Well yes, all of these, but above all else I’m afraid that people from the Isle of Wight want recognition and in my opinion they want it much more than people from say Swanage, or Medway or Weston Super Mare. But Alan Davies really did his homework on this one….he wowed us caulkheads good and proper at the Isle of Arts Festival last weekend.

“Do you think you’re different on the Island?” he asked the bursting marquee-full of muckers. “They think you’re different from them, I can tell you,” he roared to much laughter. Good start Alan.

Much semi-stream of consciousness muttering about being in a marquee that might blow away and the possibility that we might have a mini sub moored off of Ventnor, for rescuing suicidal locals, followed. Then suddenly out of the blue, “Those f*****s in Cowes with their boats. You want to send your sub round there with a torpedo!” Yes the room was warming up nicely at this sortie.

“East Cowes, West Cowes. Is that a thing?” he asked about five more minutes in, after quite a lot on Chris Hoy’s testicles that is probably unprintable in this forum.

“What’s wrong with East Cowes then? Is it a bit of a khazi? Mind you they’ll always have that Queen Victoria thing over us,” he said pretending to be from Cowes.

Facebook got short shrift. “No I don’t want any friends. Why do I want any friends?” he ranted. “Are we back in the playground?

“Would you like to poke Dave? it asked me, so I poked Dave. The next time I saw Dave he was mortified. Dave said “don’t do that again, it means you fancy me.”

By this time Alan had taken to calling us all ‘Isle’. Well Isle we’re gonna have a bit of a break now,” he said before bounding off for a bit.

Tigger-like he was back in a trice, tripping theatrically over the musical instruments on the stage and searching for his jokes that were reassuringly written in longhand on two bits of A4 paper – no ipad for Alan. “When do you get the Sunday papers here then” he asked absent-mindedly. “Monday?”

Then it was ‘ask the audience’ time and he was somewhat mortified to find that the largest majority group in the room appeared to be from the much maligned Cowes. He searched the front rows for a victim, managing to find an holistic therapist.

“Do you use hot stones? Or do you use essential oils?” The poor girl demurred to the latter. “Essential oils, what are they then?” he spat. “Castrol GTX and Mazola. They’re the most essential oils!

“Good luck with your holistic therapy. Personally I think it’s a load of b******s. Oops now he’d alienated half of Ventnor in one foul swoop, but the audience were lapping it up. By this time he could have asked them all to lick the floor for him.

“F*** witted but certain, that’s me,” he opined in a self-depreceating manner that might have been an attempt at an apology to the poor holistic therapist.

“Where do you have to call if you want the police,” he then asked a bit later – maybe he thought he might need to. The answer “Winchester” from a selection of bods in the front row had him in paroxyms. “Winchester! Winchester!?” he whined. “That’s farcical.

“Have we got any students?” no arms were raised. “Have we got any ex students?” produced a better clutch of waving hands. “All the ex students return to the Island,” he observed. “This medieval society.” Oh yes we loved him now. He knew us so well.

“We used to come on holiday to the Isle of Wight in 1974,” he told us towards the end of his show. “My dad would bring his mallet for the windbreak and we used to go and visit the model village. There were some funny model people in there – the postman looked like he’d been napalmed.”

It all got a bit blue towards the end of course, comics always like to see how far they can go, like the bad boys at the back of the class. I loved it and if you pm me I might tell you a few more juicy bits.

But all too soon the fun was over. “I’m only on tour because my wife wants another baby,” (make of that what you will) and “It’s been lovely to be in this potentially lethal venue,” he summarised before bounding off of the stage, tripping over things in his path.

We loved him and he loved us….well most of us.

In the North

Kendalls Gallery in Cowes was opened by former newsreader Kenneth Kendall and is now in a large airy space on the parade in Cowes. The Gallery represents over 80 contemporary artists and holds a new show of around 100 new paintings every four to five weeks.  The purpose designed 1500 sq ft gallery shows some very large pieces and many have a sailing or maritime feel – especially during Cowes Week.

Also in Cowes is the quirky pale blue Pelham House Gallery and café known as PHG. Full of great art PHG is passionate about promoting handcrafted work of high quality from artists, designers and small artisan businesses, most of whom are based in the UK. There is a vintage, coastal theme to the gallery that sells the work of upwards of sixty artists with textiles nestling happily alongside ceramics, paintings, prints, jewellery and sculpture.

In the East

Island Fine Arts in Bembridge has some very exclusive and collectable works of art at its High Street location and specialises in art of the 20^th and 21^st century. Founded in 1997, there are four rooms in this gallery and work from several artists is often featured, although there are usually rotating exhibitions by featured artists monthly.

Quarr Abbey has an exhibition space that is hired by Island artists throughout the year, and it is opposite the library in the gatehouse to the left of the main abbey. There is also a tearoom here in the pretty walled garden.

Seaview Art Gallery is a small family run gallery towards the top of Seaview High Street and it specialises in maritime art produced by local artists.

In the West

Yarmouth Gallery, run by artist Anne Toms and her son, is another good space to find work by Island artists although there are works by those from further afield. There’s a definite coastal feeling to a lot of the art, especially Anne’s depictions of the chalk cliffs and nearby scenery. The gallery is off of the main square, up the quaint narrow High Street and has paintings, ceramics, sculptures and jewellery along with a good card selection.

Dimbola is both a museum to pioneer photographer Julia Margaret Cameron and an exhibition space for contemporary photographers. Along with the permanent collection of JMC photographs and an exhibition telling her story and that of the building, the museum has a 1970 Pop Festival installation and a statue of Jimi Hendrix to commemorate his visit to the festival. The Victorian themed tearoom has a small garden and views down to Freshwater Bay.

In the Middle

Quay Arts in Newport is our largest gallery and venue space with the Michael West Gallery hosting a major exhibition, sometimes by an Island artist but often from those who are nationally and internationally renowned. The Rope Store here provides a smaller more intimate exhibition space and the Café Walls show a selection of art, usually by Island artists. The Quay Shop is also a good source of more arty items, especially ceramics, jewellery and quirky decorative pieces. The Anthony Minghella Theatre is a great place to catch bands, plays and other performances and the café hosts a monthly comedy night and regular acoustic evenings. A balcony opens out from the café, overlooking the river, and it makes an ideal spot for art lovers to take lunch or a snack after taking in the galleries.

And all Around

And if you don’t find what you want at any of the galleries above, then keep your eyes peeled at Island events and village halls where local artists may be exhibiting, and make sure you don’t miss the hugely popular Open Studios that runs over two weekends in July, where artists open their homes or studios to the public to visit and view their work.

Not only this but it contains the excellent Anthony Minghella Theatre that hosts great plays, live music, cinema nights and ‘evenings with’, and the restaurant doubles as a venue for the Open Mic Comedy nights once a month and is a gallery space too with local art featured on the walls.

The dedicated art galleries feature fantastic exhibitions from local, national and international artists and musicians, and performers of every kind and from all corners of the globe pass through. This is the Island’s cultural hub and its only major art centre and gallery so make sure you don’t miss it.

Currently in the large Michael West Gallery is major solo exhibition of work by Island-based artist Lisa Traxler: large vitreous enamel and paper sculptures. Lisa is best known for her now collectable large canvas abstract paintings. Over the years her prolific volume of work has grown to include stitched collages incorporating photography and archival works and until more recently, wall murals and sculptures of vitreous enamel on steel.

Across the landing and you are in the Learning Curve Gallery that usually features work by local youngsters giving a response to the major exhibition and often in conjunction with the artist. Currenly, however, it has an exhibition of monoprints with supporting sketches and paintings by Deborah Richards of areas including Luccombe, St Catherine’s lighthouse and nearby Rocken End, Gurnard and Cowes. 

