On Winchester Now this week:
- A book of condolence has been set up at St Peter and the Winchester Martyrs Church in Jewry Street to pay tribute to Pope Francis who died earlier this week. A vigil is being held ahead of his funeral.
- The Chief Executive of Hampshire Hospitals has announced that she is stepping down after 8 years in the post. Alex Whitfield says she’s made the difficult and personal decision in order to spend more time with her family and to embrace new opportunities.
- News-in-brief:
- An historic agreement has been signed which sees the merger of Winchester College and The Pilgrims School.
- Winchester MP Danny Chambers has called on the Government to reverse delays to the new hospitals programme and speed-up repairs to older hospitals.
- Work has begun on a controversial £2 million pavilion at River Park.
- It’s the last football match of the season for Winchester City and a crucial one for the team. Winchester sits just one point above the relegation zone in the Southern Premier league.
- Hundreds of cyclists will converge on Winchester on Saturday morning – taking part in a mass cycle ride. We talk to organiser Emma Street from the group Cycle Winchester.
- Shout-outs:
- To Babs Isaac, who walked 26 miles to raise money for a public defibrillator which has now been installed outside Hope Church.
- Winchester Hospice has given a huge “thank you” to the incredible army of volunteers who look after the garden all year round.
- To all those who ran, skipped or walked the recent fun run for Home Start Winchester.
- To the operators of the Brooks Shopping Centre who have donated money to the Winchester Street Pastors.
- Winchester BID has given a big “thank you” to everyone who took part in, or supported, their Bunny Hop Easter trail.
- He’s 85 years old and next week John Green will set off from Winchester to travel around the UK using nothing but public transport. John is one of the Brothers at the Hospital of St Cross and is calling his adventure “Brother on a bus.” We talk to Brother John about how it came about.
