New Milton Advertiser 9th Oct 2020

Friday 9th October 2020 · 3

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Care home award to thank community

Man broke order to contact woman FLOUTING a restraining order by contacting a woman landed a Christchurch man with an 18-month condition- al discharge. Vincent Clark (40), of Melbourne Road, admitted committing the offence on 22nd September, when he appeared before Poole mag- istrates. He was also told to pay £106 court costs. 70-minute delay as lane blocked DELAYS of up to 70 minutes were caused by a road accident near the A35 Tot- ton bypass on Wednesday evening. The incident close to the Redbridge causeway blocked one lane on the eastbound side of the dual carriageway and generated queues that stretched back to the junc- tion with the A326.

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Residents seek unsung heroes of pandemic for special accolade

BY CAROLYN GRIFFITH

UNSUNG heroes who have gone out of their way to help the community during the coro- navirus pandemic are being sought for a special accolade launched by a Waterside care home. Residents at Oaklands Rest Home in Marchwood have or- ganised a competition to find locals who deserve to be rec- ognised for their efforts with a Waterside Community Champi- on Award. The prize is for all community members, including NHS work- ers or members of the public, who have helped others in some way. Home manager Nicola Ray said: “The last few months have been a challenging time for all of us but there are some brilliant people in our community who have gone the extra mile to make a differ- ence and we want to celebrate them. “There have been stories of individuals who have worked tirelessly, volunteering their time for free to keep spirits of HIGHCLIFFE residents have welcomed moves to reinvigo- rate the high street by lowering the speed limit to 20mph, wid- ening pavements and removing parking bays. The new proposals were un- veiled by Highcliffe and Walk- ford Parish Council which said it will create a new “café cul- ture” in the village. It employed consultants Paul Basham Associates to look at ways Lymington Road could be improved amid fears the pan- demic could sound its death knell. With the aim of making it “less congested and chaotic”, they suggested free parking sessions in the Wortley Road car park to “remove the domi- nance” of vehicles in the village centre, as well as a new zebra crossing. Pavements would be wid- ened and improved, while there would be increased signage for cyclists. After the plans were made public by the parish council, vil- lagers said they welcome dthe changes, with many adding they do not currently use it. Highcliffe Action Team (HAT) was pleased with the new measures. A spokesperson told the A&T: “HAT passion- ately supports positive meas- ures that will further benefit our high street. GIGANTIC from across the UK will travel to the New Forest tomorrow (Satur- day) as Lymington twins Ian and Stuart Paton stake their claim for the title of world’s big- gest pumpkin. Incredibly, the enormous specimen pictured on the front page with Ian’s two-year-old granddaughter Martha Syret- t,is not the cream of their crop – there are, in fact, two larger pumpkins set to be tip the scales during the weigh-in event at Pinetop Nursery. Ian (59) told the A&T: “This year we have two absolute mon- sters in our pumpkin patch. By measuring the circumference we can estimate the weight and we believe one will be around the ninth biggest pumpkin ever grown and the other pumpkin is even bigger than that. “This year our largest pump- kins circumference is 500in which is over 20ft – it is an ab- solute monster and there is a very real chance it could take the world record which has been held by Mathias Willemi- jns since 2016.” During its three-week grow- ing peak, Ian and Stuart esti- mated the largest pumpkin was gaining 51lbs each day, with the pair spending around six hours a day tending to it. As well as the huge time commitment, growing super- sized vegetables is an expensive hob-by with the pair investing thousands of pounds in equip- ment and specialist watering systems. They decided to host their own official weigh-in event in growers

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Residents and staff are urging people to nominate their local heroes

others up. “The Waterside Community Champion Award is a chance to make sure their hard work isn’t gone unnoticed and they gain the recognition that they deserve.” As reported in the A&T, local residents have thrown them- selves into supporting the effort against the coronavirus.

Volunteer groups have dedi- acted themselves to manufac- turing facemasks, running er- rands for people self-isolating, and organising PPE for front- line carers and medics. Nominations must include the name of the person be- ing put forward and why they deserve to win along with the nominator’s name and

contact details. They can be emailed to wcc@oaklandsresthome.co.uk or sent to the home’s Face- book page www.facebook.com/ OaklandsRH Entries must be sent by 6pm on 30th October, with the win- ner set to be announced on 13th November to coincide with World Kindness Day.

Villagers back street revamp ideas

huge prices to eat. There is re- ally only the Globe which is ‘af- fordable’ in the evenings.” On the proposals to remove parking bays, except two for the disabled, one resident said: “Get rid of all street parking. Make the car park free for 30 minutes for those short runs to the bakery and butcher when just nipping in.” The parish council is hoping the plans will be supported by BCP Council so work can begin next year.

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Highcliffe’s Lymington Road could see a raft of changes

One claimed: “Some of the current shops believe they are mini Harrods. Prices are ridic- ulous.” Others said they looked for- ward to the proposals being implemented, with one saying: “About time, poor village. It used to be so lovely with all the little shops.” Some residents offered their own suggestions, with one say- ing: “I don’t mean we can turn the clock back but let’s have less of the retirement village filled with well-heeled resi - dents. “Need to cater for people who work and can’t afford to pay

“Clearly, it’s been a very dif- ficult year for a number of our traders, shops, offices and busi - nesses on Lymington Road, so we look forward to working to- gether on new and innovative initiatives to take Highcliffe forward. “May we also take this oppor- tunity to encourage local res- idents to continue to support our high street, particularly through the winter season.” Posting on social media, one man admitted: “I live in High- cliffe but rarely go to the high street because the shops there have nothing to offer unless you are 80 or older.”

Growers dream big for pumpkin competition

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Lymington twins Ian and Stuart Paton with a previous whopper

Lymington this year after the annual Pumpkin Festival at Royal Victoria Country Park in Southampton was called off due to the pandemic. Ian said: “We talked about what we should do and felt that is was very sad for all the grow- ers who had gone to so much ef- fort that they would be unable to get the pumpkins officially weighed, so we decided to hold our own drive-by event in line with social distancing rules. “We have asked growers to register in advance – but we don’t really know how many will turn up on the day.” In order for the weigh-in to be officially recognised, Ian and Stuart have arranged for special scales and a panel of three in- dependent judges to join them tomorrow. The event will not be open to the public but will be broadcast live on YouTube. The pair have already shipped

one pumpkin to Spain for an official weigh-in there, which tipped the scales at 2,060lb, and they said the specimens they will weigh in Lymington are much larger. They currently hold the UK record, for a 2,433lb effort which they grew in 2018, but have long set their sights on taking the world record held by Mathias Willemijns for a 187.5 stone – or 2,624lbs – pumpkin. Ian said: “The prize money we do win is pretty insignificant when you consider the money and time we devote to growing the pumpkins. But we are very determined – one day we will get the world record. “We started growing pump- kins over 40 years ago, when our biggest weighed 54lbs, and it is absolutely incredible to think that the pumpkins we grow now can gain around that in weight each day.”

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