Rail Chaos hits Fratton commuters

CHAOS  hit train services t from Fratton station tonight as the transport problems which have plagued the south coast over the past few days mounted up.

Passengers reported massive delays on the line between Havant and Fratton with the twenty minute journey taking around two hours.

Disgruntled passenger Nik Codling left a twitter message at 7pm saying: “Stuck on a train from Havant to Fratton since 5pm, I could have cycled to the  harbour by now.”

Fellow traveller Joel Groney said: “I left Fratton, London bound at 5.20, it’s now 7:50 and I’m stuck outside of Gatwick.”

At the same time the National Rail Enquiries help-line reported  that most  services had returned to normal except in parts of Scotland and the North of England, and stated that in particular Southern, South West Trains and South Eastern  had all returned to a normal service.

A\message on the Southern Rail website also stated: ‘Train services between Chichester and Cosham are being disrupted due to signaling problems in the Hilsea area.
Short notice alterations, cancellations and delays of up to 60 minutes can be expected.’
A spokesman for Southern Rail announced that they plan to run a normal service on Tuesday December 7, but that the damaging effect of the recent weather conditions on the train fleet means that some train carriages will not be available for use.

Shakespeare Actors shine at the Groundlings

WE WERE transported back in time to the great age of amateur dramatics at the Groundlings Theatre last night with a major new production of Romeo and Juliet performed by the Southsea Shakespeare Actors.

Founded in 1947 they are the only theatre company in the UK to have performed every play in the Shakespeare Canon, and the current play certainly doesn’t disappoint.

In Act One Romeo played by  Adam Brown,24, delivers his lines with the playful sensitivity of a love-struck young teenager.

As Juliet, Lara Hardwick, 15, acts with a maturity that belies her age and is totally convincing as the young maiden, one minute playing hard to get, the next falling for Romeo’s impassioned wooing.

The kissing scenes are electric and show evidence of a real chemistry between the two actors.

Andy Thomas commands the stage as the bombastic, fearless Mercutio and Danny Carter captivates the audience as Tybalt, leading the Capulets in their rivalry with the Montagues with a nonchalant swagger.

In Act Two, the playacting and jesting is replaced by sombre displays of sorrow and lament, which the cast handle just as adeptly.

Acoustic guitars, piano and violins are used with soft eerie lighting to add atmosphere to the moving tragic scenes.

The venue is also fitting, with renaissance-style vaulted ceilings and arched Georgian windows evoking the faded classicism of the great age of amateur dramatics in the pre and post-war eras..

Romeo and Juliet can be seen at the Groundlings Theatre, The Old Benny, Curzon Howe Road, Portsea, until Sunday 21^st November. For tickets call: 02392737370

Willetts cancels Pompey visit

MP David Willetts was forced to cancel a visit to Gunwharf Quays on Friday after fears that he would be harassed by student protestors.

Mr Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, was due to attend a conference at the Aspex Gallery, Gunwharf, organised by the South East Coastal Communities Project which was set up to address the regeneration needs of socially deprived areas.

Local residents and representatives of the university and the private sector were due to meet to discuss the findings of the project but the conference was cancelled at the last minute after fears that student protestors would hijack it to demonstrate against university fees.

A spokesperson for Conference organisers South Coast Moneyline said: “Representatives from the University of Portsmouth, Aspex gallery, the police and Gunwharf Quays security met with us this morning to review the arrangements for the event. In the light of information received concerning a planned protest, and concerns about the security, safety and welfare of all persons, it was agreed to postpone the event.”

The conference was to celebrate the outstanding work carried out  by university students on the South East Coastal Communities Project over the last three years, and a chance for local charities and social enterprises to showcase their work to a government minister.

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills denied that the government held any responsibility for cancelling the visit: “David was extremely keen to attend the conference this morning, but we were told it was cancelled by the police and the university,” she said.

AakashNaik, President of Portsmouth University Students Union said: “We wanted to go to the Aspex gallery to have a peaceful protest about fees. We wanted to approach Mr Willetts to discuss the issue as we have emailed him to ask him to come to the university on several occasions but he has failed to reply.

“30% of our students are from the local area and as Mr Willetts is MP for Havant he ought to have their interests at heart. It’s absolutely wrong for us not to have the chance to express our views.”

