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| An exciting year ahead |
| The weather
at the end of April was not as kind as it could have been but this did not deter
people from visiting our annual two day Normandy Market. This ever-popular
street market is just another of the events organised by your St Ives Town Initiative
(SITI), in collaboration with the Town Council. In my conversations with people
in the town, it seems many of you are unaware of the number of events the Initiative
organises, or helps to organise. So, as a reminder, here are notes on some of
the exciting events coming up later this year, with dates for your diary. | | | Plans
are already well advanced for our sixth annual Dickensian Christmas Market, to
be held in the town centre on Sunday 30th November. Although the market is organised
by the Initiative, the Christmas lights switch-on and many of the events on the
stage are handled by the Christmas Lights committee. Working together and collaborating
with other organisations and groups within the town is I believe the way forward
for the Initiative. Continuing this theme, SITI is also working with Huntingdonshire
District Council and Food Fest 2008 to organise a Sandwich Competition later this
year. All four of our market towns -- Huntingdon, Ramsey, St Neots and ourselves
– will compete and will come head-to-head in September. Full details will be in
the next issue of Suggestives. In the last issue I talked about the value
of using our local shops and pointed out the sad fact that if we don’t use them
we may lose them. With this in mind I am very disappointed to see that Huntingdonshire
District Council is planning to increase our car parking charges. Details of the
proposed increases can be found on our website www.goingtostives.info,
and more information can be found on www.huntsdc.gov.uk.
It would appear that while we are doing everything we can to encourage
people into our town, our efforts are being thwarted by those in authority. If
you feel as strongly about this as we do then please lobby your local District
Councillor, and also make your views known to the District Council direct.
Finally I am very pleased to see that plans are underway for setting up a Steering
Group to manage to next phase of the Corn Exchange. Let’s hope that the rivalry
between the Town Council and ACE can now be put to one side, and that all interested
parties can work together on this so that the Corn Exchange is open and ready
for use for everyone who wants to use it in the very near future. Angela
Dickinson, Chairman, St Ives Town Initiative | | | | Back
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| Dates For Your Diary |
| July 12th | Free Church St. Ives | COSI
Festival Concert
 | Rodrigo
Concerto de Aranjuez for Guitar & Orchestra, soloist Tony Engenham.
Premiere
of The Divine Light by local musician/composer David Ditchfield
Second
half of last night of the proms, flag waving and fun. |
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| July 19th & 20th | Nobles
Field | Riverside Gala Weekend
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Saturday Invitation Regatta, with music from 12 noon Sunday Dragon Boat
Racing
Both days:
• Beer tent, Food stalls, craft tent
• Children's
entertainment including inflatable Pirate Ship
• Barracudas Climbing Wall
• plus lots more still in planning If you would like to enter a team
in the Dragon Boat Racing, please email captain@stivesrowingclub.com |
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| Lifesaving Scheme for
Town Centre! |
Magpas
is best known for providing the lifesaving emergency medical team that flies on
the local Air Ambulance and police helicopter. However the charity also operates
another scheme that saves lives in towns and villages across the county and one
of them is being planned for St Ives town centre… The Community First Responder
Scheme trains non-medical people to save lives within their immediate area. There
are 33 Groups across the region involving more than 200 volunteers. |  |  |
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| They carry a medical kit bag that includes oxygen and
an automatic defibrillator in case of cardiac arrests and because they are local
can be on the scene within minutes. Time is a crucial factor in these kinds of
emergencies and the Magpas Community First Responders make a real difference by
being able to provide some medical treatment at the earliest opportunity. In cases
of cardiac arrest for example, a patient’s chances of survival go down by 10%
with every minute that passes. The plan for St Ives is to train and co-ordinate
volunteers from the various shops and businesses in the centre so they can respond
quickly if people need medical help. The Manager of the scheme, Lorna Hayes
said, “We are currently looking for volunteers to come forward and get involved.
The training is only lasts three days and you can literally save someone’s life
by joining this grou If you want to find out more about helping save lives
in St Ives town centre, please call Lorna on 01480 371061. |
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| Sponsored Spring Walk In aid of the British Heart Foundation |
Yes
it’s that time again. This regular feature of the spring diary is taking place
on Sunday 11 May 2008. Anyone wishing to take part can get information and a sponsorship
form from Jean Chandler on 01480 384774, or from the St Ives Weekly News office
in the town. As an extra enticement to local businesses there will be a
Business Shield awarded to the company raising the most sponsorship money, so
get your running shoes out, don your track suit bottoms and get out there. | |  |
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| The British Heart Foundation has raised considerable
sums of money over the years, which has enabled it to donate medical equipment
to many doctors’ surgeries in the area. So please support BHF in their very important
work -- and get yourself fit in the process! |
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| Unsung
Hero - Peggy Seamark |
| | Peggy
Seamark is a St Ives phenomenon. A local lady all her life, Peggy lives in Victoria
Terrace but doesn’t seem to spend much time at home – she’s too busy helping out
with lots of good causes.. She is a regular stand-in at the Norris Museum
where she is also Chairman of the Friends of the Museum. She is the speaker-finder
for the Civic Society of St Ives, and plays an active part in many other local
charities and societies. Living at Victoria Terrace, she knows a lot about flooding
– hopefully a thing of the past now that the new flood defences have been built.
