also a BBQ facility on arrangement with the Committee. 

The friends also produce the Hurst Tidings Newsletter, where members can rRead all the latest news from the Friends of Hurst Castle.

There is also a ‘Monday Volunteer Working Party’, which is a regular group of Friends and Association of Lighthouse Keepers members who volunteer at the Castle every Monday, working on restoration projects such as the Garrison Theatre, the Egypt Point optic and the Association of Lighthouse Keepers' room.  The Friends of Hurst Castle are also currently working on the following on-going projects: Castle Gardens, Exhibitions, Painting, Workshop and Castle Guiding. 

Annual Membership is £12 for a Single member or £19 for Couples.

If you would like to join for a very enjoyable and social day at the Castle (with free ferry and tea to all volunteers!) please contact: Dinah Le May on 01590 674921 or e-mail her at:

dinahscott@fsmail.net 

There is an Elephant in the Village

Local Milford on Sea musician, Alex Hall, has launched a new single called 'Boom boom boom', under the stage name of ‘Elephant’.  Having listened to the track a few times now I have to say it is an enjoyably catchy number that just makes you want to smile.

You can hear the track below.  If you like it, the track is available online as a ‘name your price’ download, in other words you just pay what you like for it.

The accompanying video for Alex’s latest track, ‘Boom, Boom, Boom’, was filmed in the village, with the help of another village resident, Leighton Allen.

The video features The Smugglers Inn, Mark at The Village News, a brief visit to The Village Charity Shop (Where a lady customer looks quite taken aback!) and a wander along the High Street to New Seasons Florists.

Alex has grown up in Milford on Sea and is very proud of the village and the community he is part of.  Today he is a self-produced independent singer songwriter and naturally hopes his new track is enjoyed by many people.  He does shows around the UK and can even be occasionally found busking in Lymington.

To hear Alex’s (As ‘Elephant’) latest track please click here

To buy the track: please click here 

To visit Elephant's Facebook Page: please click here

Food Week Programme Announced

The full seven day programme for Milford on Sea Food Week has now been announced, you can view each day’s activities on the link at the bottom of this article.

A Free printed programme will also be available in the village shops from the end of February.  Tickets are also now on sale for all major events in the online ticket office.

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 is 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.

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’.

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 50 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 and The Milford Strummers as they shop.

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

To view the Full Food Week Programme, please click link: www.milfordonseafoodweek.org/whats-on

Buy Tickets now: www.milfordonseafoodweek.ticketsource.co.uk

New Cookery School in Village

Local chef, Christian Rivron, has open a new Cookery School in Milford on Sea.  The Granary Kitchen is in Newlands Manor Farm, and the first solo business venture for this award winning chef.  Christian is now bringing his skills from the kitchen to the classroom by offering a programme of courses, including subjects such as: Deserts & Pastries, Meat, Fish & Shellfish, Bread Baking, Vegetarian Meals and Soup, Bread & Dressings. (All can be viewed and booked on The Granary website.)

Christian has designed The Granary Kitchen Cookery School to mimic the relaxed feeling of cooking in your own home.  Christian aims to use the incredible range of fresh local & seasonal produce available throughout the New Forest, Hampshire and Dorset to their full potential.  The Granary Kitchen has also become a member of the New Forest Marque.

Starting the day with a coffee on the sofa, participants will then cooking a variety of dishes in a homely kitchen, before enjoying the prepared meal around the dining table.

All standards of cooks are welcome, from the novice gaining confidence in cooking, to an experienced cook looking to broaden their knowledge of different produce and techniques.  All ‘students’ help out and get a ‘hands on’ experience using easy to follow & understandable instructions.  The day is relaxed and informal as you learn new skills, techniques & tips from the professional world of cooking.  The cookery school aims to increase your interest in cooking & food, and to encourage people to try something different as they broaden their knowledge and experience for cooking at home.  At the end of the course there are take away recipe card for all dishes made on the day.

Already in the village we have the excellent Cookery Day’s offered by Dave Wykes, Hampshire Chef of the Year at Verveine.  Dave provides an fine insight into both the wonders of fish and his extraordinarily creative culinary mind.  Local people are now fortunate to have yet another opportunity to see inside the world of another professional chef.

The Granary Kitchen also offers Private Dining, where Christian can cook for you in your own home.  How impressive would that be having a professional chef cooking for your dinner party.  I might even consider giving my wife a night off!

www.thegranarykitchen.com

You can contact Christian on: 01590 673040 or at: christian@thegranarykitchen.com

www.verveine.co.uk

Piers is a National Champion

click image to enlarge

Milford on Sea now has a National hockey champion living in the village. Piers Everleigh was part of the winning Havant Hockey Club team at the end of January.  (Piers is the son of Garry Everleigh, local resident, forager and operator of Puffin Cruises in Lymington.)

