Summer Sports and Fun in the Park
This will probably be the only page in this edition of the Village News with the word ‘summer’ on it!
Yes, it may be a distant memory now, but this year’s Summer Sports and Fun in the Park proved to be a record-breaking event in every sense with a staggering 803 young people attending the eight sessions.
So not only did the Marchwood session break through the three-figure attendance barrier for the first time but, amazingly, we went on to average 100 young people for each of the sessions.
More than 100 young people were registered at five of the eight sessions this year and our lowest attendance of 66 would easily have been a record itself just three years ago.
The new record was set in the very first session at the end of July, when we registered 123 young people plus there must have been at least 50 parents and family members who came along with their youngsters as well.
If we had counted all the family members, it’s clear to see that we would have easily topped 1,000 people this summer.
Thank-you to all those people who attended and I hope that you’ll all return again next year.
Once again this year our creative young people were busying doing Arts & Crafts, Clay Modelling, Painting, Badge Making, sticking and gluing etc in the Sports Pavilion, while others played football, cricket, tennis, rounders, parachute games plus lots more outside on the field.
Our Tuck Shop also ran for a second year where the girls sold a selection of hot and cold drinks, sweets, crisps and ice pops and managed to raise a very impressive £165 toward our Youth Group funds.
A big thank you to Charlotte, Emily, Jen, Joe, Katie, Megan, Sophie, Stacey and Suzie for giving up varying amounts of their school holiday to help run the show.
I also need to make a special mention to and thank Marchwood Parish Council for continuing to make the Lloyd Recreation Ground available to us for those four weeks. My thanks also to Richard Dance at the Co-Op for his sponsorship of the event.
The Council also allowed us to use the Sports Pavilion changing rooms for all our Arts & Crafts sessions as well as sponsoring the staffing of our Tuck Shop.
Marchwood Skate Park
It is extremely pleasing to report that Marchwood Parish Council have managed to secure the necessary funding to completely re-furbish the Skate Park.
A local company, Veolia Environmental Trust, provided two-thirds of the funding with Barker-Mill Estates, Marchwood Parish Council and the Hampshire Youth Opportunity Fund also all providing crucial funding for this much-needed project.
The Parish Council recently awarded the contract for the building of the metal skate park to a local company, B&N Fabrications, based in Marchwood Industrial Park who have already started work on the first piece of equipment.
What’s exciting about this scheme is that Barry and Nigel of B&N Fabrications have already met with the young people who use the skate park to help design the new one and they can also visit the workshops to see the new equipment being made.
I need to add my thanks to Peter Slade and his band of New Forest Community Church volunteers – including a number of young people – who managed to breath some fresh life into our ageing Skate Park with their recent repair work whilst this funding was being raised.
Cuties’ Evening
A regular number of young people continue to meet in Cue T’s Snooker Club in the Village Precinct every Wednesday evening between 6.00 – 8.00pm.
However, the school holiday closure coupled with sickness unfortunately meant that ‘Cuties’ was closed from the end of July to mid-October – but it’s up and running again now.
For just 50 pence, young people have free use of a full-sized snooker table in the snooker room along with a free pool table in the main bar area. There’s also darts, TV, a Ninetendo Wii plus various other games plus there are soft drinks, food and sweets available from the bar.
New faces are always welcome and I would encourage parents to pop along and see what happens as well.
I also organise regular off-site trips for the young people and at the end of October we went to the “Fright Night” special at Thorpe Park.
Marchwood Youth Development Project
The Marchwood Youth Development Project plans for a purpose-built building on the Lloyd Recreation Ground may well have died by the time you read this.
There has been a lot of concern over the size of the building together with the cost - trying to fund-raise around £700,000 in the current financial climate would be/is a massive undertaking.
If, the current scheme folds/has folded, it will be a disappointment especially on the back of at least three other failed ventures at differing locations over many years – which is why it is so important that
something positive does happen in 2010.
Marchwood Open Forum
This year’s Open Forum welcomed a very special guest speaker – ME!
My theme was the same ‘Anti-Smoking’ talk that we deliver into all the Junior Schools on the Waterside around June time each year – which warns the Year 6 pupils of the dangers and financial/health implications if they ever decide to start smoking.
Suffice to say that even the most intimidating group of teenagers I’ve ever encountered didn’t strike half as much fear into me as standing up in front of a room full of adults – even if they were friendly ones!
As much as I did enjoy it, I’ve decided against joining the after-dinner speaking circuit just yet.
And Finally ….
Don’t forget this year’s Village Traders Christmas Fayre in the Village Centre on Tuesday 8th December.
Following it’s success at the Fete, the Youth Group’s ‘U-Like-Spud’ will be the second biggest attraction (after Father Christmas) and we’ll be selling Jacket Potatoes, Bacon Rolls, Hot Dogs and Soup so don’t bother having any tea before you come along.
SEE YOU THERE!
Derek Hawkins
07908 860786 |
