Thank You from Christine & Kev

Christine & Kevin from Inger Lise's Coffee Bar in the High Street want to thank Christine Mulgrew and all the members of total voice who came into the café on Friday night after the carols.

They all had a lovely evening and raised £100 for Clic Sargent children's cancer charity - a charity close to Christine & Kevin's heart.

Also, Inger Lise's will be holding there Annual Xmas Colouring Competition to win a gingerbread house. Simply take in your children to colour the drawings Christine provides and then they can enter the competition.

I have suggested that I am quite good at colouring in, and a bit partial to gingerbread, but sadly Inger Lise's have not decided to run an adult category!

The Cedar Tree Restaurant Opens

As Tim Wedgwood & Nikki Rowe, the new owners at South Lawn settle in, they are already making striking improvements to the hotel and restaurant. (To read our previous article - click here)

The Cedar Tree at South Lawn Hotel

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In the past six weeks the entire restaurant has been redecorated and refurbished with a new modern style and fresh look. Now re-branded as The Cedar Tree, executive chef  Gavin Levens is now serving dishes of high quality.

Not to simply focus on one thing, five bedrooms have also had new bathrooms installed and there is an exciting plan in place to continually bring new life, contemporary style and personality into the whole building.

Tim & Nikki have impressive track records, yet they simply want to make South Lawn a really nice place for locals and visitors to spend their time. They now live in the village and plan to make South Lawn their crowning glory and a real treasure for everyone in the village.

Naturally, with Milford on Sea Food Week coming at Easter we are delighted to see another quality restaurant in the village.

Why not give it a try soon, and also check out the Christmas and New Year menus on their website below, they look to be great value. They are also innovative, - have you ever heard of Christmas Day diners being given turkey to take home for Boxing Day? No, me neither, it certainly shows that Tim & Nikki like to add creativity to what they do.

South Lawn Hotel & The Cedar Tree Restaurant
Lymington Road, Milford on Sea, SO41 0RF

www.southlawnhotel.co.uk

New Deli Opens in Village

A new delicatessen is opening in Milford on Sea village centre this weekend.

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This new venture is called Jones & Co. and is owned by Nick Jones, who was previously a sports coach and involved with Milford on Sea School.

Jones & Co. will provided specialist teas and coffees, cheeses, artisan breads, charcuterie and locally sourced product. The range of products are available to eat in or to take away.

The new deli is located in Church Hill where Jaws, Paws & Claws was previously, and the interior of the building has been completely refurbished to give it a sleek and contemporary feel.

We wish Nick and his team at Jones & Co. every success, and hope that rather than reduce trade for other village stores and cafés that they entice more local people to shop in, and visit the village centre for the benefit of all.

A very interesting market study once proved that the best place to open a new Chinese restaurant, is next to other successful Chinese restaurants - when this happens, both the existing and new were observed to thrive - proving that good products and services attract more customers for everyone!

Jones & Co.

4 Church Hill, Milford on Sea, SO41 0QH‎

01590 638437

www.jonesdelicatessen.co.uk

Opening Times

Monday to Friday: 8.30am to 5.30pm

Saturday: 9am to 5.30pm

Sunday: 10am to 4pm

Polar Bear Spotted on Isle of Wight

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A Polar Bear has been spotted on the Isle of Wight by an eagled eyed passenger sailing past The Needles on P&O's Adonia.

Before showing my wife the picture, I asked her: "Where do you find polar bears?", in her inimitable style she immediately said; "It depends on where you lost them." 

She's a laugh a minute to live with.

I did not give up on my intended zoological lesson and asked; "What's the difference between a polar bear and a panda?" - The girl proved herself far too sharp when she answered in mega speed; "About 1500 miles."

I had nearly lost the will to live, but I still made the mistake of attempting one last question. "Have you ever seen a man-eating polar bear the love of my life?" - "No, but down at Verveine I saw a man eating a fish."

Boom! - I was down and out.

Not sure I will bother showing her the picture after all.