But over the years Peggy has built up an expert knowledge of drainage, and on
this and other issues she is a thorn in the side of any council, utility company
or other organisation that tries to get away with a cheap fix, instead of really
addressing a problem. |
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| Perhaps Peggy is most famous for her work with Swan
Rescue. One of the sights of St Ives is Peggy pedalling to the vets’ surgery with
an injured swan in her bicycle basket. (She sometimes extends her attentions to
Muscovy ducks as well, but draws the line at seagulls!) Footnote: we understand
that Peggy intends to take her well earned retirement from Swan Rescue. So, she
is looking for a successor! Anyone out there who may like to help, please contact
Peggy on 01480 497384. |
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Normandy
Market  |
| The
return of the Normandy Market brought with it cold winds and some rain but the
enthusiasm of the stall holders helped to bring some sunshine into the town. Who
could resist the smell of freshly baked baguettes or calorie laden crepes and
cakes? The array of cheeses on view was wonderful, some of which can be bought
locally but which seem to taste all the better when purchased from the producer. Once
again the market combined with our regular Friday market and the ever successful
Farmers Market, to the benefit of all parties. We would like to say a big thank
you to those who organise the Market, Marche de France, St Ives Town Council and
SITI, there are many months of behind the scenes work to ensure that it is a success
and of benefit to the Town. |
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| Member Profiles Happy First Birthday
Budgens! |
| Yes, on 22 May
2007 Stephen Male and Louise Weston embarked on the biggest adventure of their
lives so far. They formed S & L Retail Limited, the name which you now see on
your Budgens’ till receipts. |
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| After spending many years working within the food retail
sector they decided that they knew enough about what the British buying public
want to take on a franchise for Budgens, and chose St Ives because of “…its charming
nature and sense of local community. We wanted to make Budgens not just a great
shop offering a good range of products that is always available, along with friendly
customer service that’s second-to-none, but also to give all our customers the
sense that this is their shop!” One of the many ideas they have for the
future is to create a ‘customer panel’, to give customers the chance to exchange
ideas and tell them what they would like to see within the store. Until that panel
has been set up they will happily speak and listen to anyone who has something
they wish to say. Why not pop in to see for yourself, and at least wish them Happy
Birthday? |
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Volunteers’ Week 1 – 7 June 2008
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| Have
you ever thought you would like to do something in the community, but you are
not sure who to approach? Well you are just the sort of person the St Ives Volunteer
Bureau is looking for. Whether you have an interest in care of the elderly, conservation,
administration or art, have one spare hour per week, or a whole day, there is
something out there for you. |
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| Age is normally no barrier to what you can volunteer to do, so to find
out what is available please contact Elish at the St Ives Volunteer Bureau on
01480 301462. |
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| Membership Matters |
| We have now changed the Membership renewal year to coincide
with our financial year which starts on 1st April – this reduces the amount of
chasing during the year and enables us to plan for the future. We will be contacting
all Members to advise of the change and, if possible, switch them over to Standing
Order payments to further improve our efficiency and spend more time supporting
our members (we recognise that some members may still prefer to pay by cheque).
Please note the next important event – the SITI Annual General Meeting
on 18th June (6-9pm)! No, not a boring series of speeches but a brief meeting
and re-election of officers followed by FREE Buffet, a presentation of SITI’s
plans for the next year and an opportunity to mix with other members. Invitations
to the AGM will be sent to members individually but please note the date in your
diary.. Another date for you is the following week, Saturday 28th June,
when we are holding a Midsummer Barbeque in the evening at a famous location near
the river. Numbers will be limited so buy your ticket (£10) early to avoid disappointment
– tickets available from Silk & Silver and The Bay Tree. Keep a watch on our web
site, www.goingtostives.info,
for full details of both these events in June. Everyone is welcome, not just SITI
members. Don’t forget to use the secure Members Forum on the web for any
burning issues you want to share with other members or seek action from our local
authorities – we want your views and opinions to ensure we are putting our energies
in to the right priorities. A full list of
all SITI members |
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Rotoract’s Ruby
Celebrations  |
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The Rotaract Club of Huntingdon (including St Ives) is the ‘young is the ‘young
adults’ sponsored arm of Rotary International, dedicated to having fun whilst
helping good causes in the community. To celebrate our 40th anniversary,
having built up 8,000 clubs worldwide, Rotaract is holding a special Presentation
Night on the 14 May at the George Hotel Huntingdon. Young adults aged 18-30 years
are invited to enjoy a few nibbles and a drink and to learn about Rotaract. Please
also invite a friend or colleague, and see how a group of like-minded people have
fun through social activities, and at the same time make a contribution to helping
orthy causes. If you have an interest in supporting a particular cause, this can
often be furthered through Rotaract. All this is achieved by not losing sight
of the importance of meeting friends and socializing. You will also be invited
to nominate a ‘good cause’ that you may ave an interest in, and all suggestions
will be considered in due course. If this is something that is of interest
please email to info@huntingdonrotaract.org.uk |
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