On the same day, Mr Willetts did pay a visit to Highbury College in Cosham to view the recently built college campus, which passed off without incident.

College Principal Stella Mbubaegbu said: “This visit was a great opportunity for MrWilletts to see our new campus buildings and was in the diary long before the new government took office. There was never any suggestion that the visit would involve discussions about student funding.”

A number of ministerial visits have been cancelled recently due to fears of student unrest across the UK.

Clare is all Heart

HOSPITAL manager Clare Oatridge, 30, competed in the Great South Run on Sunday watched by her father, just a year after his life was threatened by a serious cardiac condition.

Clare, operations manager for Spire Hospital in Southampton, was inspired to take part in the event after her father, John Oatridge, 75,  made a remarkable recovery from a complex heart condition known as multi-vessel disease.

“Dad had been very ill and we were all very grateful for the care he had received,” Clare said. “I had just turned 30 and decided that the time was right to give something back.”

Clare, who admitted she is not known for her sporting prowess, trained for the run with hospital marketing executive Sarah Evans, 31, who had previously competed in the Great South West Run.

 “When I started running in June I couldn’t even do 200 metres without being exhausted,” Clare said, “but Sarah really helped me through and by July we were able to do five kilometres followed by eight miles before the big event.”

But despite finishing the race in just over two hours Clare suffered from an injury which almost prevented her from finishing: “After six kilometres I was forced to stop every mile to spray deep-heat on my knee,” she said.

Wessex HeartBeat provide local support for families affected by heart disease and is the 2010 nominated charity for Clare’s employer Spire Hospital in Southampton which treats cardiac patients.

 “Dad was so proud of me just because he’d never see me run before and he’s naturally got a lot of sympathy for heart-related matters so was really glad that we ran for the charity,” Clare said.

“We’ve raised about £350 in total and the director of the hospital has offered to double the amount. We’ll definitely be running again next year.”

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Fratton Commuity Centre Live at Home charity

 Old folks get crafty at Fratton Community Centre

ELDERLY residents area showing off their creative talents at a weekly Arts  and Crafts Session at Fratton Community Centre.

The sessions are run by the Live at Home charity which was set up by Diane Brown, 56, of Fratton, w to help elderly people feel more comfortable living in their own homes into old age.

Participants are provided with a range of art materials and can share their creative skills and talents whilst getting the chance to meet and chat. Projects have included making Christmas cards, decoupage and tea-bag folding.

Ms Brown who previously worked for Age Concern, believes that the sessions are helping people feel better about living alone: “For those that live at home, we provide a chance to chat and to share which they might not get for the rest of the week,” she said.

One recently bereaved group member said:  “These sessions really are a godsend. You can come here and share something without having to always cry. It really has been a life saver.”

The charity which is funded jointly by Portsmouth City Council and the Methodist Housing Association, originally met in members’ sitting rooms but now runs sessions three times a week . Other activities include intergenerational games, theatre visits and lectures .

Volunteers at the centre have been amazed at how some group members have regained their self confidence after long periods spent living alone. Ms Brown commented: “more than anything else we have a great laugh. You can really see people coming out of themselves.”

However there are concerns that government cuts will mean the charity has to radically reduce its service in the near future. Ms Brown said:  ”We’ve bee asked to show the council how we could operate with 25, 15 and 100% less funding. The simple answer is that we just couldn’t continue to work in anything like the way we do now.”

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Lost Loved Gardens Feature

Printed in etc magazine, Nov 2010

A Lost Loved Garden

Ralph and Linda Nichols are fast developing a reputation for their award-winning organic gardens.
Martin Elvery discovers the secret of their success

NHS workers Ralph and Linda Nichols have always had a passion for gardening, but in 2008 they began
designing gardens of their own, working with The Royal Horticultural Society and local sponsors to create a series of imaginative set-piece gardens.

This began a journey that has seen them win two RHS bronze  medals, appear live on Gardeners’ World and take their garden to the Hampton Court Flower Show in 2010.




A Lost Loved Garden



There is far more to Ralph and Linda’s gardens than winning the support of the judges. They have an organic ethos which means growing all the plants in their own nursery.“We use wild plants which mature, grow and evolve bythemselves,” Ralph explains. “This means pruning should only be
required to strengthen the plant. Our organic ethos means that no insecticides or pesticides are used which may be damaging.”