Beautiful Award for Shorefield

Shorefield Country Park has been awarded a coveted Gold in the Holiday Park of the year of the Year Category at the Beautiful South Awards 2015.

Left to right –
Mark Warnes (Hoseasons)
Lesley Lawrence (Shorefield)
Bobbie Lawrence (Shorefield)
Nigel Smith (Tourism South East)
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Held at the iconic Grand Brighton Hotel last night, the presentation evening celebrated the fantastic visitor experiences available across the South and South East of England. 

Established over 20 years ago, the Beautiful South Awards reward excellence, quality, innovation and customer service. As a recipient of this prestigious accolade Shorefield is now invited to champion the South East at the national VisitEngland awards in 2016.

Commenting on the awards, Nigel Smith, CEO of Tourism South East said, “It was a fantastic evening at the Grand Hotel and a real privilege to be in the company of so many dedicated and passionate tourism businesses. The excellent quality of facilities, service and approach makes our role of promoting the South East so much easier and is one of the main reasons why we are one of the most popular UK tourist regions outside London.”

Simon Pitman, Group Head of Marketing at Shorefield Holidays added, “We are thrilled to have scooped the Gold award for Holiday Park of the Year. We pride ourselves on offering a holiday experience that provides a range of accommodation, facilities, activities and local attractions across our six parks, and we’re very thankful to the judges for presenting us with this great award.”

“We aim to continue improving and increasing the appeal of Shorefield Holidays and hope to work towards more awards like this in the near future.”

Shorefield Country Park

www.shorefield.co.uk

The White Horse Reopens Their Doors

We are delighted to report that The White Horse in Milford on Sea is open once again.

The new landlady, Liz was previously at The Plough in Tiptoe, which is still being run by her business partners Steve & Julia.

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On a quick visit this week it was nice to see that the bar areas appear to have been de-cluttered and the whole place has a fresh feel.

Today a friend visited for lunch and commented that they enjoyed a meal of excellent quality and value.

An empty closed pub is a sad sight, but thankfully an open pub lights up a village - Welcome back White Horse!

The White Horse
16 Keyhaven Road, Milford on Sea, SO41 0QY

Get Out Your Bra's Girls

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The Community Centre are supporting a bra recycling scheme which also helps Breast Cancer Charities.

BCR collect and send old bra's to developing countries to be sold in local markets. This makes them more accessible and affordable, and also supports their local economy. Any bra's donated which are past re-use are recycled.

BCR weigh all of the bras received, and give £1 per kilo to Breast Cancer Charities.

Women in developing countries are seen to have prestige if they are wearing a bra. Bras are in short supply, and are expensive, therefore most women don’t own one. It is reported that women wearing a bra are less likely to be raped, as they are seen to have prestige or come from a more affluent background.

The Community Centre now have a ‘Bra Bank’ collection point in the Community Centre Centre, so clearing out your bra drawer now has a whole new meaning. Someone’s rags could literally become another’s riches, so sort out your bra's girls.

Editors Note: Has anyone considered collecting blokes old pants?

Lisa Wins Best Farm Shop

Lisa Morgan, of Lisa's Larder has one again scooped a prestigious award at the Hampshire Life Food & Drink Awards 2015.

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Lisa's Larder is now the proud holder of The Best Farm Shop Award 2015.

Lisa is inviting everyone to celebrate this wonderful achievement with mulled wine and mince pies when her shop is next open on: Friday 4th & Saturday 5th December (9.30am to 1pm both days)

This will also be your last chance to place your Christmas Order instore, or you can place your order online.

Congratulations Lisa, it is great to see this wonderful shop just go from strength to strength. 

Lisa's Larder
Aubrey Farm, Keyhaven, SO41 0TH
www.lisaslarder.com

Spot Father Christmas and an Elf at Sea!

Sean Scott and Claire Hanscombe-Vinton from The New Forest Paddle Sport Company, and owners of the kayak and stand up paddles board hire and sales shop in the High Street, Milford on Sea, are planning to paddle from Keyhaven to Hurst Castle this Sunday, 29th November 2015.