The ground floor is mainly taken up by the restaurant that sits in the old red brick warehouse with its attractive windows. The walls of the cafe serve as another exhibition space and currently host ‘Takeaways’: a selection of affordable work by local and regional artists that can be bought and taken away on the same day.

The food is fab, affordable and features a lot of veggie options with gluten free meals and cakes too. There is also a conference/function room off of the restaurant that can be hired, and it is often used by local businesses for meetings. It also houses further art and craft exhibitions at certain times throughout the year.

Walk out from the restaurant café and across the terrace and you are in the Rope Store gallery that tends to be a showcase for more local artists, although it also features work from ‘overseas’. The current exhibition is a retrospective on Peter Wright, one of the Island’s best known artists. With a painting career spanning over 60 years and coinciding with his 80th Birthday, this exhibition celebrates the breadth of his work over the last 12 years.

At this point don’t forget to stop and look over the pretty geranium filled flower boxes to the river below where you are likely to see hosts of swans and ducks, particularly at high tide. On sunny days you can dine on this terrace and it must be one of the prettiest and warmest sun traps in Newport, with large parasols to shade from the rays.

A sunburst of porcelain adorns a wall in this area – a legacy from previous ‘artist in residence’ Sue Paraskeva. Further round the building you will see ironwork birds and ceramic dolphins – all adding to the artistic atmosphere. And if you want to make a sound investment much of the work in the galleries are for sale.

Smaller items are on sale in the Quay shop, which is the very best place to buy a tasteful gift for family, friends or just yourself as you are bound to fall in love with something in here – beautiful pots and mugs, prints, mirrors, stained glass, driftwood items and gorgeous jewellery feature amongst the cornucopia of arty items in this emporium. You’ll find it hard to walk through without buying a little something – and you usually have to walk into the building through the shop, which has its main entrance in the picturesque Sea Street that houses some of the oldest buildings in the town.

There’s loads of parking nearby in one of two car parks or nearby Quay Street. Make sure you have some spare change for a parking ticket. Disabled access is very good, with wide doorways and a lift to the first floor.

Our first discovery was the Rainbow Café at the House of Om, the most colourful cafe you’ve ever seen with pretty painted furniture, beautiful old china cups, saucers and cake stands and canvases of Nicola Gibb’s stunning visionary paintings in every colour of the rainbow.

As you enter the meditative music lulls you into a restful contemplative mood, ideal for chilling out and for taking a class with Nicola in her adjoining studio where she teaches ‘Channeled Art’.

“I always do a demonstration first and I prefer to teach children because they’re freer,” she explained. “I teach different techniques depending on their age.”

I suggest you book a class (£12.50 per person for 90 minutes) if you want to find out exactly what this is, but the works of art produced by her students are amazing. See them in the studio’s facebook page ‘The Oracle Gallery’.

On the food front I had a homemade lavender scone, which was absolutely delicious, and my own pot of tea, all served on a patchwork of china crockery. My daughter Catriona had a “very good” chocolate brownie and a cappuccino. Gluten free cakes and savoury dishes are also available.

Next we walked across the road and into Daisy Daisy and were similarly assaulted by a rainbow of colours with wonderful goods from across the globe all beautifully displayed. Daisy Daisy is a member of the British Association of Fair Trade Shops and is run by brother and sister, Annabelle and Nick Robin.

We loved the felt hats from Nepal and thought they’d be ideal for Bestival goers. Tagua seed jewellery dyed in beautiful bright colours from Ecuador were eye-catching as were the items that had been covered in coiled recycled magazine and newspaper in Vietnam: mirror frames, pots and a clock face.

Fairy lights made with the leaves from the rubber tree were delicate and stylish – they’ve apparently been featured in Vogue. Rainbow striped crockery is great fun and there are lots of lovely children’s toys and even some really cool baby t-shirts. A great shop for gifts for any occasion and open all year.

Next-door is Chocolate Island that opened just three years ago – a haven for all chocolate lovers. We watched the goodies being made in the factory at the back of the shop. On the day we visited a chocolate castle was being constructed, with a chocolate egg fence.

We were amazed by the range of different chocolate items on sale: chocolate bars encrusted with nuts, cherries, fudge, jelly babies, marshmallows and smarties; chocolate shoes, bunnies, footballs, treasure chests, trains – you name it and Chocolate Island has probably got a chocolate version. There’s also a café.

“Our specialities are the large chocolate cupcakes,” said owner Emma Challen who runs this family business. “We can fill them with anything of your choice. We’ve even had birthday presents put inside them.”

Tearing ourselves away we meandered down the road to Godshill Cider Barn where there are an incredible number of different fruity wines, liqueurs and, or course, ciders on offer.

“We usually have six or seven different ciders on sale,” said Rob Haworth who took over the company from the original owners, Peter and Caroline Cramp around ten years ago. “I’ve definitely seen a change in Godshill since we moved here,” he added.

The Old Smithy sits in the large car park opposite the Griffin Pub and it has one of the most stylish clothes shops on the Island, along with a very upmarket yet reasonably priced gift shop and an airy café with enormous meringues.

Don’t forget that Isle of Wight Glass now has a shop in Godshill, featuring their exclusive and beautiful glass wear.

For kids there is the maze in the Griffin Pub’s back garden and, of course, the model village never ceases to delight with grandparents taking their grandchildren to the attraction that once enthralled them as children.

But no feature about Godshill would be complete without a review of the Taverners and handily I had eaten there just last week, and I am happy to report that the food was fabulous.

I had veal, from Briddlesford Farm near Wootton, wrapped in prosciutto ham, with fried polenta and green beans. It was very tasty, beautifully presented and graciously served.  The almond tart with apple and blackberries, served with Minghella’s vanilla icecream, was delicious too. The best meal I’ve had in a long time.

Saved from being demolished by developers in the 1990s by a determined local action group, Dimbola has captured the imaginations of many prestigious supporters including Lord Snowden, Koo Stark and Charlton Heston. More recently Brian May from the rock group Queen was at Dimbola to launch a new book and his exhibition ‘A Village Lost and Found’.

Julia Margaret Cameron was a colourful character and moved in the same artistic circles as the poet Tennyson, who lived up the road at Farringford House. After moving to the Island in 1860 one of her daughters gave her a camera and she began taking pictures of her visitors, many of whom were well known writers, artists and actors of the day.

Dimbola became a ‘salon’ for the movers and shakers of the day with many famous people dropping in and Julia never missed an opportunity to capture their images. The room in which she entertained is now the Cameron tearooms and serves lunches, cream teas and coffee with huge home-made cakes.

Local people were also persuaded to pose for Julia, and she used many of these photographs in her series to illustrate Tennyson’s ‘Idylls of the King’. Most of these ethereal images are on display upstairs at Dimbola along with other portraits that she took of her visitors such as Lewis Carroll and Charles Darwin.

One room to the rear of the property has been recreated as Julia’s bedroom, using similar William Morris wallpapers to those found on the walls, when the house was restored to its former glory, and furniture in keeping with her style. Also in this room is a permanent exhibition on the wet plate collodion process she used to make her prints: a very messy and dangerous procedure involving poisonous chemicals that Julia would perform in an outhouse to the rear of Dimbola. A camera similar to the one she used is here too and there is always just one of her original prints on view in a specially designed case.

In the centre of the first floor of Dimbola is an exhibition celebrating the 1970 pop festival that was staged at nearby Afton Downs, one of the biggest events ever held with over 600,000 people attending. Outside in the garden is a statue of Jimi Hendrix in his own garden, in homage to the musician who played his last live performance at the festival before his untimely demise.

There are usually at least three other exhibitions of photography at the galleries, some by local photographers and others by photographers of world renown. Previous exhibitions have featured snappers such as David Bailey, Lord Lichfield and Ken Russell.

You can make your own Victorian style images in a little room off of the galleries that has been dressed to look like a Victorian studio and has clothes from the period to dress up in. Sponsored by Olympus this fun activity is included in the entrance price to the galleries.

