Grrrrrrrrrr

Look at this stunning thing:
It's a Jersey Tiger moth. This lovely species is pretty much restricted in UK distribution to the Channel Islands and parts of the south coast . On the mainland it is commonest in south Devon, but colonies have recently appeared in Dorset and here on the Isle of Wight. So this may be a stray continental migrant or home-grown. There is also a thriving population in central London, but who knows if this is a natural expansion of range or perhaps more likely the result of an introduction. It's clunky latin name is Euplagia quadripunctaria and is presumably a reference to the four distinct spots (rather than the two additional blobs) on the bright red underwings.
Sean, our conservation manager, photographed this one while out on his project rounds.

St Cross Mill enhancements

The latest phase of the Newport Rivers Group's work restoring and enhancing the rivers in and around Newport is now complete, and these photos really do show the visual improvements that have been made.




















These works were carried out by the Environment Agency, and as well as improving the visual aspect of the site, they have also installed a bespoke fish pass, to allow fish passage up and down the river at this point.

A different point of view.

How many times have you sat on Shanklin or Sandown beach and looked out at the big ferries passing by? Well, here's the view of someone standing on deck 11 looking back at you.
Actually I guess you wouldn't be sat on the beach in the gloom would you? But it really didn't seem quite so murky from on board the P&O 'Pride of Bilbao'. Perhaps that was because I was still jubilant at having seen huge Fin Whales on a short jaunt across the Bay of Biscay and back. Amazingly you can see over a third of all the world's whales and dolphins from this ferry; the 4km deep oceanic trench and plankton-rich coastal shelf around it have only recently been recognized as a world class location for watching cetaceans. Take a 3-day mini-cruise, stand on deck from dawn all day and you could see extraordinary things. It's not just the whales and dolphins though, you might also see Basking Sharks, Sunfish, Tuna and even a turtle. Have a look at http://www.biscay-dolphin.org.uk/sightings.html
And as we came round into the Solent it looked like this:


Gateway to the Promised Land?

The writing's on the wall

Jack Segal's poem Mill Hill Station is now in position in a rather crumbly old wall belonging to the Spiritualist Church in Cowes. It reminds passers by of the trains which used to pass by that spot, disappearing in a cloud of steam into the tunnel which can still be seen.
If you'd like to see some photographs of how Mill Hill Station used to be, take a look at
http://www.semg.org.uk/location/iow/millhill_01.html
Though the train doesn't stop there any longer, the No. 1 bus does!

Canoe Safari on the Medina

Sixteen intrepid Islanders met at Medina Valley Centre yesterday afternoon to take part in the Medina Rediscovered canoe safari. We all had a brilliant afternoon, many thanks to Roger Herbert and his team at MVC for their expert tuition and hospitality. The cup of tea at the end of the afternoon was particularly welcome.

Look at us conquering the river:

What is 'behind the barriers'???

As part of the 'No Barriers' project we've commissioned artist and photographer Tim Johnson to take a look 'behind the barriers'. Over the past couple of months Tim has been exploring the special qualities of a 'no go zone', a large plot of land left behind for nature to re-colonise, before the re-development of East Cowes claims it back.

Tim comments:
"I'm fascinated by the way nature is creeping back over the relics and remains of human habitation and industry. Although I'm a resident of Cowes I don't know the area contained before its transformation - so I'm coming with fresh eyes wondering what the rubble and remains once were. Garden steps up to missing conservatories, park benches with no one to sit and car parks empty of vehicles forever.

Scrambling native brambles collaborate with escaping garden roses against a backdrop of crushed rubble and cracked paving. Wild Carrot and Lamb's Ears decorate a miniature roundabout - the floral combinations presenting a curious botanical landscape speaking of its own history."

After working digitally for several years Tim has returned to using film for this project. Using a recently acquired medium format camera Tim is enjoying the slowness of the activitiy and the concentration and focus required.

Tim's photographs will be presented to the public on the Barriers revealing the hidden contained landscapes. To find out more about Tim Johnson's work visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/timstring/collections/

proof of the pudding

Well, here it is - casting attempt number 1. It is meant to be a rectangular plaque with a poem about a wolf on it, but even the most broad and generous interpretation can't judge it a success on that count. There's no poem and it's not rectangular. On the plus side, there were no burns from squirting metal or superheated steam as I've read can happen and the furnace worked well. It was exhilarating going through the process of melting and pouring the brass, not knowing what the result was going to be and perhaps it wasn't a complete failure ... Look carefully at the burned imprint on the plaster mould. Do you see the ghostly outline of a dog or some kind of wolf?

