The harmonica first appeared in Vienna in the early 19th century. A simple instrument, air flowing over metal reeds produces different notes, it has long been known for its therapeutic effects.
In these difficult times, a new movement has arisen that will enable anybody who wants one of these simple instruments to do so for free.
Anybody interested can collect just one harmonica on production of proof of identity and local address at a stall to be set up in Station Road under the banner "Swanage Sucks" on Wednesday 1 April.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Washington Comes to Swanage!!
Please do not miss out on this amazing opportunity to learn more about campaigning!
Jacob Rigg - contributor to Barack Obama's speech. 10.30 Workshop 'Campaign Planning & Speechwriting' Swanage Middle School £2.50
12.30 Buffet Lunch-meet Jacob Rigg £6.00 The Mowlem
2.00 Presentation 'Working with President Obama' The Mowlem.
Concessions. Tickets from Purbeck Press 423669, STIC 422885
Purbeck Heritage Centre Wareham 552740
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 4:29 PM
Jacob Rigg - contributor to Barack Obama's speech. 10.30 Workshop 'Campaign Planning & Speechwriting' Swanage Middle School £2.50
12.30 Buffet Lunch-meet Jacob Rigg £6.00 The Mowlem
2.00 Presentation 'Working with President Obama' The Mowlem.
Concessions. Tickets from Purbeck Press 423669, STIC 422885
Purbeck Heritage Centre Wareham 552740
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 4:29 PM
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Graffiti in Worth Matravers:
Villagers swamped by second homes cheer vandalsLocals feeling isolated by well-heeled influx applaud outbreak of hostile graffiti
Peter Walker The Guardian, Saturday 21 March 2009 Article historyJill Thompson is 71, a churchgoing pillar of her community and not the sort to condone vandalism. But she makes an exception for the still unidentified locals who daubed graffiti condemning second home owners and other incomers on a nearby estate of expensive new houses.
"I don't really make a habit of encouraging criminality," she said on the doorstep of her terrace house in Worth Matravers, one of perhaps 40% of properties in the pretty Dorset village to be occupied all year round. "But if I'd known it was happening I'd have given them the paint."
"And made a cup of tea for them afterwards," added her next-door neighbour, Jan Dart, 55.
This uncommon sympathy for lawbreaking is a symptom of what remains a pressing problem in many rural areas, and one not alleviated by the economic downturn: the crushing lack of affordable housing for local people. A combination of London-style prices in areas with very un-London incomes is slowly killing hundreds of villages, rural campaigners warn.
In the next few weeks, ministers will respond to a report by Matthew Taylor, the MP for Truro and St Austell in Cornwall, who has recommended measures including local trials in which planning permission would be needed to turn residences into holiday homes.
A week ago slogans including "No More 2nd Homes" and "Go Away" appeared overnight on the walls and driveways of the development of four new houses near the centre of Worth Matravers, a village of about 170 properties occupying a glorious spot on hills overlooking the extended inlet that forms Poole harbour. At around £450,000 each, the smart new homes, built from grey-brown Purbeck stone, are aimed at second home purchasers or comfortable retirees from elsewhere, rather than locals in an area where most jobs come from farming, quarrying or tourism. This development attracted extra local ire as it occupies the site of a former craft centre and cafe.
Thomson remembers when the village also had two shops and a post office. These closed, leaving just a pub. "When I walk to the church at 6pm on a winter evening there's hardly a light on in any house. It feels very lonely and not very safe at all," she said. In her experience, few second home owners integrate into local life. "They come down from London, spend two weeks telling us what to do and complaining about the mobile phone signal and then they go home again."
A few minutes away is the duck pond and well-tended green. A 20-year-old local woman, who asked not to be named, was cutting the grass for a local gardening firm. At the end of the day she would return to a caravan, her home for the past three years. "Doing a job like this, it's all I can afford. I couldn't pay the rent on a flat," she said.
According to data collected by the Commissioner for Rural Communities, just over 7% of housing in Purbeck is made up of second homes, among the highest proportions in the country. Mark Sturgess, head of planning for Purbeck council, believes that the real figure is closer to 10%, while in places such as Worth Matravers it could be six times that.
"A lot of places have reached a sort of critical mass, after which local businesses like pubs, post offices and shops can't survive," he said.