To make sure you can spot them, they will be dressed as Father Christmas and an elf!

Steve & Claire will start paddling around 11am and are offering a prize for the best photo of them out paddling in their festive outfits.

If you take any photos and want to join in, please post your pictures on Facebook and tag The New Forest Paddle Sport Company and also Hutch Sup Wear. Then, the photo with the most likes and shares will get a Hutch T-Shirt and a Free Hire Gift Voucher from The New Forest Paddle Sport Company.

The New Forest Paddle Sport Company

46 High Street, Milford on Sea, SO41 1QD

info@thenewforestpaddlesportcompany.co.uk

www.thenewforestpaddlesportcompany.co.uk

Enid Blyton's Famous Five Discovery

A intriguing story appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 19th November 2015, which featured Roger How of Picture Perfect Picture Framers in Barnes Lane, Milford on Sea.

To explain, his mother, Mary Gernat, was an illustrator for many of the Enid Blyton Famous Five Books, and he and his brothers were often used as models in her work.

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When a customer was visiting Rogers framing shop recently she commented on a box of old paperbacks full of Enid Blyton titles. Roger told her of the story behind the covers and this prompted him to look for the original illustrations, which he found in his father’s house.

As a result, Roger is now planning an exhibition of the original illustrations that have never been seen publicly before, this is after they they has spent half a century in the loft. He also discovered some finished drafts for books at the same time.

Mrs Gernat, who lived with her engineer husband, Michael, and their sons on the Hampshire coast, illustrated Blyton books from 1963 to 1970. She stopped working in 1972, and died in 1998 at 72.

Sounds like an exhibition well worth visiting when it happens.

Reminiscence Session from Dementia Action Group

Milford on Sea Dementia Action Group are preparing to launch a twice monthly Reminiscence session to be held at the Community Centre on the second and fourth Thursday of the month between 10.30am and midday, commencing on the 14th January 2016.

The sessions will be lead by Richard Tuck who until recently was providing this popular gathering across the New Forest for Alzheimer's Society. 

Unfortunately lack of future funding meant these enjoyable groups ended in October at which time Milford on Sea Dementia Action Group stepped in. Chair of the group Jane Rowlatt commented "we recognise the great benefits reminiscence and memories bring to people living with Dementia their relatives and carers we are committed to ensuring as a Dementia Friendly Community the continued development of the reminiscence groups " We wish to thank Milford on Sea Arts and Music Festival for funding this fantastic initiative in the village.

Richard Tuck added " During my time running these Reminiscence groups I have witnessed the great benefit to both the group members with Dementia and interestingly their relatives and carers - some of whom attend the sessions and are able to participate in interesting topics - at another group we saw the spouses and carers gather during the session for a relaxing coffee and chat in a nearby coffee shop where they were able to share there experiences and gain valuable support from those around them".

For further details of the initiative do call Richard Tuck on 01590 719341 or email r.tuck3@btopenworld.com he will be happy to answer any questions and welcome new members to the group in the new year." 

Food Week is Back Next April

Milford on Sea Food Week is back from Bank Holiday Monday 28th March to Sunday 3rd April 2016 

Enjoy Food Week

During Food Week our village will be alive with Celebrity Shows, Themed Dining Evenings, Cooking Demonstrations, Educational Talks, Wine Tastings and Dining Offers. We also have lots of Kids Events to keep them entertained during the Easter Holidays, and the large & very popular Sunday Food Market gives you a chance to savour the best of local produce and street food.

Everyone of every age is included, and there are over 100 village events & shows, many of which are free, and all organised by local organisations, businesses, clubs and individuals.

Our New Forest seaside village is fortunate to be blessed with great places to eat and surrounded by quality local producers, so what better way for Milford on Sea to celebrate this than to have an entire week dedicated to the joys of food!

We hope that you can come along to enjoy the fun at as many events as possible.

