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Local Milford on Sea News Story Archives

1st October 2009: Superyacht spotted – Can I have one?
Our recent story about the ghost ship, which disappointingly turned out to be the cruise ship ‘Ocean Majesty’, has created more reaction from our readers. Our friend Brian has spotted something even more impressive. A few days ago the superyacht Le Grand Bleu cruised past the Needles to an anchor point at Yarmouth Harbour. As of this morning she is still there. Le Grand Bleu is one in the ‘Worlds Ten Most Expensive Yachts’ & was until a few years ago was owned by Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire oligarch & Chelsea FC owner. I say ‘was’ as it is reported that he ‘gave it’ to his friend Eugene Shvidler in 2006. I wish I was his mate! Roman (My new mate) now only owns two of the ‘Worlds Ten Most Expensive Yachts’, Ecstasea (129 million dollars) & Pelorus (130 million dollars), plus the 160 foot Sussurro. That reminds me, a few years ago we were on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords & we were docking in Stavanger, in the berth right next to us was a monster of a private yacht, which it turned out to be Pelorus. Amusingly, our Royal Caribbean ship had a couple of the ship’s security guards on each gangway, however, Roman’s monster had it own harbourside steel fencing with a plethora of burly guards with ‘do not mess with me’ dogs - & he wasn’t even onboard. Now only having three yachts, I was becoming concerned for Roman’s holiday arrangements, so I was relieved to hear that he is currently awaiting delivery of M/Y Eclipse. (Reported to be costing 350 million dollars) Apparently, everyone is very tight-lipped about the project & definitive statements about size or features are hard to find. The M/Y Eclipse is rumoured to be about 508 feet (155m) long and will have at least two helicopter pads, several hot tubs, one pool, three launch boats, and a private submarine. For security, Eclipse will be fitted with armour plating, bullet proof windows, motion sensors and a special missile-detection system. Should Roman be looking to give away another of his yachts I am sure I could find a space for it in Lymington Marina.
PS: Brian also informed us of an intriguing website that plots the real-time position & movement of all ships in UK waters. Anyone interested in finding out about the name and position of ships in the waters around the Isle of Wight & Needles may find the ShipAIS website worth a visit.
ShipAIS: Ship position website http://www.shipais.com/currentmap.php?map=isleofwight.

1st October 2009: A Milford on Sea mystery walk.
As we were about to commence our afternoon dog walk I decided that opposed to our normal beach stroll, I would surprise my wife by suggesting I take her, & the dogs, somewhere new. I am assured that it is moments like this that keeps a marriage exciting. (Sometimes I even put the toilet seat down, which really throws her.) Now, this was not a spur of the moment thing on my part, I had been motivated to our voyage of discovery after reading that Milford on Sea has four Local Nature Reserves. We knew The Pleasure Grounds & Sturt Pond at the beginning of the Solent Way, & we also know the nearby Pennington and Keyhaven Marshes National Nature Reserve, but we had never ventured to Studland Common or Sharvells Copse (Shorefield Copse). After a bit of web research the locations were discovered and we were off. It was not hard to find Sharvells Copse as this sits conveniently in Sharvells Road. Studland Common however was to prove more of a challenge for me & my lucky wife, who always loves my little adventures, although she pretends not to. I knew that the common sat North of the houses in Whitby Road & Pless Road, & to the South of Sharvells Road. What I did not know is that the numerous entrance paths are camouflaged. We could not spot a sign to help us identify any way in, & we didn’t fancy wandering down an unmarked path to end up in someone’s back garden. After a few circuits we stopped by the bridge in New Valley Road. Like an old American Indian scout I had discovered the trail (but still no signs) & we were soon in Studland Common. The expedition had been worth it, as we happily meandered along the numerous wooded paths. (Paths in woods this is, rather than wooden paths, which of course would be totally impractical.) The Danestream ran all the way through the centre with many a pleasant bend, whilst the local wildlife rustled purposefully in the bushes & trees. As we walked our dogs it was pleasing to see that no fellow dog walkers had abused the privilege of taking a dog walk in the woods. Strangely though, none of the paths on which we walked had any ‘dog bins’. (Perhaps they were on the hidden entrances?). A quick chat with a fellow dog accompanied stroller informed us that the common’s Western corner contained a pleasant open meadow. (Apparently, there is another secret entrance to the meadow from the junction of Westminster Road & Pless Road.) We also discovered a swinging rope hanging from a large tree across a water pool in the stream. I could picture children having a great time playing here on summer days. I did my best to encourage my wife to have a go, but she politely & firmly declined, insisting I would just laugh if she fell in. She was of course right. On reflection, I feel that bringing some laughter to your husband is a generous thing, so was she being uncaring by not having a go? (Don’t think I will raise the last point with her due to fear of personal injury.) Our walk finally led us to a gate into Shorefield Country Park. It was rewarding to see that the secret was being maintained, as once again there was no signs for the common here either. We did not enter into the site as we had been told it can take up to three days to find your way out of the warren of roads in the holiday caravan park. So, despite us being the adventurous types, we decided that returning to our car by the common’s paths was a better option. In conclusion, if we are not the only people to never have visited Studland Common before, you may find it an ideal place for a gentle stroll or dog walk. The easiest place we found to park & access Studland Common was by the bridge in New Valley Road. But don’t look for any signs, we reckon there aren’t any?!

