Chandler's Ford Today

Winchester

Winchester Mass Cycle 2023

By 2 Comments

Prologue

Last weekend (30th September) saw the seventh annual Mass Cycle in Winchester.  It was organised by Cycle Winchester, a community group that campaigns to make Winchester better by bike.  And, let’s be honest, Winchester is currently not particularly cycle-friendly.

Mass Ride bicycle
Mass Ride bicycle

This was most definitely NOT a protest demonstration.  There was no laying down of bikes to block the roads; there was no padlocking of cyclists to bollards.  The purposes were to promote the joy of cycling, to provide a safe opportunity for less-proficient cyclists to brave the centre of Winchester, and to show the city and county councils how many people might switch to bicycles if only the infrastructure were there. [Read more…] about Winchester Mass Cycle 2023

Tags: , , , ,

Winchester United Nations

By 8 Comments

At 4.30 am on a Sunday, as the sky was lightening, an ambulance with me on board rocked and bumped from our house en route to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester. A sudden fever and collapse caused Madam some alarm, and fortunately for me, her 999 call brought the ambulance within 30 minutes.

‘We’ve got to strap you in, by law,’ explained the ex-soldier paramedic. No need, I thought. But the potholes and ambulance suspension showed it was necessary.

Embed from Getty Images

The RHCH was quiet at dawn on a Sunday, and I was soon in a bed.

‘What’s been happening to you?’ asked Dr Hemeda as he looked me over. I asked him where he qualified. ‘Ein Shams, Cairo. We’ll get you x-rayed.’ We chatted about Ein Shams, as I have lectured there a few times. It is the oldest of Cairo’s Universities and the Centre for Muslim Studies. On my first visit there, I took a bottle of Whisky for my host but thought better of it and kept it in my bag. [Read more…] about Winchester United Nations

Tags: , , , , ,

Days to Treasure: Faith and Literature

By Leave a Comment

This year Winchester Cathedral hosted the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature (subtitled as a three-day literary festival with a theological slant). Some of our parish went along to see what was on offer.

One of us volunteered as a steward at the West Downs campus for the Saturday. She says, “I had a very interesting day.  As a steward I had the opportunity to attend a number of seminars.  My day began with hearing from Brian Draper on the subject of Soulfulness, followed by Rowan Williams speaking on Christian Ethics and Solidarity. I then listened to Catherine Fox and Francis Spufford as authors in conversation together on faith in fiction, and rounded it all off with a discussion between Rachel Mann and Jay Hulme as poets, on (un)holy desire with a trans perspective – a fascinating and eclectic day by anyone's standards, with much to reflect on! (And so much more I didn’t get to hear!)”

Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral – via Pixabay
[Read more…] about Days to Treasure: Faith and Literature

Tags: , , , , , ,

Tributes to Queen Elizabeth II

By 4 Comments

There are many ways to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. In Chandler’s Ford, members of the public have laid flowers by a cross outside the St. Boniface Church on Hursley Road.

Chandler's Ford people lay flowers to pay tribute to to Queen Elizabeth II.
Chandler’s Ford people lay flowers to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.

[Read more…] about Tributes to Queen Elizabeth II

Tags: , , , , , ,

Buttercross

By 1 Comment

Thanks to Chippy Minton and Mrs Chippy enjoying their walk in Cranbury Park, readers may be interested to hear about another piece of history attached to the park …

I am sure we are all familiar with the Buttercross in Winchester’s High Street. This fifteenth-century market cross stands 43 feet high and is reckoned to be the finest in the country. True to its name, its original function was for market traders to display the butter they had for sale, as well as cheese, eggs and milk. With four statues in niches, only the one of St John the Evangelist is original, the other three having been replaced during restoration in 1865 by Sir George Gilbert Scott (architect of many notable buildings and monuments including the Albert Memorial in London).

Buttercross image via Tim Parker on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Buttercross image via Tim Parker on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

[Read more…] about Buttercross

Tags: , , , ,

Exploring the Itchen Way

By 3 Comments

I’ve written before about how one of my favourite local walks is the stretch of river from Bishopstoke to Highbridge.  As part of our “keeping it local” lockdown exercise, over the last couple of months Mrs Chippy and I have been exploring the rest of the river.

We started by running the stretch from Woodmill to Winchester and back.  No, not all in one go; that would be silly.  We took it in four stages – each stage a round trip of around 8 to 10 km (sorry to die-hard imperial measurers, but I measure exercise in kilometres – probably because the numbers build up more quickly).