Get Involved

Food Week can only operate from the generosity of time or donations from local people. Everyone is welcome to get involved:

Do a Demonstration or Talk: Any amateur local resident can demonstrate their family recipes or favourite cooking styles, or do a talk on your favourite food or wine subject. We supply the venue, you supply the skills!

Run an Event: Any local Charity, Organisation or Club can organise a food related event and this will be publicised as part of Food Week. You of course keep any funds that you raise.

Join the Team: We are totally dependant on volunteers to make things happen. We need people at event and selling raffle tickets, so if you have any time to spare for either and would like to meet some new people, please let us know.

Become a Sponsor: Local businesses can be a Gold Sponsor for £150, or Silver Sponsor for £75 - and get a high profile advert on our website and in the 30,000 free programmes circulated.

To find out more about anything above please contact David on:
david@milfordonsea.org 

Become a Friend:  Becoming a Friend of Food Week is simple, shows you care, and helps to fund events to entertain and educate. All Food Week Friends a listed on the website and in the free programmes.

You can be a Friend of Food Week as an individual or family from just £25. please click here

About Food Week

Milford on Sea Food Week is coordinated 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, friends & event organisers. 

As a 'not for profit' event, any income generated is only used to cover promotional costs and no fees or expenses are taken by any of the Food Week organisers. We are delighted to support local good causes from any profits that are made.

Every corner of the village community participate with food related events and demonstrations, including local amateur cooks, professional chefs, all village restaurants, pubs & cafés, plus many local village organisations, clubs and charities. 

Food Week is always held in Easter school holidays, and we ensure that there is lots for the family and the kids enjoy.

To promote Food Week 30,000 Free Programmes are circulated, there is a website, together with posters and banners throughout the village which leaves people in no doubt that something special is happening!

Whilst not a fund raising event, Food Week has been fortunate to generate profits and to involve local charities with events, from which around £20,000 has been raised for local village adult, youth and children charities/organisations in the past 4 events. 

Food Week is very proud that it is exclusively run by volunteers, whose sole reward is in the enjoyment gained by others.

Food Week is truly ‘By the community, for the community’ and your support is critical to us, we thank you for getting involved whether by participating or simply enjoying the many events throughout the village

MILFORD ON SEA FOOD WEEK
Bank Holiday Monday 28th March to Sunday 3rd April 2016

If you love food, you will love Food Week!
www.milfordfoodweek.org

New Milton Parade, Markets and Music

We do not normally published events as an article, (as they are all covered in www.milfordonseacalendar.org), but to support our friends in New Milton we thought you may like to hear about the impressive events they are staging during the New Milton Christmas Festival.

The event kicks off with The New Milton Christmas Festival Artisan’s Market – “The Christmas Crafts, Gifts and Local Produce Show” which will be open from 10:30 am until 4:00 pm on Saturday 21st November at The New Milton Memorial Centre in Whitefield Road. 

This opening event of the 2015 Christmas Festival will bring together a unique collection of independent artists, crafters, designers and producers from the New Forest area. Amongst them they will be offering a wide range of strictly handmade and handcrafted items, gifts, arts and crafts and much more. Within the show, there will be chocolate cabins, wooden toys, ceramics and hand-thrown pottery, jewellery, home-made chocolates and Christmas cakes, leather handbags, belts and much more.

Alan Watson – one of the members of the Festival Steering Group and Organiser of this event, comments “I hope that the people of New Milton and surrounding areas will come along to this unusual event on the 21st , as 100% of the proceeds of this event go towards staging the main Festival Event on the 28th November. I am sure many will appreciate, the Main Festival is a very costly event to stage and we rely heavily on this Show to ensure we can stage the best ever Christmas Festival in our Town”

By helping to secure the funding for the Main Festival Event, the Organising Team can say that that this year’s Christmas Festival Event on Saturday 28th November will be the biggest and brightest to date. Over 125 Stalls, an authentic French Street Market, a whole afternoon of live entertainment will fill the Town Centre from 12 noon until 6pm. 