If you have experience of casting metal and can give me any tips, I'd be happy to receive them!

Children's Guide to the Isle of Wight

Calling all Island youngsters! We want your help to create a 'Children's Guide to the Isle of Wight' for visiting children and their families.

We want to know where are the best places to go, what are the best things to do and why.
For example- Where is the best free playground and why? where is the best place to see artwork or things that inspire you and why? Which events and fairs do you like going to and why?

It's up to you to tell us about the best of the Island - particularly if you think other people may not know about them. Click below to download our questionnaire to get you started.
Childrens%20Questionnaire%20small%20%28ac%206%29.pdf

You can e-mail the Arts Team with all your thoughts, opinions, drawings and photos by sending them to arts@island2000.org.uk . We can also e-mail you our questionnaire if you have problems downloading it. Everyone who contributes to the guide will get their name in it and will will use submitted images and drawings to illustrate the guide.

look forward to hearing from you!

Isle of Wight County Show

Well, the first day of the 2007 County Show is over. We very nearly didn't make it into the show as we had been allocated an outside plot for some reason, and as you can see our display wouldn't work too well outside, but fortunately space was found for us in the food tent (yum yum) making our Food Trail leaflets and postcards our most relevant publications (the picture shows Rebekah hard at work behind the stand during a quiet spell).


We tried out a "listening post" idea, with some of Ian's audio tours playing back over headphones - not as widely used as I hoped but Rosie seemed to like it! Shame really, because the tracks being played make great listening (all are included in our Friends of Nature membership packs) so I might try speakers tomorrow and inflict Ian on everyone!

Our free seed give away was popular - if you want to join in catch us on Sunday (12th) at the County Show or in September at the Wolverton Garden Fair in September. We also hope to make seeds available via the Gift to Nature website in the near future.

Hot stuff

A few months ago, I had plans to start casting all sorts of things in metal including poems, leaves and possibly even some Troll currency. However, my experiments on the kitchen stove melting solder and pewter weren't that successful and were a bit dangerous and in the end I bought a proper little furnace.

After the addition of some empty beer cans and a hair-dryer to the burner, it will now get hot enough to melt brass and copper. The next experiment will be to cast a brass plaque by melting down lots of old plumbing fittings. This picture shows a plaster mould with lettering cut into it. (The photograph isn't backwards - it has to be carved like that for the casting to come out the right way round!) The poem about a wolf was written by the eccentric Island poet Michael Bryant. You could spend a happy two minutes deciphering it from the mould.

I've no idea how it will turn out, but I'll post a picture of the result, whatever it is.

Simeon Monument

It's much more difficult than I imagined to get even one layer of bricks flat. All I needed here was a small, fairly level plinth which would support a plaque with a poem on it. But after struggling for some hours with a sack of recycled bricks and a bucket of rapidly setting cement, it looked like the whole thing might congeal into something similar to the Tricorn Centre. Fortunately, Martin's children, Rebekah and Jonathan arrived just in time to straighten things out before they finally set hard. (It seems they do this kind of thing all the time in their home education group).

Anyway the latest poem in the Bus Stop Poem series is now in position. It is entitled Simeon Monument and was written by Pat Murgatroyd. Hop on a 6, 7, 38 or the Medina Tour and see it in the flesh!

Refreshed and bursting with vim.........

Hello, been away for a week and have done several things.

Found the best stone in the world:










Photographed an idiot:







and discovered a most delightful book from 1944 - 'Seashore Life and Pattern' by T.A.Stephenson, then Professor of Zoology at the University of Wales. He says: '..if men of science will respond to the overtures of artists and boldly confront the question whether natural beauty with all the ennobling emotions which it begets may not be something deeper and more systematized than a wayward subjective reaction to mere matter, they may soon discover fresh vistas opening out before them, so enlarging the scope of their own endeavours.' which is a big sentence and an enlightened sentiment. It's a lovely book, but weird.
In it are designs drawn from sea-life. Imagine your marine wallpaper looking down at you
like this: or this:or best of all this:It would make you feel like Poseidon and Amphitrite.