This summer they took their ‘Lost-loved garden’ design to the Hampton Court Flower Show.
“The inspiration came from photographs of neglected gardens,” says Ralph who lives with wife Linda in Waterlooville. “The purpose of the garden was to demonstrate the importance of the conservation and preservation of buildings and gardens for future generations. The plan was that the derelict house would act
as a backdrop for a garden which until recently was still cared for by – perhaps an elderly neighbour,” says Ralph.


“The garden is losing its former glory as nature begins to creep in.”The bronze medal-winning garden achieves this, dramatically evoking the nostalgia of a hidden corner of granny’s garden. “We used the kinds of plants that would be found in a derelict garden: hops, brambles, white hydrangeas, hollyhox, scabious and even nettles,” says Ralph.


“We aimed to enhance the various greens of the foliage with the pastel shades of the pink, white and blue flowers,” says Ralph. “It’s a bit like painting with plants.”


It’s obvious that Ralph and Linda have been overwhelmed by the response to their design.  “There were over 180,000 people at the show,” says Ralph excitedly. “It was amazing just spending all day talking to people about the garden.We were especially pleased when one passer-by compared our garden to the TV show Cider with Rosie.”


Their design was also singled out as one of 10 must-see gardens at theflower show by former Chelsea award-winner Andy Sturgeon.


Yet this isn’t the only highly original design that Ralph and Linda have
created. In 2009 the couple appeared live on Gardeners’ World with their ‘Something in the Air’ garden.
This was another trip down memory lane with the centrepiece of the garden – a wrought iron 1960s table and chair – surrounded by the evocative scents of lavender and thyme. Structure and height was provided by rambling roses and willow, all planted on a raised bed.

The Something in the Air Garden from the 2006 Gardener's World TV show

As part of their conservation drive the couple use only reclaimed materials in their garden designs. They are sponsored by Tiger Enterprises, a Brighton-based reclamation company which salvages building materials such as bricks, windows and floorboards and re-sells them for renovation work. “The ethos of Tiger Enterprises is similar to the environmental considerations and organic nature of our gardens,” says Ralph.
Ralph and Linda are also working with Growing Southwark, a London-based charity which aims to create gardens in deprived and built-up areas.

The husband and wife team have exciting times ahead of them as they continue to establish themselves as eminent designers. “For next year’s Hampton Court Show we are planning a church garden
based on The Beatle’s song Eleanor Rigby,” says Ralph.

They are also hoping to use reclaimed railway sleepers to create a design called ‘Beach Station,’ which evokes an end-of-the line 1950s railway station with its faded seaside charm.

Because Ralph and Linda’s gardens make use of buildings as a central feature, they have drawn an unexpected response. “We’ve been told that our gardens have provoked a lot of debate in the
RHS about what a garden actually is,” says Ralph.


But what role does Ralph think his wild nostalgic gardens can play in the modern, neat urbanised world of the south coast? “Our hopes are that more people will want to renovate their gardens in a natural way,” explains Ralph. “I would like to see local nurseries take on
garden designers so they can advise people on organic gardening.”


And maybe we could all benefit from a little untamed organic wilderness in
our busy consumer-led lives.
For more details visit http://www.lindaandralphgardening.co.uk/

Old folks bridge the generation gap

FRATTO Community centre is breaking down the generation gap with a new games project.  Elderly people from the Fratton area are teaming up with groups of youngsters including pupils from City Girls School, to play a range of modern and traditional games.

Centre co-ordinator Mary Breeze, 56 has been amazed by how willing both groups are to learn from each other: “Many of the young people have never played board games before but the oldies are having great fun on the Wii,” she said.

A firm favourite with both generations has been New-Age Curling, an indoor form of the sport which involves rolling pucks with wheels across the floor of the sports hall:  ”Its perfect for older folk as it can be played by those in wheelchairs or with very limited mobility,” said Mrs Breeze who has worked at the centre for 30 years,

The sessions which are partly funded by Portsmouth City Council, are linked to the Live-at-Home project  which aims to make it easier for elderly people to continue living in their own  properties. 

Residents say it is a welcome response to  a spate of muggings in the Fratton area which have left  elderly  residents  feeling vulnerable recently.