At 5pm, there will be The Lions Club of New Milton Illuminated Festival Parade which will travel the length of Station Road and then follow a circular route up Elm Avenue, into Old Milton Road and then back up Station Road North. The Parade will be followed by the traditional switch-on of the Town’s Christmas Lights at 5:50 pm and these have once again been enhanced by The Town Council from a number of very generous donations from local Businesses and Organisations.

Everyone can keep in touch with the latest Festival News on the Web Site – www.newmiltonchristmas.co.uk and if anyone can also lend a few hours of their time to help marshal the event, or would like to nominate someone or a group as a “New Milton Achiever”, then please email xmas@newmiltonevents.co.uk

For More Information :-

Alan Watson

Christmas Festival Steering Group

The New Milton Town Partnership

Tel : 01425 610052 / 07771 754025

E-Mail : a.d.watson@btinternet.com 

      

Increased Doctor Surgery Hours

A local Milford on Sea resident who is a member of the local Patient Participation Group and has informed us of some interesting news about the NHS Vanguard Project where local GP's initiative has been successful in getting funding from the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund for a trial project.

This all sounds very grandiose, but it has a direct benefit for everyone in Milford on Sea. 

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Seven local GP surgeries have recently joined together to open an extra doctors surgery at Lymington Hospital. This extra surgery is called ‘The Practice’ and is available now.

It should now be easier for you to get an appointment at a time to suit you, as The Practice is Open from 8am to 8pm Seven Days a Week. A team of local GP’s, nurses and other health professionals will staff the surgery. (This is not a Walk In Unit, and it is based on an appointment service only.)

If you wish to make an appointment or need same day attention you should first contact the Milford Medical Centre Surgery, they will agree the best place for you to be seen. Our Local Surgery is computer linked to the ‘The Practice’ so if your appointment is there, then your medical history will be available and notes can be added to your records as usual.

Outside usual Milford Medical Centre Surgery hours you can telephone The Practice to make an appointment on 01590 630545.

If this arrangement proves successful the plan for the future is to create a ‘one stop’ service, based at Lymington, which works closely with diagnostic services, including X-Ray, endoscopy and phlebotomy and adjacent to the Minor Injuries unit and Community Health teams.

Do register on the Milford Medical Centre website to keep up to date with future service developments (www.milfordmedicalcentre.com), simply select 'Online Patient Access' in the right hand menu for details. Alternatively complete a registration form that is available from reception in the surgery.

Once you are registered you will be able to book your GP or Nurse appointments and order repeat prescriptions on line.

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The national news have regularly covered stories relating to the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund: which has the objective of 'Improving Access to General Practice.'

The National Association for Patient Participation (N.A.P.P.) was pleased to see the initial evaluation of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund. N.A.P.P. welcomed the range of projects that have increased patient access to GPs, including through extended hours, increased telephone access, and the introduction of online diagnostic and video consultation technology. The evaluation also indicates a reduction in people going to Accident & Emergency in participating areas, helping to take pressure off the wider NHS.

The Practice at Lymington Hospital is part of this project, and a partnership of seven local GP practices, including Wistaria and Milford Surgeries. Thisr pilot was chosen by NHS England to be amongst 37 schemes nationally to test new ways of organising, delivering and involving people in the design of local healthcare. This is an additional service to the one provided by Wistaria and Milford Surgeries. Patients should consider 'The Practice' as a branch of their own surgery.

Milford Medical Centre

www.milfordmedicalcentre.com

Big Learner Relay Raises Over £90,000!

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Local driving instructor Louise Walsh, and founder and organiser of The Big Learner Relay has raised an astonishing £90,000 (yes, ninety thousand!) for the Children in Need Appeal 2015.

Louise (Daughter of Sue Whitlock) had ‘a bit of an idea’ whilst watching the Children in Need Appeal in 2013, she thought perhaps driving instructors could get together to raise money, and this small spark turned into a raging fire!