Various workshops are run throughout the year and talks are given for groups by arrangement.  Karen Grainger, the curator, will be taking wet plate collodion photographs throughout April as part of the Best Bohemian Beard competition, with those taking part being able to see the process from start to finish. The results will be exhibited and voted upon in a mini exhibition in May at Dimbola.

Bigger and better than ever Brighstone Christmas Tree Festival had five venues in this, its 16th year, with the addition of the Social Club, and over 130 decorated trees on show.

St Mary’s Church in Brighstone always has the greatest number and this year there are 52 different trees filling the pews and every available spare space. Brighstone Methodist Church has 17 trees inside and another five outside including the Parish Council Tree and the Hospice Tree. While just up the road the Wilberforce Hall had 26 trees lining the walls.

Brighstone Social Club and Reading Rooms had 16 trees and the lovely little church at Mottistone hosted a further 17 trees.

There are also these following events in St Mary’s Church that you might like to attend:

Saturday December 15th

7.30pm:    Special End of Jubilee Year Concert with Sandown & Shanklin Military Band at Brighstone Church in aid of ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity. In the presence of Major General Martin White CB CBE JP HM Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight President of ABF  – The Soldiers’ Charity – Isle of Wight Branch and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Guy Acland Bt LVO DL, Chairman Isle of Wight Fundraising Committee

Sunday December 16th

7 pm:  A Traditional Carol Concert  in aid of Mission to Seafarers with full choir at Brighstone Church

Tuesday December 18th & Wednesday December 19th

1.15pm: Brighstone School present on 18th/19^th – “A Victorian Christmas” at Brighstone Church (also evening performance at 6 pm, December 19^th at Brighstone Church).

You are welcome to join in any of the local Christmas Services. Details and times shown on www.bxtf.co.uk or phone the Five Churches Office on 07429622865.

Set in the West Wight and inspired by Norse Mythology, the spectacle will tell the story of the god Thor and an encounter with his age old enemy Loki. Thor’s favourite possession is his mighty hammer and Loki plans to steal it. He has enlisted the help of various fantastic creatures to carry out his evil deed including a pack of hungry Bob-the-Dogs and the dastardly Norbert the Nose.

Battle ensues. Thor enlists an army of Skellies, Rock Monsters and the fire breathing Jackalwack to get his hammer back. Will it all go up in flames as they attack Loki’s Fort on the Hill?

The procession of characters who are to tell this story and a whole host of lanterns will leave St Saviours School at 6pm and all are welcome to join in.  The Fireshow takes place at Totland Recreation Ground at 7pm with a fireworks finale at 7.30pm and it’s all completely free.

Workshops for lantern and giant puppet making are happening over the weekend of November 24^th and 25^th. Lantern making is at All Saints School in Freshwater and at West Wight Nursery in Totland on Saturday 24^th from 11am till 3pm. Cost is £3 per lantern or £5 for two and its suitable for adults and young people, although children under 10 must be accompanied.

Adults and over 12s can help to make the giant puppets for Thor’s Revenge, including his hammer, at St Saviours School, Totland on Saturday 24^th and Sunday 25^th from 10am till 4pm.

For more information contact The New Carnival Company on 01983 717868

Everyone who was anyone turned up for the debate on Friday evening chaired by ex BBC Chairman, Channel 4 Chief Executive and ITV Exec Chairman Lord Michael Grade of Yarmouth on ‘Is there A Future in Print Journalism?’ and there was a lively discussion. Not really a debate as it seemed that most people agreed that there was a future for real books, although a very high proportion of the audience admitted to owning Kindles.

Then everyone went to see the very entertaining Patrick Gale read from his last novel ‘A Perfectly Good Man’ and talk about his writing career. Patrick was born on the Island – his father was governor of Camp Hill Prison – and he’s written a staggering 16 novels that have all sold well.

His characters are clearly in control of him, he explained, as they have a tendency to do things he’s not expecting them to – and he’s writing the books! It was like listening to a very literate schizophrenic talking about the people in his head.

But it was also extremely inspiring. Many of the ladies (for there were quite a high proportion of ladies at this one) were muttering about starting to write their novels after his session. Quite a few of them queued up at the Waterstones stall in the rotunda to have their copies of his books signed afterwards and I have to say I did too.

I had to leave at this point for I had left Tallulah the wonder dog in the car (which was the little electric one I borrowed from Eco Island. The car not the dog). But I returned the next day in time for Toby Young’s talk on starting his independent ‘free’ school. Toby had come with his family and his wife and four children were taking advantage of the amazing storytelling yurt in the grounds of Northwood House I believe.

Toby was extremely erudite and forceful on his chosen subject – namely shooting down the last government for ruining state education. I have to say I have a tendency to agree, having spent some time teaching in the early noughties. Toby’s school in Hammersmith sounds amazing and if I still lived there I would have definitely tried to get my children into it. I took one of his free Penguin books on ‘How to Set Up A Free School’ – well you never know when that sort of thing will come in handy. Loads of other people took them too so there will be dozens of free schools springing up across the Island shortly I imagine. Not.

Will Ellsworth-Jones hasn’t met Banksy but he has written a book about him. There were three prerequisites for writing a book about Banksy, he told us, and they were that you were 1: young, 2: hip and trendy and 3: a member of Banksy’s inner circle ‘Pest Control’; none of which applied to him. “They’re called Pest Control because they deal with pests like me,” he laughed. He was, however, very amusing and entertaining and explained a lot about street art and graffiti that I didn’t know. I’ll look out for that Banksy/Robbo ‘piece’ at Camden next time I’m up there.

There were a few other venues in the town too, which gave more of a Hay on Wye feel to the whole affair. Jaunty little signs on lampposts gave directions to Trinity Theatre from Northwood House as I made my way to see Gyles Brandreth on Saturday evening and what a showman he turned out to be.

He flirted unmercifully with a couple of ladies in the front row. “Hazel, my favourite nut,” and “Elaine, that’s elaine I must walk down,” ad-libbed Gyles as he made his way through his life concentrating on his term as an MP and his friendships with Sir John Gielgud and Prince Phillip.

Gyles invited Sir John Gielgud to the House of Commons for lunch on his 90^th birthday and was worried that the famous thespian might have had other plans. “It’s perfectly all right. All my real friends are dead,” quipped Sir John in reply.

We heard of another side to our Queen’s faithful consort – did we know that his father ran off with a younger woman to the Mediterranean and his mother was subsequently incarcerated in an asylum? I certainly didn’t.

Prince Phillip asked Gyles to write his biography when he had his 80^th birthday. “I said his father “floated down to the South of France,” but he pulled me up on it sharply,” said Gyles. He told me: “My father did not float down to the south of France, he went by rail!”

“I’ve never been to an inaugural literary festival that was busier and buzzier than this one,” said Gyles at the beginning of his performance and then, “what wonderful sponsors Red Jet (sic) have been,” in the middle, which got much applause and, “This hasn’t felt like a performance, it’s felt like a lovely evening,” at the end. We were all charmed to within an inch of our lives.

I shall gloss over the Pub Quiz at Moocow – suffice to say that Celia Imrie’s team won. I missed her performances at the festival but they were great by all reports and she invited some very entertaining friends.

Roll on next year, is all I can say. I only saw a few things but they were absolutely fabulous! Well done to the committee – it was brilliant!

Follow the Yellow Brick Road…

Make sure you take your little munchkins to see The Wizard of Oz at Shanklin Theatre from November 1^st to 3^rd. In fact book early to reserve your seats at our only period theatre on the Island.

You’ll be ‘Over the Rainbow’ as soon as Dorothy clicks her little sparkly red heels in this production of The Wizard of Oz by the South Wight Youth Theatre. Follow her adventures with her little dog Toto (played by a real dog) as she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and then the Cowardly Lion and they all make their way along the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz.