Taylor, who delivered his report last July, said affordable housing was "a big issue in the postbag" for MPs in constituencies like his. "There is a general issue about the viability of small communities. With the numbers left living permanently you can't support schools, shops, year-round transport or even year-round pubs."
While Taylor expects the government to back "a great deal" of his report, it has already warned it will not support new planning laws for second homes.
Back in Worth Matravers there is a picturesque terrace cul-de-sac of former workers' cottages, almost all bought and tastefully renovated by holiday owners. To the amusement of some locals the street's name is London Row. One part-time occupier, Roger - whose main home is Sussex - said his ilk got "a pretty bad press at times".
He added: "It's not as if these places were thriving before we arrived. Some of the villages used to be pretty run down, and they've done well from second home owners and holiday rentals."
Roger insists he does take a full part in local life: "I've just got back from being in the pub with my neighbours. I think the people are friendly enough. But then I'm a good mixer in general."
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 8:08 PM
Peter Walker The Guardian, Saturday 21 March 2009 Article historyJill Thompson is 71, a churchgoing pillar of her community and not the sort to condone vandalism. But she makes an exception for the still unidentified locals who daubed graffiti condemning second home owners and other incomers on a nearby estate of expensive new houses.
"I don't really make a habit of encouraging criminality," she said on the doorstep of her terrace house in Worth Matravers, one of perhaps 40% of properties in the pretty Dorset village to be occupied all year round. "But if I'd known it was happening I'd have given them the paint."
"And made a cup of tea for them afterwards," added her next-door neighbour, Jan Dart, 55.
This uncommon sympathy for lawbreaking is a symptom of what remains a pressing problem in many rural areas, and one not alleviated by the economic downturn: the crushing lack of affordable housing for local people. A combination of London-style prices in areas with very un-London incomes is slowly killing hundreds of villages, rural campaigners warn.
In the next few weeks, ministers will respond to a report by Matthew Taylor, the MP for Truro and St Austell in Cornwall, who has recommended measures including local trials in which planning permission would be needed to turn residences into holiday homes.
A week ago slogans including "No More 2nd Homes" and "Go Away" appeared overnight on the walls and driveways of the development of four new houses near the centre of Worth Matravers, a village of about 170 properties occupying a glorious spot on hills overlooking the extended inlet that forms Poole harbour. At around £450,000 each, the smart new homes, built from grey-brown Purbeck stone, are aimed at second home purchasers or comfortable retirees from elsewhere, rather than locals in an area where most jobs come from farming, quarrying or tourism. This development attracted extra local ire as it occupies the site of a former craft centre and cafe.
Thomson remembers when the village also had two shops and a post office. These closed, leaving just a pub. "When I walk to the church at 6pm on a winter evening there's hardly a light on in any house. It feels very lonely and not very safe at all," she said. In her experience, few second home owners integrate into local life. "They come down from London, spend two weeks telling us what to do and complaining about the mobile phone signal and then they go home again."
A few minutes away is the duck pond and well-tended green. A 20-year-old local woman, who asked not to be named, was cutting the grass for a local gardening firm. At the end of the day she would return to a caravan, her home for the past three years. "Doing a job like this, it's all I can afford. I couldn't pay the rent on a flat," she said.
According to data collected by the Commissioner for Rural Communities, just over 7% of housing in Purbeck is made up of second homes, among the highest proportions in the country. Mark Sturgess, head of planning for Purbeck council, believes that the real figure is closer to 10%, while in places such as Worth Matravers it could be six times that.
"A lot of places have reached a sort of critical mass, after which local businesses like pubs, post offices and shops can't survive," he said.
Taylor, who delivered his report last July, said affordable housing was "a big issue in the postbag" for MPs in constituencies like his. "There is a general issue about the viability of small communities. With the numbers left living permanently you can't support schools, shops, year-round transport or even year-round pubs."
While Taylor expects the government to back "a great deal" of his report, it has already warned it will not support new planning laws for second homes.
Back in Worth Matravers there is a picturesque terrace cul-de-sac of former workers' cottages, almost all bought and tastefully renovated by holiday owners. To the amusement of some locals the street's name is London Row. One part-time occupier, Roger - whose main home is Sussex - said his ilk got "a pretty bad press at times".