This years 2,800 mile relay started in Northern Ireland on Monday 26th October 2015 and finished in Swindon on the 13th November, which was Children in Need Appeal Day 2015. The relay covered England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales with 180 lead driving lessons and many hundreds of instructors and pupils joining the convoy. Louise travelled the whole of the UK in the back of participation driving instructor cars.

This month's First Friday Lunch at the Community Centre alone raised £545, so a big thanks go to everyone who supported the lunch. 

Well done Louise and everyone who got involved, the results all all the hard work are massively impressive.

Big Learner Relay 

www.biglearnerrelay.webs.com

Donation Page: Please click here

Phantom Fryer Found

Last week we published an article after been asked to track down the Fish and Chip Van that visits Everton every week.

Well, thanks to an eagle eyed reader - We have found him!

The Phantom Fryer of Everton is unmasked as Mr Brennan of JBs Mobile. He come from Pennington and his contact details are: 01590 676469 - brennanjpb@aol.com.

We are told that he has been freshly frying fish and chips for the Everton Ladies Evening Group (LEGS) (who fortuitously meet on Monday evenings) for many years and comes highly recommended.

Job done!

Seeking the Phantom Fryer

Here in the Milford on Sea Newsroom we get a number of requests, some are physically impossible and others we just make up the answers to.

We have now been asked about the Fish and Chip Van that visits Everton every week?

My wife has now told me where Everton is, but knows nothing about the van.

Apparently, a mobile fish and chip van visits Everton every Monday evening – and has done for many years.

It starts off in Roberts Close at around 6pm, moves to Plantation around 6.15 and finishes in Buckstone Close around 6.30.

If you can put a name and contact details to the phantom fryer please drop us an e-mail at: david@milfordonsea.org

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Addendum

Thanks to an eagle eyed reader - We have found him!

The Phantom Fryer of Everton is unmasked as Mr Brennan of JBs Mobile. He come from Pennington and his contact details are: 01590 676469 - brennanjpb@aol.com.

We are told that he has been freshly frying fish and chips for the Everton Ladies Evening Group (LEGS) (who fortuitously meet on Monday evenings) for many years and comes highly recommended.

Sorted!

Verveine in Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants

David Wykes and he extraordinary food just goes from strength to strength, and the accolades keep coming!

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The latest recognition of his culinary brilliance is the prestigious listing for Verveine in the Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants - this adds to the Michelin Recommendation Verveine already holds.

The full Top 100, including rankings and an overall score was revealed in The Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants on Sunday 8th November 2015.

Taking first place was Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, followed by Midsummer House, Cambridge and in third; L'Enclume in Cartmel which also ranks as one of the most expensive restaurants in the list, at £150 per head.

The list is compiled by The Sunday Times in association with Harden’s – now in its sixth annual edition, it is based on 63,000 reviews from almost 7,000 diners.

The South East has 13 entries in The Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants, which makes it the region with the most restaurants in the list outside of London.

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Dave now finds himself among famous South East restaurants such as; The Fat Duck and Waterside Inn in Bray, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire, André Garrett At Cliveden, Cliveden House in Taplow, Drake's in Ripley, Surrey and The Latymer, Pennyhill Park Hotel in Surrey.

As this award is made based on 7,000 diner reviews, rather than the opinion of critics, it feels that bit more special.

Anyone who has dined at Verveine will see that this a justified and well deserved accolade. Well done Dave and the team!

Verveine Fishmarket Restaurant
98 High Street, Milford on Sea, SO41 0QE
01590 642176 - info@verveine.co.uk

www.verveine.co.uk

The White Horse to Re-Open?

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Pssst.... Word on the street has it that The White Horse will reopen on 27th November.

Rumour has it that the new landlords may previously have been at, or may still be at, The Plough Inn in Tiptoe.

The Plough's website mentions Julia, Liz and Steve (JLS Publicans) as the managing team, so perhaps they are on their way to Milford on Sea, or perhaps not. Who knows!

As you can see no journalist investigation has gone into this article, but a man can a only spend so much time in 'a pub doing research' before he is facing divorce and having to do his own shopping, cooking and ironing!