Look out for the Wicked Witch of the West, the Munchkins and the Jitterbugs in this wonderful journey through the magical Land of Oz. Each character is hoping that the Wizard will solve their problem: the scarecrow wants a brain, the tin man wants a heart and the lion wants to be as brave as a lion. Dorothy just wants to go back to Kansas with her darling dog.

Performances are at 7.30pm on Thursday 1^st, Friday 2^nd and Saturday 3^rd November with a matinee performance on Saturday 3^rd at 2.30pm.

Get Creative at Chessell Pottery

Chessell Pottery is celebrating the striking ‘Colours of Autumn’ at their ceramic studio in the heart of the West Wight this half term. The studio is introducing a fantastic new palette of seasonal paint colours to help you capture the beautiful autumnal colours around us at the moment on their plates, bowls or other clay items.

The easy-to-use autumn-inspired decorating sponges will also be out, and they feature everything from leaves and acorns, to toadstools and blackberries. Try selecting just one or two leaf sponges and painting them in an array of autumn colours; a simple yet beautiful way to make a very eye catching piece of pottery that you will treasure forever, especially if its been made by one of your kids.
The Studio fee of £5.50 per person (not per item) covers all materials, a demonstration, plus glazing and firing of all items decorated that session. Choose from an extensive range of blank pottery, which includes Chessell’s own cream ware blanks, as well as Emma Bridgewater’s items.

Chessell has been awarded ‘Best Island Cream Tea 2011/12’ from the Wight Good Food Guide for the third year running so, while the children are busy decorating, treat yourself to an ‘Ultimate Island Cream Tea’; totally home baked using all Island produce. Or why not stay for lunch? The café always has a warming, homemade, seasonal soup on offer, perfect for those chilly autumn days.

The Gift Barn stocks the largest range of Emma Bridgewater pottery on the Island plus cards, local arts and crafts and locally made preserves. It is also home to a beautiful range of Fair Trade, traditional and wooden toys as well as a selection of pocket money items.

Get Arty at the Quay

There are loads of lovely workshops and classes to join in down at Quay Arts this half term. First of all on Saturday October 27^th artist Tim Johnson will be leading The Big Draw. Anyone of any age can join in to help create a large work of art and the theme this year is ‘lines’.

Then on Monday October 29^th artist Chris Jenkins teaches a workshop on how to make monsters at Jubilee Stores, a converted warehouse on the town quay that is affiliated with Quay Arts. If you are over the age of ten you can design and make outlandish and wonderfully creepy monsters out of wood, junk and old machines. On Tuesday October 30^th Chris will be teaching mask making, also at the Jubilee Stores and for ages eight to 12 years.

On Thursday there’s a clay workshop with Clair Robinson, also for eight to 12 year old people.The theme is scary animals such as witches cats and bats and maybe even a frog or toad.  Work will be glazed, fired and ready to collect two weeks after the workshop. Finally on Saturday November 3^rd there is a ppppick up a penguin workshop, to get you in the mood for the afternoon’s puppet show!

Please note: children must be accompanied by an adult to drop-ins.

Halloween wild card

Oh go on then..for a spooky option checkout the children’s Halloween party at Gatcombe Manor – site of the former Whitecroft Hospital near Newport. There’s a pumpkin carving competition with first prize a £50 voucher for Amazon – bring your carved pumpkin or have a go while you’re at the party as there are hundreds to be carved! Or take part in the ‘Be the Ghost with the Most’ fancy dress competition with another £50 Amazon voucher up for grabs. There’s a witches cauldron with mulled wine potion for the adults and the party begins at 4.30pm and runs through till 7pm. For details call 0845 034 2123.

Jhelisa Anderson and Robert Mitchell

For starters there is an amazing jazz offering in a concert by American-born singer/songwriter Jhelisa Anderson and British pianist and composer Robert Mitchell on Friday October 19^th in the Anthony Minghella Theatre.

This is a rare collaboration of Jhelisa Anderson’s deep, blues, soul, jazz, vocals blended with Robert Mitchell’s phenomenal jazz piano.  The duo will explore the powerful and timeless classics of Nina Simone as well as new original compositions. “Robert Mitchell is a piano orchestra unto himself and this is a rare opportunity to listen and watch these two leaders in Jazz come together as they create something truly rare and powerful,” say the Quay.

Jhelisa launched her jazz career with the critically acclaimed solo album, Galactica Rush (Dorado Records 1994). Her music has been recorded by Chaka Khan and Incognito’s Maysa Leake. She has worked with Courtney Pine and Steve Williamson and has supported James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Roy Ayers and Mavis Staples.

Robert has released seven albums and played with artists Greg Osby, Omar Puente, Steve Coleman, Norma Winstone, Matana Roberts, Jose James and Ty among others.

Doors open at 7pm and the show begins at 8pm with tickets priced at £13 in advance or £15 on the door.  Call Quay Arts’ box office on 01983 822490 or buy online www.quayarts.org

One Island Life Well Lived

On the following afternoon/early evening of Saturday October 20^th local historian, Brian Greening, will present a nostalgic storytelling of the life of Island character, Bill Shepard – ‘One Island Life Well Lived’ – also in the Anthony Minghella Theatre. The talk and slide show will cover key moments in Bill’s amazing life and history: his ancestors on Newport Quay in 1370,his schooldays, his job working on the Quay, his five years in the RAF and the horrors he experienced, his return to the Island and his country pursuits – rabbiting, bird watching, flowers and fauna, his local history studies, his job as a rat catcher and his twenty three years working at the Crematorium!

Bill Shepard published his first book – Newport Isle of Wight Remembered – back in 1978.  Since then he has written collaboratively and published many other works, sharing his encyclopaedic knowledge of local history.  Along the way, Bill has won awards for his writing and gained a reputation as one of the Island’s true characters.

Doors open at 4pm, the talk starts at 5pm and tickets are available for a suggested voluntary donation of £3.

Suki Chan ‘A Hundred Seas Rising’ – Artist’s Talk

The current exhibitor in the large Michael West Gallery is Suki Chan and she will be talking about her latest exhibition ‘A Hundred Seas Rising’ at 5.30pm on Thursday October 25^th.

Suki Chan was born in Hong Kong, graduated from Goldsmiths in 1999 and went on to complete an MA in Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art in 2008. She   now lives and works in London and her recent solo shows include: Utopia on the Horizon, Tintype, London; and Sleep Walk Sleep Talk, a major video installation commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, shown at Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art and the Museum of London.

‘A Hundred Seas Rising’ is inspired by Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities and the Hundred Flowers Movement in China. The work explores how literature might be implicated in the imagination and trajectories of revolutions, referencing the Hundred Flowers Movement in China. The movement invited a variety of views and solutions to national policy issues, the name of which originated from a poem: “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.”

The talk is free.

JC Grimshaw

Well known,very well liked and extremely skilful local musician JC (Grimshaw) will be launching his new album ‘For What You Seek’ on Monday October 29^th from 7.30pm (doors at 7pm) at the Quay.

JC is a self-taught genius of guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and Ukelele and a very familiar face on the Island music scene. His exceptional musicianship and unique vision captivate audiences and have won him international renown.

JC, supported by his band ‘The Supernumaries’ will be playing the whole album in the café/bar and there will be copies on sale to buy, although the gig is completely FREE.

The Brading Bash was created last year with the sole aim of bringing focus back to the ancient town of Brading following the closure of the Wax Museum. It is a ‘not for profit’ event and loads of local people and businesses have been getting in on the act, with others from around the Island pitching in to make the weekend a great success. The bash is to be held at 12 venues across the town and is a festival of music, dance, arts and crafts; all accentuating the town’s heritage and wealth of talent.

