All Discussions - Wivenhoe Forum

End of week welcomes...

Jason — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:10:26 +0000

It's been a bit quiet around here of late. Yeah, yeah - same old Jase, moaning that we haven't got half of Wivenhoe signed up. It's a slow, building process, and I need a little more patience.

Anyway - we're up to 47 members now. Hurrah! It is genuinely great to have you all around. And so a big Wivenhoe Forum welcome this week to new members:

hepburn, melwiv, wivenhovian, wiggers11, Needham, Lisa and tinysketchbook :)

I hope you all get some benefit out of the forum.

Purchase of St John's Ambulance Hall

Jason — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:10:23 +0100

I have been sent a press release from the Wivenhoe Community Trust. For the record, I have no involvement with this organisation. Brian Sinclair is a Wivenhoe Town Councillor.

As mentioned before, I formally objected to the first planning application. Apathy took over when this saga continued.

Anywhere - here is the press release that has been sent to me:

"The Future of St John Ambulance Hall

We have been notified by St John Ambulance Headquarters that Pru Green, well-known potter in Wivenhoe, is proceeding to buy the St John Ambulance Hall despite the fact that on two occasions her application to demolish the building and replace it with a private, modern building has been refused by Colchester Borough Council. It is worth noting that on each occasion, it has been on the grounds that the Hall is a community asset that should not be destroyed. Her plans were also opposed in total over two application attempts by 168 people who registered their objections with Colchester Borough Council as well as opposed by Wivenhoe Town Council.

We are very disappointed to hear this news from St John Ambulance. They had recently raised expectations by telling us that they had it in mind to sell the Hall to us if Pru Green's planning application was refused again. Having raised the money to meet the £75,000 asking price from a few key supporters, and now being in a position to exchange contracts immediately, we had high hopes of restoring this building to wider community use than just by the G&S Society for set creation and painting, the InAccord singing group for weekly rehearsals and by the MayFair which have all been using the Hall for many years.

In case Pru Green cannot get the planning consent she desires, the Wivenhoe Community Trust, a registered charity, remains committed to our vision of retaining this building in Wivenhoe that people can hire for art exhibitions, singing, music and lecture events, meetings of all sorts and a place to celebrate family occasions, as well as the activities which have been going on in the Hall until the present. As a building with its own 140 year history, it is ideally placed to be a home from which Wivenhoe's own history can be further researched.

We are particularly concerned at the present state of the roof. Should Pru Green appeal against the decision of Colchester Borough Council, this process could take a year or more and without maintenance the building will soon deteriorate. This should not be allowed to happen as it is a building recognised as a community asset until an appeal goes against the decisions already made by CBC on two occasions.

Brian Sinclair

Chairman, Wivenhoe Community Trust"

Wivenhoe Wildlife Garden: Volunteers Wanted!!!

BigRosie — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:37:29 +0100

Birds of Wivenhoe

Glyn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:03:49 +0000

Hi All. I am new to the forum but many will have seen me out and about "pounding the beat" looking for birds. A couple of people I have come across have expressed an interest in finding out more about what birds can be found - and where and when - in the locality. This year I am embarking on the exercise of putting together a "patch list" - an aggregate of different bird species observed over 2012. As I write, the total is currently 96 species, which includes Peregrines, Glossy Ibis and Spoonbill (all seen by telescope from Alreasford Creek); Buzzard, Marsh and Hen Harriers, Avocets and a host of other widing birds, Little & Tawny Owls, Corn Buntings, Brambling, Redpoll, Bullfinch and Kittiwake.

To this end I see that there would be a mutual benefit in keeping people posted as to what I have seen and where I have seen it, so that others might keep the bulletins going...

Also, (Dr) Chris Gibson (of this forum!) and internationally renowned bird illustrator (and local "Birdwalk" operator) Richard Allen have agreed to offer contributions toward a presentation titled "Birds of Wivenhoe", where we can host a live presentation to show people the best birds and best places to look for them, with some good birding tips and some general bird knowledge. this could also include a section on garden birds and their identification. I would like to charge a small entry fee which can go to charity.

It would be good to guage whether there is any interest from the forum. If there is enough, I can make some arrangements and get some publicity going...

Best,

Glyn

Open Gardens, 19th & 20th May

Jason — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:32:59 +0100

HONK! Just a reminder that the ACE Open Gardens takes place over the coming weekend. Superbly organised by the Wivenhoe Society, thirty private gardens around the town will very kindly be opened up for folk to have a look around, and gain some inspiration.