6th October 2009: Milford on Sea: Hyphens or no hyphens?
I woke up this morning thinking, 'who can I annoy today'. Now, my wife had yet to have her second cup of tea, so it would have been unwise to even consider annoying her this early. A quick pop outside, but no one to be seen, so a change of plan was needed. Luckily there was a subject that had perplexed me for some time, so I decided now was the time for some research on whether Milford on Sea should have hyphens in or not. (We only deal with the big issues here you know) First point of call was the welcome signs into the village, no hyphens, so this must be right. To double check I took a look at the Parish Councils website. The header had no hyphens, but the official address details did, so did a couple of mentions in the site’s text. So ‘One All’ so far. Next, the Community Centre. No hyphens on website, so ‘Two One’ to the ‘No Hyphens’. The NHS site for the War Memorial Hospital had no hyphens, yet Hospital Friends website were clearly in the hyphen camp. My next investigation should prove telling, so I tracked down the Milford Historical Records Society web page. Ah, they don’t have the ‘on-sea’ bit in their name, good plan. However, Milford-on-Sea did appear in their written text, so now ‘Three All’. Hampshire County Council mention our village by using both versions, so they have covered themselves well by ensuring they have the correct version somewhere. Time to hit the streets to ask couple of people I know in the village, one said ‘you can stick your hyphens where you like’, but I wasn’t entirely convinced he was commenting on my actual question. The others just looked at me pitifully & enquired whether ‘I didn’t have something more important to do’. This did make me think, but I concluded I hadn’t, plus I was convinced that people needed to know the result of my mission.

I therefore decided to take a new tact by finding out a bit more about ‘hyphens in names’. Apparently, but not necessarily relevant, I discovered that the longest hyphenated town name in the USA is Washington-on-the-Brazos in Texas. I considered asking one of the inhabitants if they could comment on my quest, but decided they might not have heard of Milford on Sea, and even if they had I am not good with accents. I also discovered that Sutton-under-Whitestoncliffe is situated in the North Yorkshire Moors and claims to be the longest hyphenated place name in England. Again, I never called anyone there for the same geographic & accent reasons already mentioned. A quick look at Wikipedia, but although the village is mentioned, I never believe things I read in Wikipedia, so that was disqualified. I finally had a look at BBC News but there was no mention of Milford on Sea at all, so no help here then. I then had a brainwave, when does the Oxford Dictionary believe it is correct to use a hyphen? I found they are not sure either. The first editors of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, wrote in their preface to the 1911 edition: ‘We have also to admit that after trying hard at an early stage to arrive at some principle that should teach us when to separate, when to hyphen, and when to unite the parts of compound words, we had to abandon the attempt as hopeless, and welter in the prevailing chaos.’, they conclude ‘Hyphenation in English is highly variable, and in many contexts, it really doesn't matter’. My ‘in-depth’ research therefore left the results as an honourable draw with the ‘With Hyphens - Four’ & ‘No Hyphens - Four’. So, what is the correct way to write our village name: Milford on Sea or Milford-on-Sea? It seems there is no right answer, so just do what you like! Thinking my mission was over, someone has just asked me which is correct, Danes Stream or Danestream? - Argggh!