Live Music

Second Time Around and Beachcomber will be at the New Town Hall and Lucid at the Bugle Inn on Friday with loads of great tunes.  Jesus, Jen Greenwoood and JC and Angelina will play at the Yarbridge Inn on Saturday night, Tommy Burnhams will entertain at the Wheatsheaf Inn and Karen Tweed will be in St Mary’s Church with her spellbinding accordion numbers – all on Saturday night. Then on Sunday Dave Graham of The Tornadoes plays at the Dark Horse Inn and at Brading Roman Villa on there will be a sitar band with guitar and vocals starring Anna Sacchini (sitar), Mirco Vignali (guitar) and Johnny Sacchini (vocals), which sounds like something really special.

Around the Town

At St Mary’s Church there will be an art exhibition with six local artists displaying their work, Brading Bell Ringers will be holding an open tower and there will be talks on the 1804 organ, its history and the restoration appeal. In the New Town Hall there will be a real Tea Dance with live music and an organist on Sunday afternoon.

In the four pubs there will be loads of live music, a hog roast and a mini beer festival and outside the hostelries more Morris dancing sides than you can shake a stick at will be dancing for their ale, including Men Of Wight, the Guith Carnival Morris, Wight Bells and Bloodstone Border Morris; named after a local wood where allegedly there was once a bloody battle.

Fancy a walk? Then join the historical, story and ghost walks (Marc Tuckey) that will take you on an informative trip around the town. Mosey on up to Brading Roman Villa, St Mary’s Church Hall or the new Town Hall and there will be workshops you can join in lantern and kite making (lantern parade on Sunday and fly your kite afterwards at the Roman Villa), mosaics, floral art, yoga, Kung Fu and health and wellbeing. Why not sample the accordion/instrument/ voice workshop, presented by leading accordion player Karen Tweed who will also be giving a concert on the Saturday night (see above).

‘Crimefighters to Crime Writers’ is a talk being given by ex-senior detective Dominic Bridgestock who now writes novels with wife Carol. An introduction to writing and publishing children’s books is being given by Jules Marriner and you can get ‘Sad, Serious and Humorous’ poetry and song from Just John in the New Town Hall on Saturday afternoon.

FaT Samba Band will be livening everyone up and stilt walkers will be strutting their stuff around the town. There will be busking at the  railway station and the Roman Villa has a variety of events and even a film night.  The best way to see what is happening over this exciting weekend is to visit  the website  for a programme of events, participants,  and venues, which is updated on a regular basis.  Or follow the event on Facebook.

1.Ghost Experience at Northwood House

The Isle of Wight Ghost Experience will be at Northwood House in Cowes again and this is your last chance to experience this type of Halloween event at the house as it will not be happening again next year. Walks will be from Monday October 29^th to Friday November 2^nd at 7pm and 9pm nightly at a charge of £10 per head.

And for real spirit sleuths there is a house investigation in this creepy old house on Halloween night, Wednesday October 31^st from 11pm till about 2am. A team of mediums will be making the investigation with you and equipment is available to use. Book through Marc on 520695.

2. Spooky Carisbrooke Castle

As part of their ‘Time Travellers Go…’ programme that English Heritage have rolled out this year, they are putting on ‘Ghosts and Ghouls’ at Carisbrooke Castle for the half term holiday (Saturday October 27th to Sunday November 4th ).

“Let your little horrors scare themselves silly this Halloween with creepy crafts, spooky activities and ghost hunting galore! Take part in the spooky quest, create your own terrifying decorations in our craft area and wander the grounds with our very own ghost hunter as he tells gruesome tales of times gone by!” says their website. The fun is from 10am to 4pm daily and is suitable for families

3. Witches and Wizards Day Out at Blackgang Chine

It will be time for the Witches and Wizards Days Out at Blackgang Chine (Land of Imagination) on Tues and Thurs 23rd and 25th October and Tues and Thurs 30th October and 1st November: four days of magical fun for all would-be wizards and witches.

There will be seasonal games and competitions including: apple-bobbing, magic shows, face painting, ghost stories, fancy dress competitions and loads of prizes and give-aways. The park is open from 10.30 a.m. and closes at 4.30p.m, with activities between 12 noon and 4p.m.

4. Wizard Week

Join in the Wickedly Wonderful Halloween Fun during October Half Term at the IW Steam Railway at their Wizard Week. From Monday 29th October to Friday 2nd November you can see owls and birds of prey, be amazed at the magic shows, enjoy relaxing steam train rides, tread cautiously through the enchanting Woodland Walk and be surprised as you explore the ‘Spooky Maze’.

Visitors are encouraged to dress-up as wizards, witches and other spooky characters and there are daily prizes for the best costumes, along with a Halloween Treasure Hunt.

Attractions on offer include Wizardly Magic Shows twice each day, Crackers the Clown, a Spooky Maze in a marquee with owls overhead, Owls and Birds of Prey with Haven Falconry, plenty of steam train rides, the ‘Bat-Man’ and his Bats – (Tuesday & Wednesday only), Halloween Crafts, Children’s Play Area and the ‘Enchanting’ Woodland Walk, Treasure Hunt and Fancy Dress competition daily at 1.45pm and a revolting ‘What’s in the Box’ game. There are refreshments and a well-stocked gift shop and plenty of free parking.

5. Spooktacular

Lots of fun and ghostly goings on in the grand Appuldurcombe Haunted House. Are you brave enough to walk through the Dungeons of Death, the Gruesome Graveyard or the Chainsaw Massacre? These tours are suitable for all ages though not recommended for the easily scared. We’ve been on this tour in former years and it is great fun and gets scarier as it progresses.

“We never have the same number of people at the end as started in the beginning,” laughed John Owen of Appuldurcombe House and Falconry Centre.

The tours are suitable for all ages and are from Monday 29th October to Wednesday 31st October at 7.30pm. Pre-booking is essential to avoid disappointment they say – 01983 840188 ext1 or 01983 852484.

6. Ghostly goings-on at The Garlic Farm

The headless horseman rides again at the Garlic Farm on Wednesday October 31st at its Spooky Sausage Supper with a ‘Thrilling Tractor and Trailer Ride’ suitable for all the family. Tours are at 6.30pm, 7.15pm and 8pm with supper to follow. Family tickets (2 adults and 2 children) are priced at £25 with individual tickets, £9 and under 15s, £6.

7. Ghoulish Surprises at Arreton Old Village

Gumball’s Travelling Circus, a travelling circus of horrors, sets up at Arreton Old Village from Friday October 26^th to Sunday October 28^th. Arranged by Ghost Island’s Marc Tuckey, Gumball’s Travelling Circus promises entertainment in a very chilling fashion that will be especially good fun for kids. There’s even a ghoulish tea party with traditional jelly and icecream, but it may not be served in a conventional manner! Every day there is a prize for the best Halloween fancy dress and the events are at 7pm and 9pm each night.

Famous writers of books that have been made into films such as Louis de Bernieres, author of ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, and Toby Young who wrote ‘How To Lose Friends and Influence People’ will rub shoulders with some of the Island’s budding scribblers such as Philip Bell of Beachy Books fame and Andrew Lucas, author of Cross-Dressed to Kill, an hilarious thriller centred on a gently camp hairdresser.

Island-based cookery writer and ‘Aga Queen’ Amy Willcock will be talking about entertaining and how to set an autumn table for a three course meal. Brough Scott will tell the story of his grandfather, Jack Seely, who was the owner of Warrior, the War Horse born on the Island who was made famous in a recent film. Lord Grade, who has recently purchased a home in Yarmouth, will be part of a debate on whether the printed word is dying.

Celia Imrie, who has a holiday home in Cowes, will talk about her life as a Happy Hoofer (the name of her autobiography) with fellow actress and writer, Fidelis Morgan. Raffaella Barker will run a writing workshop and Anthony Thwaite will talk on Philip Larkin, whom he knew from 1958 until his death in 1985.