Fringe events are also in place this year - the plant stall returns to 80 High Street, In Accord are singing at midday on both days at St Mary's (and in private gardens) and there is even a miniature gardens competition being staged for the kids at St Mary's.

All details are in the Open Gardens programme - £4 from the Crossways Store, Rollo Estates, Bryan’s the Newsagents and the Wivenhoe Bookshop. All money raised is distributed evenly between St Mary's and the Wivenhoe Society, who usually then pass the money on to a local cause.

Wivenhoe Prints For Sale

janejames — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:04:17 +0100

A selection of my Wivenhoe Prints are now available from The Wivenhoe Gallery.

To see a full portfolio of images please visit fineartamerica.com

Broadfields Residents Association Website

Mottza — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:24:37 +0000

There is now a website for the Broadfields Residents Association.

http://broadfieldsra.wordpress.com/

Please visit and comment and become a part of the community.

Farmer's Market, 18th May

Jason — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:29:04 +0100

Quick plug for the monthly Wivenhoe Farmer's Market, taking place this Saturday at the Congregational Hall. 9am - midday.

Transition Town Wivenhoe is hosting the first of their cafe events at the market this Saturday.

Plant, Herb & Shrub Availability

Wivenhoe Pets — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:44:39 +0100

Below is a list of our current plant, shrub and herb availability at Wivenhoe Pets, Wivenhoe Business Centre, 01206 823941, www.wivenhoepets.co.uk HERBS - Caraway, Chives, Coriander, Fennel, Majoram, Mint, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Tarragon & Assorted Pre Planted Herb Planters PLANTS - Trailing Geraniums, Upright Geraniums, Petunias, Osteospermum, Calibrachoa, Mimulus, Verbena, Dahlia, Brachyscome, Diascia, Nemesia, Bacopa, Begonias, Argyranthemum, Plectranthus & Helichrysum SHRUBS & GRASSES- Cordyline Australis, Holcus, Koeleria Glauca, Stipa Arundinacea, Stipa Tenuissima, Sedum Spectabilis, Santolina, Lavandula, Lavatera, Callistemon Rigdus, Vinea Major, Cistus, Solanum Crispum & Assorted Pre Planted Planters. Also in store are flower & vegetable seeds, compost, plant and lawn feed. Free Local Delivery on orders over £10

Tai Chi workshop 17th June in Open Space

sjjarvis — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:46:52 +0100

Open Space, the new studio space in Wivenhoe Business Centre will be hosting a Tai Chi workshop on Sunday 17th June from 10-4. Taught by the Trevor Taylor, resident Tai Chi instructor at Cortijo Romero, Granada, Spain. Cost £40, including lunch. Course is designed for participants with some prior experience of Tai Chi. To register or for more details email info@openspace.uk.com or call Sarah Jarvis 07939 480828.

Cricket Club fixtures this weekend

Mjlucking — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:52:49 +0100

Local Cricket at Rectory Road this weekend. Why not pop over and see us?

1st X1 vs Mistley

1pm start

Bar open from Midday

No Sunday game this weekend

Wivenhoe Town FC sponsorship

Jason — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:53:03 +0100

The Dragons have announced details of sponsorship packages that are available for the 2012 / 13 season. They start off at £9.99 for matchday ball sponsorship, going up higher with more benefits offered in return.

The full rates are available over here [PDF]

More Moving Image...

Jason — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:40:38 +0000

Here's the first of a possible regular / random catch up with Moving Image which is going to be pimped out, and also broadcast on Radio Wivenhoe. It is heartening to find that after so much hard work over the past fourteen months, the independent community cinema for Wivenhoe appears to be enjoying some rather decent audience numbers and support over recent months.

Tinker Tailor was close to selling out on Saturday, and that's with the excellent Private Resistance being performed on the same night at the Loveless Hall.

The screening this Saturday is Drive, with an 8pm start at the Phillip Road Centre. Entry is a bargain £4.50 for members, or non-members being made most welcome for a £6 fee.

Many thanks to Moira for putting up with my Purple Rain fascination.

#Wivenhoe Wittertainment with @wivmovingimage #cinema (mp3)

Wivenhoe water vole news

RogerMainwood — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:52:28 +0000

More positive news for water voles in our area from Darren Tansley, Water for Wildlife Officer at the Essex Wildlife Trust (see previous water vole news under the thread "Birds and other wildlife along the river") . This time it concerns the potential for encouraging water voles on the Knowledge Gateway site at Essex University.