He added: "It's not as if these places were thriving before we arrived. Some of the villages used to be pretty run down, and they've done well from second home owners and holiday rentals."
Roger insists he does take a full part in local life: "I've just got back from being in the pub with my neighbours. I think the people are friendly enough. But then I'm a good mixer in general."
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 8:08 PM
Friday, March 20, 2009
Sandbanks Ferry price rise
Ferry nuff - or too much?
If I remember rightly it was 2006 the last time that fares were increased.
They now want to get:
£1 from Peds - 11% rise (return)
£3.50 from Cars - 17% rise (single)
£1 from 2 wheelers - 25% rise (single)
Urrm, 11, 17% rises don´t seem too bad, but 25% for Peds and the far more energy efficient 2 wheelers (pedal and motor) seem bizarre.
What about there Green Credentials?
My place of work, and many others, are staring to penalise car use, but not 2 wheelers.
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 4:25 PM
If I remember rightly it was 2006 the last time that fares were increased.
They now want to get:
£1 from Peds - 11% rise (return)
£3.50 from Cars - 17% rise (single)
£1 from 2 wheelers - 25% rise (single)
Urrm, 11, 17% rises don´t seem too bad, but 25% for Peds and the far more energy efficient 2 wheelers (pedal and motor) seem bizarre.
What about there Green Credentials?
My place of work, and many others, are staring to penalise car use, but not 2 wheelers.
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 4:25 PM
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Zebra Crossings anyone?
Why is there such a lack of zebra crossings in Swanage? It seems to me that they're needed in lots of little places especially to help children on their way to and from school, and to help older people be able to cross the road more slowly. Surely they're relativly cheap, just some paint and a lightbulb! Does anyone have any hotspots they think one would be useful?
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 5:49 PM
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 5:49 PM
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Selling off the family silver......
At last the sale/lease of Swanage Bay View Holiday Park has been advertised in the press:http://www.foxleisure.co.uk/detail.asp?id=181
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Legal action?
Can anyone cast any light on the professional indemnity case brought by the town council against its former legal representative?
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 3:45 PM
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 3:45 PM
Town tax rise
Has the town been told that the precept will be increased by 37% due to mismanagement of Swanage Bay Holiday Park by the Town Council??
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 1:15 AM
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 1:15 AM
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Somerfield
Sainsbury´s have just purchaesd 24 Co-Op properties.
So anyone heard any more rumours about Somerfield and Budgens?
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 2:00 PM
So anyone heard any more rumours about Somerfield and Budgens?
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 2:00 PM
Purbeck Community Plan
New and improved, but still draft, Community Plan.
Thereś some good stuff on housing.
http://tinyurl.com/8atasj
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 8:29 AM
Thereś some good stuff on housing.
http://tinyurl.com/8atasj
Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 8:29 AM
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Blues Festival: 6, 7, 8 March
The 9th Swanage Blues Festival
6, 7, 8 March 2009
40 Gigs in 15 Indoor Venues!
free admission to all venues - dig deep when the collections come round - your donations keep this going
http://www.swanage-blues.org/
6, 7, 8 March 2009
40 Gigs in 15 Indoor Venues!
free admission to all venues - dig deep when the collections come round - your donations keep this going
http://www.swanage-blues.org/
Saturday, February 21, 2009
The Mowlem
Next time you walk past the Mowlem, look at the concrete that overhangs the sea. That's not good
Death Alley
Once again we have a sunny half term day with hundreds of families with their kids playing on the beach. The amusement arcade, the ice cream shop and the toilets are all on the other side of the road along which two way traffic can proceed at 30 miles an hour against a fence of parked cars, vans and suvs. There have already been deaths here. Why o why isn’t the road closed all year around?
Friday, February 20, 2009
Windfarm off Swanage!?
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/purbeck/4140901.FURY_AT_WIND_FARM_PLANS/
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There will be a meeting at the Town Hall, Swanage, on Friday 6th March, from 3 - 4.30, to discuss how we can plan and prepare and make the most of the Sailing Olympics at Weymouth in 2012. Gary Fooks, Olympic Legacy Manager, will be present to discuss how this once in a lifetime opportunity could provide benefits before the Olympics, during the events and a lasting legacy beyond.Anyone in business or interested in entrepreneurial opportunities should try to be there.