In ‘A Right Royal Audience - A Diamond Jubilee Celebration’, writer, actor and raconteur Gyles Brandreth will present a unique performance of stories, revelations and insights about The Queen and her family.

The proceedings will be expertly compared by Anneka Rice, star of Treasure Hunt and Challenge Anneka, who will also chair discussions with other writers and guests.

Story walks, debates, talks, workshops, music, children’s story telling, a pub quiz and a Magical Mystery Tour of the Isle of Wight’s former literary haunts are all events taking place over the weekend. The hub of all these activities will be Northwood House, a Grade II* listed building in a stunning nine hectare park and the IWLF will be donating its profits to the upkeep of this famous Island building that was recently handed over to the control of a Trust.

The only eatery in Newport with direct river frontage, Quay Arts has a large balcony overlooking the swans, ducks and seagulls that play on the river and pretty flower and palm-filled planters on the boundary wall. It’s a fantastic sun trap and a very pleasant place to take morning coffee, yummy ‘late’ lunches or delicious afternoon teas.

Inside the old warehouse has stripped brick walls, a flagstone floor, large and small sturdy oak tables and contemporary Italian ‘air’ chairs in pale blue, taupe and cream that are comfortable and strong. You might find yourself sharing a table, but this is all the much better for meeting a new friend or starting up a conversation with one of our local creatives.

The café side of the Quay Arts has long been a well-kept secret amongst the Island’s arty classes and they flock to this converted warehouse on the former Town Quay for freshly prepared paninis, melt in the mouth salads and tasty pastries, cakes and puddings, including gluten free options. The coffee is fabulous, there are a selection of teas and a great choice of non-alcoholic and boozy beverages.

Since Head Chef Martyn Cutler departed for pastures new at the Botanic Gardens in Ventnor’s St Lawrence area, chef Lee Byers has jumped ship to join the Quay Arts café crew, which is managed by Craig O’ Sullivan. “Lee has a distinctive style,” said the Quay’s Exhibitions Organiser Georgia Newman. “He did Sea Bass in a bag of baking parchment served with Samphire yesterday that was wonderful.”

Dishes such as goat’s cheese with ash and fig salad have found their way on to the menu this month, served on a generous drizzle of balsamic vinegar and presented with a hunk of sour dough bread and butter pat. Add an elderflower presse or a white wine spritzer and you have the perfect late summer lunch. Everything is organic, home made and includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

They now also sell bread from Grace’s Bakery as well as serving it with salads and soups and they are in the process of changing their coffee, making their own blend of fair trade bean and filter coffee from the beans at nearby Café Isola who import their coffees direct from Italy.

“We only buy meat, cheese and veg, everything else is made here,” said Craig O’Sullivan. “We have a really good core base of clientele, not just for lunch but morning coffee and in the summer we do cream teas in the afternoon and toasted teacakes in the mornings.

“IW Festival weekend is absolutely hectic for us and we do a bar at the Festival, the Kashmir Café, which showcases local talent and is the only bar on site that sells real ale.”

Everyone mucks in at the Quay, it’s a real community asset that all the volunteers and employees work extremely hard to keep for us all, including our summer (and year round) visitors. Local and internationally acclaimed artist David Firmstone, who is on Quay Arts board, has said that he thinks the Michael West Gallery on the first floor is one of the best community run art galleries in the country and one of the best spaces for hanging work – especially large works of art.

There is also the Anthony Minghella Theatre, the smaller Rope Store Gallery, the café walls are another hanging space and there’s a shop chock full of fantastic gift options – even if it’s only you who gets the gift. A large seminar room can be hired for meetings or private functions or you can hire the whole place as one couple did recently for their wedding – as all of the rooms in the venue are licensed for marriages.

In this case the ceremony was conducted in the Michael West Gallery after a champagne reception, there was a buffet lunch in the café/bar and then a Pimms cocktail party on the balcony overlooking the river mid-afternoon. All surrounded by fantastic works of art – how stylish can you get?

Since the demise of Joe’s in the High Street, Quay Arts has taken over as the in place to be seen amongst the Island’s cognoscenti of the arts and the food (and the prices) has had to attract these illusive creatures. Thankfully Lee and his team have made sure that their offering is right up to spec.

It’s our myisleofwight worse kept secret and we recommend it to you too as visitors to our fair Island. If you’re in Newport you must check out the food and the ambiance and make sure you see the exhibitions at the same time, which are completely free!

Look out for lobsters on lampposts and knitted squids on signposts – this is graffiti in a totally different guise. You may have seen some of the crazy antics that graffiti knitters have got up to online – phone boxes covered in multi-coloured knitted jackets and knitted Beetle cars are just two of the more amazing creations.

Once upon a time knitting would have been something that every woman would have done in the evening in front of the fire and after the invention of the television they’d knit in front of that instead. Now a group of guerrilla knitters are getting together, turning off the TV and turning the conventions of normal knitting on its head in a Yarnstorm Bootcamp.

Graffiti knitting or yarnstorming or yarnbombing or guerrilla knitting is the art of using items handmade from yarn to create street art. The artist creates an item using knitting or crochet, they take the item into a public place, they install the piece in that public place and then they run away giggling – usually after taking copious numbers of photographs.

Running the Bootcamp in Ventnor will be Deadly Knitshade who blogs about her dastardly deeds on Whodunnknit. She describes herself as “a lone wool-hungry wolf whose knits aren’t content with lurking in the shadows of conventional knitting. They don’t stand under the woolly umbrella of quiet stitching at home in front of the TV. They do not smell of mothballs or Werther’s Originals. They do not hide in department store basements or charity shop bargain bins.”  Ooh er…

Deadly Knitshade is also part of the sneaky stitching collective, Knit the City, as is The Fastener, the other handmade hardcore hero who’ll be orchestrating the yarnstorming weekend. The pop-up YEA! (Yarnstorm Educational Academy) HQ will host the residential Bootcamp in Ventnor, courtesy of Wightaway, over the weekend of October 19th/20th/21st.

No dawn press-ups, jumping into pools of mud or route marches will be required but a basic knowledge of knitting and/or crochet will ensure that attending yarnstormers get the most out of the workshops and associated woolly mischief.

Recruits stay at Pine Point (YEA HQ) or Ocean View with all meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch including a ‘slap up fish supper and as many local produce stuffed sandwiches and cakes as you can handle washed down with lashings of ginger beer and/or cider.’

Passenger ferry travel from the mainland and transport to Ventnor is also part of the deal. All basic materials - yarn, needles, felt, buttons, stuffing etc. will be provided although you are invited to bring any projects you are already working on or anything exotic you may like to use.

The weekend will include three workshops, one escorted recce around Ventnor, one personal shopping evening (to include mega-stocked local haberdashery), two Yarnstorms (1 solo & 1 group) and a graduation ceremony with official group photo, badge, and certificate and goodie bag.

Are you a fit enough knitter for the challenge?

Visioneca will be held at Freshwater Bay House, a large hotel overlooking the pretty bay at Freshwater over the weekend of October 27th and 28^th. It will cover all aspects of the moving image with over 60 screenings of short films (most no longer than ten or twelve minutes). There will also be an appearance by film maker Peter Greenaway and a live performance from Satsangi on the Saturday afternoon.

Lectures, seminars, workshops and performance will be on offer along with demonstrations of projection mapping, like the images projected onto Buckingham Palace at the recent Jubilee Concert. As a forerunner to the festival and as part of the recent Jubilee celebrations a promotional film about Visioneca was projected onto the white cliffs at Freshwater.

The festival is the creation of digital media academic Bob Cotton and film maker, musician and video artist Paul Windridge. Bob was recently Digital Media Research Fellow at London College of Communication, (University of the Arts), and is currently Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at the Arts University College at Bournemouth. Paul’s work has been screened in Tate Britain, the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, St Petersburg Festival of Arts, Paris, Leeds and Brussels Film Festivals, Britspotting in Berlin, Zurich & Stuttgart and many more.