Darren tells me:-

"I was at the University on Monday meeting with their staff and the Environment Agency. They are keen to create some ditches and/or ponds down there between what will eventually be housing and the Salary Brook. I'll be advising on improvements to ensure the population of water voles remains viable in the future."

This follows on from a survey of the area that Darren did at the end of last year:-

"I was kindly given
access by the Estates team and construction site manager to conduct a full
survey at the beginning of December 2011. I found some of the highest densities of
water vole signs I’ve seen on a brook of this size all the way through their
landholding down to the outfall sluice onto the River Colne. There were also
otter footprints in the silt."

Midsummer Night's Dream, Lakeside

Jason — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:39:56 +0100

Quick plug for an outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream up at the Lakeside on Thursday 17th, and Friday 18th. The production will take place outdoors, unless the weather is really poor. It's the perfect setting by the lakes, if it stays dry...

Tickets over here, 7:30pm start.

Boxes for free

Jason — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:20:25 +0000

We have literally a shed load of cardboard boxes that were bought ahead of the house move, now going for free if anyone wants them. Feel free to take a small selection, or the whole full house move bulk. They'll be hitting the re-cycling collection on Wednesday otherwise.

Thanks.

Stand Up Comedy Course

HazelH — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:53:45 +0100

Hi there,

If any of you know anyone interested in performing stand-up comedy, or in discovering their inner comedian, please could you pass the following on to them? Thanks!

I'm hoping to run another comedy course for 6 weeks on July the 3rd (depending on interest although we hopefully should get enough people given initial reactions). The only slot the venue (in Wivenhoe) can give me is Tuesday evenings 5pm to 6.30pm as they're fully booked.

The six week course (1.5 hours a week - plus some homework) would be available to anyone over 15 interested in writing/performing comedy and would include finding subjects for comedy, joke writing, different types of jokes, writing topical material, structuring and editing a set for performance, finding a comedy persona, characters and act-outs and other aspects of performance including mic technique and timing. By the end of the course you should have a working 3-5min comedy set at the very least and there will be the opportunity to perform in front of an audience for those who want to.

Cost for the course is £50 per person for all 6 classes (£40 concessions) or £10 per class (£8 concessions). Please email funnyfarmwiv@hotmail.com if you are interested in attending.

Many previous "graduates" of this course are still performing comedy and have done well in comedy competitions. One course "graduate" is now doing warm-up and voice-over comedy work for US TV and one person came third in a national competition months after doing one of my comedy workshops.

I'm currently running courses for teenagers for an arts initiative in Cambridgeshire.

There's more information here - plus a link to a nice review of one of my classes by Wivenhoe's very own Mr Mule!

University Multi-tier car park

Jason — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:00:18 +0000

The latest planning application submitted by the University is for a multi-tier car park, in-between the sports centre and Boundary Road. The consultation period runs until 15th February, with a final decision by Colchester Borough Council expected on 24th April. You can view the Application Statement over here [pdf].

Black Buoy to close

Hamlet — Sat, 12 May 2012 21:53:36 +0100

I went into the Black buoy for a drink this evening only to learn that the landlords have decided to throw in the towel and close the Black Buoy on Friday 25th May. I really hope that the Black Buoy finds a new landlord soon and does not fall into the hands of developers.

Traffic in the Avenue

Simon — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:46:55 +0100

Just got caught up in a traffic snarl up as I drove down The Avenue... a familiar situation with a lorry trying to make its way up meeting a bus on its way down. I waited at the end of the line of parked cars for two or three minutes until eventually they found a way round each other so the lorry could trundle its way towards me... whereupon the driver raised his hand from the steering wheel to thank me for waiting. Then, to my shock, the drivers of each and every one of the seven or eight cars behind him that I also allowed to pass did exactly the same.

I can only imagine this must have something to do with that yellow thing in the sky making a rare appearance today.

Mobile phone found outside The Bakehouse Wivenhoe

Mrdavy30 — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:28:29 +0100

Found a Sony Ericsson Mobile phone model - K810i, think it belongs to a Mr Ashworth if that is you call me on 07768 507536

Rgds

Glenn

Volunteers needed

grim — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:07:49 +0100

We are still looking for volunteers to help out at this year's May Fair on 26 May, particularly stewards. If you can spare a couple of hours on May Fair day (Saturday 26 May) to help the May Fair run smoothly, or would like more information, then please contact me via the forum, email me on stewards@wivenhoemayfair.com, or give me a call on 07522 267268.

