On this week’s Winchester Now:
- This week marked the 2nd anniversary of ‘Renew Winchester’ – the wellbeing café and hub providing a welcoming space each week for those struggling with their mental health. Winchester Radio’s Anna O’Brien and Derek Palmer went along to find out what Renew Winchester means to those attending.
- News-in-brief:
- Southampton General Hospital has been handed back to the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust by the Fire Service following the devastating fire that took place in the early hours of Sunday morning. The fire caused damage to its West Wing. Around 200 patients were moved to safety, with most remaining on site and others transferred to neighbouring hospitals as part of a coordinated emergency response.Hampshire Fire Service have concluded their investigations and stated the cause of the blaze was electrical. A number of the hospital’s wards remain closed due to fire, smoke or water damage following the incident.
- A record 116,000 illegal vapes and tobacco products, worth £138k, were seized by Hampshire County Council’s Trading Standards team last year. Officers carried out regular inspections to target unlawful sales and protect legitimate businesses.
- A section of the A34 will be closed this week as work continues the M3 Junction 9 project. A new beam is being installed on a bridge over the River Itchen at Kings Worthy. Due to the size of the crane, the southbound section of the A34 will be closed from Saturday at 9pm until Sunday at 9pm
- Winchester Cathedral has announced that Canon Roland Riem, currently serving as Interim Dean, will retire at the end of July. After Canon Chris Palmer is installed as the new Dean on 15th March, Roly will return to his former role as Vice-Dean, supporting the new Dean during his transition and completing key projects as part of the handover. He and his wife Sophie plan to return to Salisbury following his retirement.
- A new community project supporting people living with dementia and their carers has launched this week in Winchester. The initiative is a partnership between Unit 12 and Home Instead Central Hampshire. The new Memory Lane Cafe, based in Unit 12 in Winnall every Wednesday from 2pm until 4pm, offers a relaxed and welcoming space for people with dementia and their carers to meet, take part in activities, and chat with volunteers.
- Princess Catherine, the Princess of Wales, made a private visit to an art exhibition in Winchester on Saturday, attending the “Beauty of the Earth: The Art of May, Jane and William Morris” at The Arc on Jewry Street. The Arc said it was honoured to welcome the Princess to the exhibition celebrating the Morris family’s artistic legacy.
- St Peter’s Catholic Church in Winchester hosted a free three-night event to mark the start of the church’s 100th anniversary year this week. ‘Light of the World, a Place for All’ featured large light installations, live music and exhibitions inside the church on Jewry Street.
- The annual Winchester Business Excellence Awards were launched on Thursday morning, organised by Winchester BID, the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and the Hampshire Chronicle. Anna O’Brien was there.
- Shout-outs:
- To Home Instead Central Hampshire and the Everyman cinema, who this week celebrated the 10th anniversary of the successful free monthly dementia-friendly cinema screenings in Winchester.
- To everyone who has kindly donated no-longer needed clean sleeping bags, or bought new ones to donate to Trinity Winchester, to help support those in emergencies who may be sleeping rough.
- To all the staff, volunteers and coaches who enabled Active LD members to enjoy a taster day of Accessible Squash on Tuesday at the Winchester Sport and Leisure Park.
- To Winchester Radio alumni Mike Blitz, who was recently welcomed back to Peter Symonds College after 19 years, to share his achievements in the legal profession with current college students. Mike now lectures at Bristol University Law School as well as working as a Deputy District Judge assigned to the Western Circuit.
