On this week’s Winchester Now:
- O’Neills in the city-centre, hosted Winchester Amateur Boxing Club’s first official team public Face-Off and Weight-Check event. Fans, families, fighters, and Winchester MP Danny Chambers made an appearance ahead of the annual boxing show to be held this weekend on Saturday the 30th of May at the Winchester Lido Sports Association. Isobel Jones popped in for Winchester Radio to see what it was all about.
- News-in-brief:
- Winchester has been basking in a heatwave this week, and while many have enjoyed the sun, it has caused some problems. There have been cancellations and delays on the trains due to signalling faults, track defects, and heat-related speed restrictions across the South Western Railway network. The heat also caused refrigerator failures in three city centre supermarkets on Tuesday afternoon. An amber health warning has been in place for most of the week.
- Work on Winchester’s Buttercross continues, but it’s been revealed that its condition is far worse than previously thought. Additional structural repairs are going to cost an extra £250k to secure the long term future of the historic monument. The money will come from City Council reserves.
- Plans for the derelict Bar End depot have been revealed. Following 8 years of use as a storage facility, the city council has considered 14 bids for development of the site, and has chosen its preferred bid. The winning scheme proposes 82 affordable houses, and a convenience store. The site will be sold to the winning bidder, subject to planning permission.
- Winchester Cathedral has launched a decade-long restoration project. Called ‘Stone by Stone’, the multi-million pound conservation programme aims to protect the fabric of the ancient building for years to come. The work will focus on the external stonework of the South Nave aisle – which inspectors say needs urgent attention. Historic masonry will be cleaned and repointed, with other work planned for the medieval stained glass. The Cathedral has launched a fundraising project which will see supporters sponsoring a stone.
- Marwell Zoo has announced a new arrival. A two year old Rothschild giraffe named Ballycarry. The Rothschild giraffe is endangered in the wild, and this youngster has arrived from Belfast Zoo as part of a European breeding programme. Marwell say they are excited to grow their herd, and each one has an important role in the future of the population.
- All eyes will be on Winchester teenager Rafferty Coope as he enters the final of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ on Saturday. The 17 yea- old from Peter Symonds will be performing his music and magic in front of live tv cameras for the ITV show. His family has asked the city to get behind their local lad, and to make sure they vote for him on Saturday night. We’ll bring you more of course next week, and good luck to Rafferty.
- Volunteering opportunities:
- Through a range of services, Friends of the Family supports parents and children who face difficult circumstances, and helps them to find stability, and offers hope and a fresh start. The charity relies on volunteers to support families in need who come to them. Friends of the Family are currently seeking more volunteers to join them as Befrienders, who spend two hours a week with a focus child engaged in positive activities in and outside of the child’s home. To find out more about volunteering with the charity, join the Open Morning on Friday 5th June, 9-11am at Rick Stein’s Restaurant, Winchester on the High Street, or visit fotfwinchester.org.
- Winchester Round Table have some one-off volunteering opportunities at their ‘Pedal Paddle Pace’ event on Sunday 12th July. This charity Triathlon needs a whole army of volunteers to help marshal and set things up: marshals are located along all stages of the route, including assisting with water entry. The event itself is still open to people to take part on the day too – it involves a 20km cycle ride, 2km kayaking along the River Itchen, and a 5km run. For further details, to offer help volunteering or to sign-up to take part, see the social media pages for ‘Pedal Paddle Pace’ or visit winchesterppp.co.uk.
- As ourselves here at Winchester Radio are also actively recruiting volunteers into a whole raft of roles, including as radio presenters, local community journalists and correspondents, audience engagement, marketing and promotion, audio production and writing roles, as well as the many behind-the-scenes roles that keep the radio station running, from IT and engineering, through to fundraising, administration, and also Trustees to join the board and govern the Charity. We’re holding some introductory group information sessions during the month of June for potential new volunteers, where you can come in and find out more. Just visit winchester.radio/join-us to read more about our volunteer roles and to complete your Expression of Interest form.
- The Winchester Walking Weekend is just three weeks away and this time it runs over 4 days. There are a number of different walks planned, from 1.5 miles to 16 miles long, and they will take in Winchester, Alresford and our stunning countryside. It’s the third time the event has been organised by the Winchester Ramblers Group who are encouraging people to sign up and join in. Winchester Radio’s Mary Blaxland spoke to the group’s Richard Eve to find out more.
- Shout-outs:
- To Alec, Jim and Marcus, who are currently undertaking a 100-mile trek along the South Downs Way, raising funds for the development and expansion of the Chesil Theatre. They will be completing the final leg of the trail this weekend, planning to walk the final 12 miles back to the theatre on Saturday morning, and would welcome some company for their final push!
- To the staff, volunteers, members and supporters of the Boaz Project, who raised over £6k at their fun-filled Open Day and Plant Sale last weekend
- To all the individuals and organisations involved in Dementia Friendly Winchester who worked tirelessly all of last week during ‘Dementia Action Week’ to reach more people affected by dementia, and provide a wide range of activities, events and support information. A lot of families who had newly-diagnosed loved ones with dementia went along to the events, and were able to be sign-posted to the local help available all through the year.
- To the University of Winchester Sports Teams who were recently honoured at the University’s annual ‘Colours Awards’ event. Volunteer efforts being recognised include our own Kieran Tibbert who was a Finalist for the ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ category. Fellow members of his swimming team also celebrated success, including Mia Curtis, winner of the Activities Champion Award, for her efforts both in the swimming pool and on the netball court; and Molly Staples who took home the ‘Overall Achievement Award’ and will represent Guernsey in the pool at this summer’s Commonwealth Games.
- To the young people involved at Winchester Rotaract who devoted time packing up toy boxes for charity KidsOut alongside other Rotaract members from the south and London areas. 100 boxes were filled with goodies such as educational and craft activities and clothing, to support children in need or going through difficult times such as being in hospital, or in a place of safety or refuge due to sad family circumstances.
- To all the caring staff at Hampshire Hospitals, and a reminder that if you or a loved one has recently received care from the teams, there is still time to nominate a special member of staff or a whole team for a Hampshire Hospitals ‘People Award’. Full details can be found on the NHS Trust’s website. There are 8 categories and nominations are open until Monday 1st June.