We also need ‘green police’ volunteers to help with waste and recycling on the day and, on the morning of Sunday 27 May, we will need litter-pickers from 10am to help tidy the field. Please contact Bob on bobmehew@yahoo.co.uk or 07507 841158 for more information

Chris

Jubilee Jigsaw - the painting stage

Marika — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:44:44 +0100

I'm starting a new thread for the next stage of the project as the original has got a bit long.

Painting work starts from the end of this week.
The first phase is sanding and undercoating the pieces. I would also welcome help from people who are new to the project.

I will have access to the painting venue from about midday on Saturday 31 March. It is the big white shed on the corner of Alma Street/Hamilton Rd where the Panto scenery was prepared.
Anyone wanting to come and have a look and/or lend a hand please come at 1pm and post your intention here.
Will Lodge is looking to write something for The Gazette about the jigsaw project (with photo) and it would probably help with the planning for this if we could count on a number of people being present.

Once the surface preparations have been done we will start on the background. This is scheduled to begin in the week commencing 16 April and should be finished before the end of that week. Alison Stockmarr will be helping with this and hopefully Barbara Pearson will find time too.
The time table is holding up well so far ...

Any suggestions? Then please post them here rather than PM me, so we can all think together.

business networking

adrian — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:12:36 +0000

The business networking group I participate in is having a Visitors Day on Tuesday 1st Feb. It's a Colchester group, but there's a couple of members (myself included) based in Wivenhoe, and it's a great way to expand your client base.

It's open to anyone from work-at-home sole traders to corporations - so long as someone who does the same thing as you isn't already a member.

I don't want to do a hard-sell - you'll know if face-to-face networking is right for you - so if you're interested, get in touch (photo@adrianmulton.co.uk) and I'll provide more details (including 'open' categories) + a formal invite if you'd like to attend.

Adrian

House move - does anybody know any good / cheap / removals?

Mrdavy30 — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:30:20 +0100

House move - does anybody know any good / cheap / removals?

poetrywivenhoe, 22nd May

Jason — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:16:57 +0100

Attached is the latest poster for poetrywivenhoe, taking place this month on the 22nd, and back at The Legion. An 8pm start, £5, or £3 for students. All welcome.

Tennis Club Open Tournament

Jason — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:21:52 +0100

A new diary has been added ---->>>>

Wivenhoe Tennis Club will be staging an Open Tournament on 24th June at Broad Lane. Players and spectators all welcome. Details via email.

Wivenhoe Helping Hands

Jason — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:20:50 +0100

A message from Wivenhoe Helping Hands:

"We could do with another appeal for volunteers, especially those able to drive people to appointments in Wivenhoe or, possibly, Colchester during the week. With holidays upon us, we're getting very short, and it's a rewarding way to get to know others in your community."

Contact details are available over here.

Wivenhoe Funny Farm

HazelH — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:39:10 +0000

Tonights show (Thursday 24th February) features Cambridge Folk Festival and Edinburgh Fringe legend Peter Buckley Hill.

Wivenhoe Funny Farm comedy night presents "Freaky February" - a night of more off beat and quirky comedy. Expect stand-up plus sketches, singalongs and general chaos!

Headliner is Cambridge Folk Festival and Edinburgh Fringe legend Peter Buckley Hill
('A Titan' - The Scotsman
'legendary' - Time Out
'A wild-eyed, professorial figure, Buckley Hill is a fringe institution' - The Guardian)

Support from Charmian Hughes ('Charming ribaldry' The Guardian
'Obviously talented' The Telegraph)
Also Danny Hurst (""An ubercamp perveyor of an original brand of smut and entendre...bold and witty"-Chortle.co.uk)
plus sketches from Tim & Dave! (That's councillor Tim Young - please try not to heckle!!)
MC Hazel Humphreys

Pay on door £6.50 (£5 concessions) Doors open 7pm show starts 8pm

Wivenhoe Town Cricket Club Pavillion
Rectory Road

Please try to book seats in advance via www.wivenhoefunnyfarm.co.uk

All the best.

Hazel xxx

TTW local veg shares

Jason — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:57:13 +0000

A new diary date has been added ---->>>>

Transition Town Wivenhoe will be holding an open meeting on 8th March to discuss plans for a local veg sharing group. The idea is simple - any surplus veg that is grown around the town can be shared within the group. The meeting takes places at the William Loveless Hall [where else?] with a 7:30pm start time.