HOLMSEY: A manufactured bruhaha
IW Observer.co.ukOn the very day our Westminster politicians were being unusually statesmanlike, here, the council’s budget meeting descended into farce. Up…
Read MoreVECTIS VIEW: Sally, Lady Grylls, Dementia care campaigner
Nine years ago, whilst in rehabilitation in a care home in Ryde, following an operation for a broken leg and…
Read MoreA LOOK BACK IN TIME: Two sorry tales
This week we have two sorry tales from the Isle of Wight Observer of 4th March, 1854. The French word…
Read MoreA LOOK BACK IN TIME: On dit that
The Isle of Wight Observer of 28th February 1920 included a column headed ‘ON DIT THAT’. On dit is a…
Read MoreCabinet Connection – Lora Peacey-Wilcox, Leader of the Isle of Wight Council
As I said in my leader’s address at the full council meeting on Wednesday, I always seek to remind people…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Alternatives to road police!
We’ve all been driving around the Island for years knowing that, unless we did something really stupid, it’s highly unlikely…
Read MoreVECTIS VIEW: Nigel Hartley – CEO of Mountbatten Hospice
Prior to the pandemic, we knew the numbers of people who needed Mountbatten’s care was growing. We now know the…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Confessions of a master criminal
Despite my criminal past, three times in my life I have assisted police officers when the person they were arresting…
Read MoreVECTIS VIEW: Terry Weaver, Funeral director since the late 40s
I remember when funerals on the Island were nearly all burials. Before May 1961, cremations had to be held in…
Read MoreGREEN FINGERS: Spring is just around the corner
Many of you will have already seen the first signs of spring while out and about. On the ground, snowdrops…
Read MoreCabinet Connection – Chris Jarman
The shorter days of winter provided ample opportunity to focus on the complexities and conflicting demands of setting a legal…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Life’s petty irritations…
I hope you enjoyed Richard Quigley’s efforts to entertain you in my absence. He’s good, but I’m back now, and…
Read MoreVECTIS VIEW: IW Bus and Coach Museum
Looking back only a few years, I wonder how many of us could have imagined a situation in which a…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Food fighters!
Isle of Wight ObserverAs a child, Christmas was the highlight of my year. Frankly, for the other eleven months in our house, there…
Read MoreA LOOK BACK IN TIME: Children charged for stealing holly
The Isle of Wight Observer published on Christmas Day, 1869 contains two extracts that amused us. The first is an…
Read MoreVECTIS VIEW: Father Xavier Abbot of Quarr
There is, it seems, much Greek around, these days. Only think of the words we all have learnt to live…
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