6th October 2009: Join the Village Health Walk.
The village 'health walk' is designed to slowly introduce & increase a little bit of regular activity for us all. There is no rush, as they are gentle walks around differing parts of the village. Everyone walks at a comfortable pace for themselves & there is plenty of time to chat & meet new people. The walks take place every other Friday, meeting at 10am the Youth Club Hut in the Sea Road Car Park, followed by a coffee & chat in The Smugglers Inn if you fancy one. New walkers & friends always welcome. Volunteer walk leaders also needed if you have a couple of hours to spare every other week. The free walks are organised by the Community Wellbeing project from Solent Mind. For more information please call: Sheelagh Kreft on 02380 224312. Solent Mind website: www.solentmind.org.uk

14th October 2009: Uncovering the seas around Hurst Castle.
SeaZone has been commissioned by New Forest National Park Authority to undertake an archaeological assessment of its changing sea levels around Hurst Castle, Milford on Sea. They will be using detailed marine mapping to identify archaeological and historic sites, that will in turn help with the development of long term coastal management plan to protecting them. It will interesting to see what they uncover.
www.seazone.com

20th October 2009: Beach moves into High Street.
Visitors to Milford on Sea High Street will today discover a completely new road surface, which was laid on Sunday. It is unclear whether the surface has been directly imported from the beach, or whether it is solid custard laced with grit. Driving through the village is now an interesting experience as the underside of your car is splattered with tiny stones. Local shopkeepers were unaware if this is the final road finish, or whether another surprise raid on the surface may yet occur. The good news is that the height of the curbs have now been reduced, giving a fighting survival chance to car wheels & tyres. Apparently, this traffic calming measure will now decrease the high speed racing & crashes in the village centre, probably reducing them from none to zero. Perhaps another reason for the new surface is to indicate to drivers that they are now in the village, but I have to be honest, I was already quite able to recognise this by the shops along the roadside. A (considerably more intelligent) friend of mine made a serious point, that it is actually really useful for the visually impaired, in that it removes the contrast between pavement and kerb thus reducing the risk of falls. I have also now discovered that the changes are all part of the ‘Parish Vision 2020’ in which there is a plan to “reduce speed limits to 20mph in the core village area, by introducing a buff-coloured road surface that will alert drivers that they are entering an area with different driving conditions, thereby encouraging them to slow down.” So, it looks like everything is being done for a reason, However, I still like to have my cynical & anarchic view, it’s more fun!

20th October 2009: Have you seen our new pages?
We have added some new pages over the last few weeks which you may not have yet spotted. We now have a page on ‘Local History Books’ and ‘Village Population Statistics’. Our ‘Famous Residents’ page has expanded by two notable new entries. The ‘Village Community Services’ & ‘Village Medical Services’ now have their own pages. We also now have a link to the Internet Connected Anemometer. No, I didn’t know what that was either, but if you want to find out what this does you will have to go to the ‘Weather’ page. Finally, we have also redesigned the ‘Whats On’ page to make thing a bit more user friendly. (Please don’t tell me you preferred the ‘old one’ as the changes took ages & I don’t want to be forced to do a ‘Reggie Perrin’ from the top of the beach huts! Thought you might also like to know that we have been nominated for the Hampshire Web Awards, (think it must have been by my Mum), unfortunately we cannot canvas for support, neither do I know the judges, so a bung won’t work. Guess we will just have to wait & see what the judges decide. We will keep you posted. (Unless of course we are disqualified for bias ‘news writing’!)

20th October 2009: New Wine Bar gets go ahead.
We have heard that planning permission has been approved for a Wine Bar & Bistro in Milford on Sea village. The new eatery will be in what was the old ‘Clarkes shoe shop’ & what is currently ‘Attic Attack’. The owner, Michael Halliwell, has previously run a successful wine bar in Lymington, so this should be something to look forward to. The village will also see the arrival of a new Fish Restaurant at Monks, plus a bistro, bar & restaurant at the Marine Cafe on the seafront in early 2010. For those of us that like to dine out this all feels good news. Interestingly, studies have proved that areas that have a wide variety of restaurants actually all prosper more, rather than the trade being shared as may be expected. As a purveyor of ‘useless facts’, do you know the first country in the world recorded as making wine, was – Georgia! (I wonder how many people will check this on the web!) Roll on the ‘opening nights’!