“Visioneca was inspired by Ars Electronica  in Germany,” explained Bob Cotton. “It’s a big new media festival for people working in the interface between film and television and computers and theatre. At Visioneca we want to show good experimental work  featuring moving images.

“The experimental period we’re going through in the early 21st Century is very similar to the kind of amazing two decades of experimentation from the 1890s to around 1915 when different methods of making films and movie experiences were being explored and at the same time people were inventing the syntax and grammar of film making.

“Everything is converging – it’s like the biggest artist’s palette ever created. When the kids realise how powerful this could be, there’s going to be a new renaissance in content-creation.

“Visioneca will be an entertaining and informative introduction to a much wider range of creativity than is generally available in the mass media. Ours is really a festival of independents. “

“Our short film sessions will demonstrate that it is possible to produce expressive work as an independent film-maker who isn’t funded by a multi-million pound budget, or working for a major studio. There is an alternative and diverse creative sector that thrives outside the mass market – come see for yourself.”

Bob and Paul are working with Island students over the summer months to produce work in Island schools and there is a competition for Island youngsters to make a short video about the Island or themselves that you can get more details about on the website. “We’re keen to get the message across that kids don’t just have to consume media, they can make it too,” said Bob.

Take a look at Bob Cotton’s film ZeitEYE to see eleven decades of image capture and art history crammed into just eleven minutes!

The Observatory bar on the seafront bandstand was the last to be dismantled and Ventnorians were especially sad to see it go. “Why can’t we have it here all summer season?” bemoaned a few. As a location for viewing the fireworks on Wednesday evening (after the carnival) accompanied by great music it had been superb and it continued to provide ace entertainment and cool tunes from the various DJs plus a decadent backdrop to drinking with a 360 degree outlook on the bay.

“It’s just like Ibiza,” said one friend of the atmosphere on the converted poo palace (as it is known in these parts). The weather had quite a lot to do with it – a perfect weekend on that score with hot, yet hazy days and balmy summer evenings.  Friday night was rounded off with the cast and crew adjourning to the beach at closing time to skinny dip in the sea and sip Fringe beer (Vedett supplied the Fringe with their own beer that was sporting special Fringe beer labels featuring the organisers and Fringe-goers).

Top venue award had to go to the Secret Bar where the acoustics were superb due to the high ceilings and the surroundings were definitely a surprise. Revellers hunted out every nook and cranny of the building, buying their drinks from the heavy-doored vault and chilling out in the manager’s office of the former Nat West bank on the High Street.

The first Cinema by the Sea, as the Isle of Wight Film Festival has been re-branded, had moved into the Youth Centre in Victoria Street and showed a fantastic collection of film shorts throughout the day and a handful of feature length films in the evenings. ‘Vegas’ was a poignant Norwegian film following a few months in the lives of three/four ‘unwanted’ children who were trying to come to terms with their placement in care. Superb casting of the four unknown non-actors in the title roles and the well -known adult actors gave similarly stellar performances. ‘The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mum’ was the biggest crowd puller – Dolly herself had given her seal of approval.

It’s a shame that the Fringe don’t yet offer Perrier style awards because this year it would have been Tice Oakfield aka James Holland or the Flying Dutchman, who would have won one with his (almost) one man musical, charting the mystery of the missing Guinea Pig. From his first performance in the Spiritualist Church (Henry’s High Tea Society) to his gala performance in the Secret Bar on Friday night (and final one on Saturday afternoon where it was standing room only with the spirits) Tice and silent sidekick James Willis as Doyle were side splittingly funny and truly original.

Status Update was another superbly original and amusing play, about an internet café and social networking. Very slickly performed, with great lighting, sound and quirky representations of the abstract world of internet intercourse, this was just one of the plays performed at the Studio Theatre at St Francis’s School.

Saturday afternoon was Patchwork Picnic and Art in the Park day down at Ventnor Park with an eclectic selection of performances, mainly on the small bandstand and far more arty stalls than in previous years. Doug Alldred, a man of many talents including drumming with at least four Island-based bands, had thrown down his sticks and picked up his guitar, giving a short but superb set of self-scribed numbers that culminated with the poignant ’The Same Sea ’.

The Piano Bar at the Rex had been converted into a Speakeasy, the Blind Tyger, for the duration and diners were encouraged to dress in flapper style for the live jazz music. Nearby an apartment on Belgrave Road at Seacliff had been transformed into a gallery for the Fringe featuring a photography exhibition.

I’ve forgotten the Courtyard behind the Chinese restaurant in Church Street that was the home of most of those quirky bits of furniture. The whitewashed walls of the alleyway into it became a Free Art Friday with artist Tony Trowbridge giving away loads of his superb artworks at 3pm on Friday. Spoken word was the main resident in this little suntrap in the centre of town Huxley Hunt was superb on Friday afternoon, with his magic and comedy show that went down a storm.

Brilliant Island-born comedienne Hannah George was part of the Paines Plough theatre writing workshops called ‘Come to Where I’m From’ who had a full house for their performance.  Tula and the Blackgang stole the show at this venue and then later on Saturday night at the Secret Bar. This girl is going to go far with her unique sound and alluring nonchalance, giving the band a great all-round sound.

This is but a snapshot of the four days and I’ve forgotten to say that Marques Toliver, star VFringe 2011, came back to give an impromptu performance at Bonchurch Old Church because he loved the festival so much last year. There will be much more of this I foresee – I predict that artists of every kind will be queuing up to apply for next year’s VFringe and rightly so.

First of all there are absolutely loads of venues and tons of things to do and see with over 20  different stages to choose from this year. The Main Stage and the Big Top have all the headliners and this year you’ve got the amazing Stevie Wonder headlining the Main Stage on Sunday, with New Order on Saturday and Florence and the Machine headlining on Friday.  Orbital are headlining in the Big Top on Sunday for a proper rave up.

Secondly Bestival is a fancy dress party – didn’t you know? And this year the theme for Bestival 2012 is Wildlife.  “We want you to unleash the party beast from the hinterlands of your imagination, covering Robin Hill with some properly wild things – from fantastic fauna, kings of the jungle and even organisms aplenty to just the outrageously wild…” say the organisers. Don’t miss the fancy dress parade on the Saturday with prizes for the best costumes.

The Bollywood tent is home to all the best DJs including Rob Da Bank himself and this year it will have a temple themed entrance way and an old London bus is being transformed into a cocktail bar, Bollywood style of course. The Come Dancing Spiegeltent, a beautiful 19^th century style ‘mirror tent’ made from wood, mirrors, leaded glass and canvas, is the place to learn your moves as there are loads of different classes in everything from ballroom dancing to hip hop.

Film is coming to Bestival in 2012 with the Lost Picture Show – a vintage cinema to take you back to the golden age of movie going plus Rob da Bank will be rescoring the 1930s original of King Kong at the brand new Amphitheatre performance space in the Woods. Also at the Amphitheatre Stage will be Scroobius Pip’s Satin Lizard Lounge – a stellar line-up of the very best spoken word artists in the country.

The Grand Palace of Entertainment will have weird and wonderful things to do during the day and hosts the UK’s best in alternative entertainment at night whilst the Psychedelic Worm stage is the place to catch up and coming talent. The quirky and cute Wishing Tree is back again and has lots of new attractions along with DJ sets and the wacky Lost and Found gang up to their old tricks. Copperdollar presents Spidora, a magical immersive theatrical sideshow through the darkness to where Spidora lurks and Slumbarave is an irresistibly twisted, spooky hotel.

Back for the second year is the Roller disco on a giant sized jukebox stage, with vintage skates free to hire, although you can also dance without wheels.  Also back on the bayou is the Swamp Shack, a ramshackle Louisiana juke joint that has a Southern Gothic theme that was voted one of the highlights of 2011. And Bestival wouldn’t be the same without two much loved institutions the Knees Up Tent and Time for Tease.