The U16 Havant Hockey Club team played and won all six games in the National Indoor Championship tournament at Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton 21^st/22^nd January 2012.  A very successful weekend saw the lads of U16 Havant Hockey Club team become the only team in the two pools to win all of their pool matches.  In the semi-final the Havant boys beat Canterbury, who are the reigning National Champions. The final was against Ashmoor Hockey Club (National Schools Indoor Champions) with Havant running out 2-1 winners to become crowned U16 Boys Clubs National Indoor Champions.

Piers also plays for the County and  SE England Wessex Leopards. Nice one Piers!

Havant Hockey Club Team: Piers Eveleigh, Laurie Bowden, JJ Brown, Joe Budgen, Josh Darlington, David Jones, Tom Lavery, Ethan Levy, Robbie Mansell, Ollie Nail, Tom Penlington. Coach: David Faulkner.

Garry forages with The Hungry Sailors

A number of you may have seen local Milford on Sea resident, Garry Eveleigh, on afternoon TV on Thursday 26^th January.  Garry is a well know character across the New Forest being both a forager and operator of Puffin Cruise in Lymington.  He is also known as 'The Wild Cook' and he forages for ingredients for many of his own recipes.  Not being busy enough!, he also forages for the kitchens at the impressive new restaurant/hotel The Pig in Brockenhurst, as well as providing foraging walks for guests at the luxury Limewood Hotel, in Lyndhurst in the heart of the New Forest.

Garry’s recent TV appearance was on the current ITV series of the ‘The Hungry Sailors’.  The show features an old friend of the village, Dick Strawbridge.  Dick was the headline celebrity at Milford on Sea Food Week in 2011, where he enthralled an audience of around 150 in his show; ‘An Evening with Dick Strawbridge’.  During the show Dick cooked a delicious full meal, interspersed with witty stories and anecdotes.  His skills in the kitchen are pretty well known since he made the final of the BBC series Celebrity Master Chef.

In ‘The Hungry Sailors’, Dick is joined by his son James on a sailing voyage around the south coast of Britain. James himself appears a decent cook, as well as a treat for the lady viewers. (I feel a bit odd having just written that!) 

During the programme the guys stop to meet local producers an interesting people, before cooking a meal from what they discover. (Sadly they used Lymington Harbour, rather than coming into Keyhaven.)  Garry took them to Hurst Spit where they foraged mainly for seaweeds such as samphire, laver weed, sea beet and sea purslane.  He also has a friend with a license to forage for gulls eggs.  Foraging complete, they set up a stove and using the ingredients found, cooked and tucked into a ‘Gull's Egg Tortilla’ on the water edge.

Garry will be demonstrating the type of wild edible food he collects, with various of his cooked creations, during this year’s Milford on Sea Food Week.  Come along to meet him, we can guarantee you will find out lots about the edible free fare only a short distance from your door.

To find out more about The Hungry Sailors’ TV Show, which is on ITV at 4pm, please hit the link below:
www.itv.com/food/programmes/hungry-sailors

You can also visit Garry's website here: www.garryeveleigh.com 

Gruffalo at the Library

As well as providing the services normally associated with a library, our own village establishment of books, provide a lot more in Milford on Sea.  As many rural and village location lose their libraries, it is good to see ours go from strength to strength.  The team have even set up a Facebook page which can be reached using the link at the end of this article.

Toddlertime already keeps kid’s entertained on the first Friday of the month, and on 16^th February there will be an afternoon of free ‘Gruffalo fun and games’ for the village little ones.  Not forgetting the adults, Painting and Jewellery Workshops days are also planned in the diary. 

I guess like most people, I was unaware that National Love Library Day is on 4^th February.  Should you find yourself in the village between 10am to 12noon it may be worth popping in, as there will be cakes on sale from the WI and a free prize draw.  The kids (over 4) are not forgotten either, as they will be enjoying a ‘Bear Hut’ at 11.30am.  Why not go along?

To see what’s on at the library, please visit:

www.milfordonseacalendar.org

www.facebook.com/milfordonsea.library

Do you enjoy the guitar?

Like me, I suspect many of you can remember you parents or grandparents telling you about The Four Tops and Mungo Jerry.  Well, Phil Braithwaite has performed along such bands and he will be visiting Milford on Sea village later this month.

Phil is a leading session guitarist and teacher, and he will be ‘In Session’ providing the opportunity to listen to, and learn from, an expert musician.  This event is a chance for guitarists of all ages and abilities to learn from a master and even if you can't strum a single chord, you're welcome to come along and listen. 

Tickets are £7.50 and include some refreshments, abd the session takes place at 7.30pm on Saturday 25th February 2012 in the Guide Hut.

Tickets are available from Total Voice, email info@totalvoice.co.uk or call 07824 966912 or email richard@milfordstrummers.co.uk

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:

www.milfordonseafoodweek.org

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

www.ticketsource.co.uk/milfordonseafoodweek 

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.

Don’t get nicked!

click image to enlarge

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

click image to enlarge

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.

cate@wordaction.co.uk

www.wordaction.co.uk