We are delighted to have published another pointless article!

The White Horse
16 Keyhaven Road, Milford on Sea, SO41 0QY
www.whitehorsemilfordonsea.co.uk - which no longer works.

All Change at South Lawn

Tim Wedgwood & Nikki Rowe are delighted to be the new independent owners at South Lawn Hotel, and they come with an excellent pedigree and exciting plans for the hotel and restaurant.

They have already commenced the refurbishment of the restaurant which will be renamed and is due to open in early December. Bedroom and bathrooms refurbishment has also started on a rolling basis and improvements to the public areas are ongoing. The car park is also being stripped and re-graded soon, as Nikki & Tim quite rightly take great pride in the outside areas as much as the inside.

The Cedar Tree, as the new restaurant is to be called, will be hosted by Nikki & Tim and the kitchen will be headed up by Gavin Levens who has worked closely with the new owners at East Close Country House Hotel. 

Gavin has nurtured a brigade over the summer at East Close in preparation for their arrival at South Lawn and he is very proud of the quality of food he produces. The prices are planned to be reasonable, for example the traditional Sunday lunch will cost £16.50 for two courses. The Cedar Tree will be open for Sunday lunch from 12.30pm to 8pm. Throughout the week and on Saturdays they will be open from 7.30am serving Breakfast, Morning Coffee, Lunch, Afternoon Tea and Dinner with last orders at 9pm. the menus will see some classic dishes as well as a grill section that will include speciality burgers and local meats. They will always have fresh fish on the menu and Gavin’s team turn out some amazing and innovative desserts.

Tim was kind enough to provide a fascinating insight into his and Nikki's background before arriving at South Lawns - Tim says: "I am delighted to have acquired South Lawn, I have been trying to buy a hotel in the area for some time and have had several attempts at purchasing South Lawn but timings were never quite right and on two occasions I had my offer rejected as the vendors favoured other parties.

Serendipity eventually, I received a call from the agents in April this year informing me that the purchase had been aborted by the previous purchaser. As luck would have it I had just sold my hotel in the Midlands and was in funds so I without hesitation resubmitted an acceptable offer. It took some 6 months to complete but it was worth persevering. 

I would describe myself as a single hotel hotelier but in recent years it has been my pleasure to have had an addition to my portfolio. In November 2012 I took on the East Close Hotel and Conqueror Inn at Hinton. This gave me a flavour for the area and hence my decision to sell in the Midlands with a view to concentrating my efforts in this lovely part of the country.

My career from the age of 16 when school left me has always been in the hospitality industry, my first job as a kitchen porter put me in good stead to climb the ladder, I have worked in every department of a hotel and my employed career peaked when I spent 5 years at London's prestigious Grosvenor House on Park Lane. Four years as Banqueting manager organising events such as the Bafta Awards, Annual Dinners and Society Weddings. I also spent a year as guest relations manager and I enjoyed working with royalty and government officials in this high profile position.

In 1995 at 26 years of age I bought my first hotel and have since owned and managed six hotels. As an owner operator myself and my partner Nikki are fully committed to putting South Lawn back on the map. Both Nikki and I will be resident at the hotel and are embracing the challenge we have, Nikki and I have worked together in hotels for 18 years and we are a great team.

As a banqueting manager by profession the superb function facilities at South Lawn will be high on the agenda, we look forward to looking after local society events and have already had the pleasure of serving a number of local organisations. Food quality and service in banqueting is so important, we know what to do and we look forward to many years of looking after our guests.

Both Nikki and I sincerely hope we have the pleasure of looking after you."

It is great to see this motivated team taking over at South Lawn and bringing it into the 21st century, - and we hope that their changes will very soon be experienced by all of us. 

The Cedar Tree will be another exciting addition to the Milford on Sea culinary scene - and a further endorsement that Milford on Sea is a Foodie Heaven by the Sea!

South Lawn Hotel & The Cedar Tree Restaurant
Lymington Road, Milford on Sea, SO41 0RF

www.southlawnhotel.co.uk