Soul Park is the name of the new and expanded Healing Area which will feature unique spaces for yoga, massage, relaxation, hammocks and meditation with the David Lynch Foundation plus wood-burning Scandinavian hot tubs and a sauna area. It will also be the location of the opening ceremony by Isle of Wight druids.

The country’s finest young chefs will be coming together under one roof to provide fantastic food as the winners of the nationwide search for the most talented Young British Foodies will be joined by the YBF all-star foodie judges to create a never-been-done-before, spectacular eating experience. Bestival also welcomes the return of Kerstin Rodgers and The Underground Restaurant who will be bringing fine and explorative dining to a field for those who want to escape the hubbub of the festival and experience the opulence of eating like a king under canvas.

In the Village area you’ll find the WI tea and cakes marquee run by the Island’s ladies, all home-made fayre and very reasonably priced. The local Farmer’s Market also has a food stall here. Other Islanders to look out for are Ben Brown with his fresh Arreton Sweetcorn and the St Catherine’s School Tuck Shop – Rob Da Bank is one of their patrons. The Solace Tent is run by young people from the Island’s churches and has free cakes and teas/coffees!

After dark you must make sure to see ‘Arcadia presents the Afterburner’, a 360 degree stage DJ stage that shoots giant 30 foot flameballs into the sky surrounded by 12 fire breathing lamppost tree sculptures. And on Sunday night there is an amazing firework display after Stevie Wonder finishes on the Main Stage.

‘The Grief Tourist’ is the first film Melanie Griffith has made for some time and she told a press conference in Munich that her husband Antonio Banderas said it was “the greatest film he’d ever seen.”

“I was knocked out by that – I think it was a ridiculous thing to say,” laughed Suri, “but it’s still very flattering.

“Melanie was great to work with – she’s as close to Hollywood royalty as you can get. Her mother is Tippi Hedren, once Alfred Hitchcock’s favourite actress, so she grew up in Hollywood and spent most of her life on film sets. ‘The Grief Tourist’ was a fresh start and a new challenge for her. It’s a dark, quite nihilistic film in many ways and she was fantastic.

“In ‘Bad Karma’, which I shot in Australia last year, Ray Liotta was also great to work with and we became very close. He’s everything you’d imagine a coarse New Yorker to be – a straight talker and fond of expletives. He can be direct and if he doesn’t like something he’ll tell you, but I like that – you know where you stand.”

Hopefully both films will be released in the UK next year. In between his film projects Suri visits the Island frequently and hopes to make a film at Carisbrooke Castle, very near the house he grew up in.

“I was born in Shanklin but we moved to Newport when I was very young, to Newclose House that sits at the foot of Nunnery Lane and Watergate Road. That’s where I spent all of my childhood years until I left home.

“If you go to the top of Nunnery Lane you’re at the castle and it was a journey I’d do regularly, after school in the summer and at weekends. We’d often climb the castle walls and sometimes drop to the other side. I think I was probably led over the wall by my older brother Ranjit who is still a great climber and quite fearless when it comes to extreme sports. I grew up feeling that the castle belonged to me in some way, and a bit of me still does. I think a lot of people feel that about it. It’s a very special place.

“I was quite politically active on the Island, a member of the Labour Party and an active campaigner. I left school after doing my A levels and went straight to London giving my family very little notice. My mother was heartbroken, but I just felt I needed to see a bigger world.

“I used to come home regularly when my mother lived on the Island. Shalini my younger sister, now owns the house we grew up in having bought it from my mother when she decided to move to the mainland. I have a step brother, Dean Hodges, who runs a memorabilia shop in Newport.

 “After three years working for a printing company in the East End I decided to go to college because I wanted to explore my creative impulses. It was photography that excited me at first, but after a year on a great course at Bournemouth College of Art and Design (now Arts University College Bournemouth) I crossed over to the film department.”

Suri went on to study directing at the National Film and Television School and has since made several highly acclaimed films and directed many TV dramas, such as Waking the Dead, Sea of Souls, Blue Murder and the mini-series A Respectable Trade and The Cazalets. He’s especially proud of A Respectable Trade, the first mainstream drama the BBC had ever made about the slave trade in this country. He has won four film festival awards and been nominated for three BAFTAs.

Included amongst the many actors he’s worked with is Russell Brand. “I worked with Russell Brand a few years ago on his first TV drama ‘Cold Blood’ – a crime drama that included John Hannah and Gemma Redgrave in its cast. I met him and offered him the part of a man who stalks one of the main characters. We’re both fellow West Ham supporters and we got on very well and I still think it was one of his best onscreen performances.

“I shot a film called New Year’s Day (2000) on the Island. It was weird making that film because it was like going to a place I knew well but at the same time I felt like a stranger because I was seeing it through different eyes. It was a story about two teenagers, survivors of a tragic skiing accident, who are so traumatised by it that they decide to spend a year doing various tasks before planning to end their own lives.

“We shot the end sequence on the cliffs at Tennyson’s monument where the two boys planned to jump off. That’s a place I also have very special memories of – and I used to make it a yearly event to walk from Freshwater Bay to the monument every New Year’s Day. One day I decided to run all the way from the monument to Newclose in the snow.

“I do like dark subjects – I think that’s probably right. I’ve had this long ambition to do an adaptation of Hamlet, but I was never sure I had anything new to offer in terms of adapting the play.  Then one day I was talking to an actor and dear friend, Tom Bell, who gave me an idea. He said “Imagine there’s this older man in a wheelchair who thinks he’s Hamlet…” That night I couldn’t sleep for thinking about this idea – and immediately began work on the screenplay.

“I’m now waiting to have a meeting with the actor who I hope is going to play the main role.  I’d like to think that it will be my next film but it’s been my next film for the past few years. Something else always gets in the way,” he laughed.

When he’s not filming Suri has his head buried in science books these days. “I seem to have a passion for science that wasn’t there when I was growing up and I’m currently studying for a degree at the Open University – a BSc (hons) in Natural Science. I think I’m going to take the Astronomy and Planetary Science pathway but haven’t yet made that final decision. There’s a star named after me because my wife Lorraine bought it for me as a birthday present – but living in London there’s little chance I’ll ever see it even with the strongest telescope!”

Suri lives in London with Lorraine and their three children, Yasmin (26) Oliver (11) and Ines (10).

On Monday July 30th from 8pm (doors at 7pm) a whole band of brilliant artists of every kind will be filling the Isle of Wight gallery at 360º – LIVE!. The line-up so far includes poet and performer extraordinaire Frog Morris, spoken word sensation and actor Joe Bone, legendary improvisational music from The Adventurists, and musical delights from JC and his crew, Beachcomber and Blackhouse Crow.

“As we move about the gallery, expect to be taken on a journey where order and chaos collide to create a truly memorable evening,” say Quay Arts who have organised the evening in collaboration with the Acoustic Originals and High Tide Poets.

Made by youngsters on the Island with the help of local artists, the Micheal West Gallery has every wall covered in a collaborative artwork that was first inspired by David Hockney’s ‘A Bigger Picture’ exhibition at the Royal Academy in March 2012. Working together over a two week period, 250 students from Island Schools, artist Tim Johnson, Quay Arts’

Young Curators, Studio Quay students and a series of guest artists, used diverse approaches to transform the gallery space into a 360° panoramic landscape that was funded by the Ernest Cook Trust.

The evening will definitely be unlike any other event you have attended in a totally unique setting. “The performances respond to the work in the gallery in an exciting and multidisciplinary way through songs and poetry about the land, sea and travelling,” say the organisers. And it’s free!

Brought to you by the organisers of 360º – A Panorama exhibition and Acoustic Originals, 360º – LIVE! is also an end-show event for the exhibition Estuary in the Learning Curve Gallery and mid-way party for the exhibition 360º- A Panorama.