The longest stretch was from Bishopstoke to Woodmill.  It takes a lot of perseverance as, once you leave Bishopstoke, there is no crossing point until Mansbridge, 6 km away (the M27 doesn’t count).  It’s also (possibly for the same reason) the least busy part of the path; we passed very few people. It was quite a surprise to see lots of people once we reached Mansbridge and completed the short section through Riverside park to Woodmill. [Read more…] about Exploring the Itchen Way

Tags: , , , , , ,

M3 to get Smart

By 4 Comments

Work will soon begin to upgrade the M3 between Junctions 9 and 14 (Winchester to Eastleigh) to a Smart motorway.  Site clearance and preparation works will start in the winter, with main construction scheduled from later in 2020 until 2022.  When complete, the upgraded motorway will neatly dovetail between the new Smart M27 and the proposed improved junction layout at Winnall.  Does this sound like a coordinated plan of road improvement schemes?  I think it does.

A Smart motorway is a motorway with an extra lane instead of the hard-shoulder.  A host of electronic gismos allow Highways England to monitor traffic flows, respond to incidents, and generally keep the traffic moving. [Read more…] about M3 to get Smart

Tags: , , ,

Sailing into Christmas with the Jubilee Sailing

By 1 Comment

Christmas is a busy time of year for most charities and the Jubilee Sailing trust (JST) is no exception.

Having enjoyed a lovely day at the Chandler’s Ford Joint Charities Christmas Market, we also attended the Romsey Christmas Market and most recently the Winchester Christmas Market in the stunning setting of Cathedral Close. [Read more…] about Sailing into Christmas with the Jubilee Sailing

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Walk for Adam – from Chandler’s Ford to Winchester Cathedral

By 12 Comments

This morning we joined our friends Mike and Alison Standing, together with Deborah Hockney (Alison’s sister) and her family on A Walk for Adam.

The walk aims to raise awareness of the high level of suicide that occurs in our society, especially amongst younger men, which seems to get hidden from view from the general public.

The 40-mile walk started from Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church this morning, and will spread over 4 days. Today we completed our first day’s walk and arrived at Winchester Cathedral. Friends and families will continue the rest of the journey over the next 3 days. [Read more…] about A Walk for Adam – from Chandler’s Ford to Winchester Cathedral

Tags: , , , , , ,

A Walk for Adam

By Leave a Comment

Over the August bank holiday weekend, Mike and Alison Standing will be joining Deborah Hockney (Alison’s sister) and her family (Gabriella and Joel) on ‘A Walk for Adam’, to raise awareness of the high level of suicide that occurs in our society, especially amongst younger men, which seems to get hidden from view from the general public.

[Read more…] about A Walk for Adam

Tags: , , , , , ,

Winchester Discovery Centre – 10th Anniversary Celebrations

By Leave a Comment

Image Credit: Unless otherwise stated, all images were taken by Allison Symes.

A group of regional writers took part in the Winchester Discovery Centre’s 10th anniversary celebrations on Saturday 25th November. [Read more…] about Winchester Discovery Centre – 10th Anniversary Celebrations

Tags: , , , , , ,

Who Should I Vote for?

By 13 Comments

Who should I vote for in the forthcoming election? A person or party with political gravitas, one that shows qualities of statesmanship. Or should it be statespersonship? Where are such people? I only see squabbling fourth-formers exchanging slogans as if they embody the solution to the world’s problems.

Our politicians try to do their best but they are products of the system which seems to me to be flawed. But that is a story for another day.
[Read more…] about Who Should I Vote for?

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

General Election 2017

By 9 Comments

So, in two weeks time – and three years earlier than we expected – we have a general election to look forward to.  Some people may have reacted to this news with “a chance to get rid of the current government”; others with “a chance to give the government a greater mandate”.  But for many it is possibly “here we go again”.  [Read more…] about General Election 2017

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Christmas Books and Local Settings

By Leave a Comment

Once upon a time almost every child found an annual under the tree or in their stocking and I have one given to me when I was about seven – The Christmas Stocking.

We carried on this tradition with our children who always opened their annuals at bedtime on Christmas Eve so they had something to keep them happy until morning. I always hoped they’d lie in bed and read instead of getting up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning, but it didn’t work!
[Read more…] about Christmas Books and Local Settings

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Local Author News: Richard Hardie

By 3 Comments

Christmas is, for authors and publishers, the most important time of the year for selling books and is a major lifeline for our bookshops.

With so few independent bookshops around now, it is nice to be able to share news of one that is not only continuing to do well but is also stocking local author Richard Hardie’s Young Adult novels, Leap of Faith and Trouble With Swords.
[Read more…] about Local Author News: Richard Hardie

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Chandler’s Ford from the 1980s – Part 3

By 4 Comments

In the third and final reminiscence from the late 1980s, Chippy tells us his memories of transport and travel at the time.

Strange as it may seem, I think there was more traffic coming through Winchester Road / Bournemouth Road in those days. I often drive that way on a Friday now, and the queues are nothing like I remember. A lot of local traffic would use that route rather than the notorious A33. [Read more…] about Chandler’s Ford from the 1980s – Part 3

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,