ISLAND LIFE
Susan's Gala Dinner
Councillor Susan Scoccia, Chairman
of the Isle of Wight Council, is to
end her year in office with a very
special event in aid of Ventnor-based
St Catherine’s, which supports young
people with speech, language and
communication needs.
Susan (right) and her fundraising
committee are holding a Gala Dinner
at The Priory Bay Hotel. Along with
a three-course meal, guests will be
invited to take part in an auction of
Celebrity Ties, which have been kindly
donated for the auction by, among
others, Terry Wogan, Ken Livingstone
and Julian Fellowes.
There will also be other special
auction items, including a weekend
in Italy, which has been donated by
Italian food distributor Beretta. Guests
at the event will include the Island’s
Lord Lieuten ant, Major General
Martin White CB CBE JP, and Mary
Case, High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight
2013 to 2014.
This is the fifth event in Cllr.
Scoccia’s fundraising year, which has
included an Open Garden event at
Haddon Lake House, a wine tasting
evening and a Race Night. The
committee hopes to raise £5,000 for
St Catherine’s vocational training unit,
The Work Station, and is well on the
way to achieving this target.
Susan, who represents Ventnor West,
said: “With the money raised for The
Work Station, we are going to support
not only young people who attend
St Catherine’s, but also young people
from the Ventnor area. Unfortunately,
some areas of Ventnor do suffer
from high levels of deprivation, and
increasing the opportunities for
training and employment is a must.”
Susan added: “It has been a privilege
to be Chairman and it has been a
wonderful time. I would like to thank
everyone who has supported me in this
successful year.”
For more information about St
Catherine’s, The Work Station
and Cllr Scoccia’s fundraising year
contact Susan Graves, Marketing and
Fundraising Manager at St Catherine’s,
on 01983 852722 or visit www.
stcatherines.org.uk.
Isabel returns to Island to
step back to Summer of '76
The Isle of Wight provides the
backdrop for a book to be published
later this year by award-winning
novelist Isabel Ashdown.
Isabel lives in Chichester but spent
much time on the Island carrying out
research for Summer of ’76, ‘centred on
secrets and simmering passions back in
the legendary heat wave of 1976’.
Over two years Isabel hired a
coastguard cottage overlooking
the Needles, at the foot of the
breathtaking Tennyson Down, and
travelled the Island in a campervan.
She explained: “I always feel a strong
impulse to immerse myself in my
chosen location – to look out over its
horizons, breathe the air, and walk the
paths of my characters. Having the
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www.visitislandlife.com
freedom to travel meant I could spend
time in Sandown, Wootton Creek and
the various other locations, to help
me create an authentic, if fictional
version, of the Island in Summer of
’76.”
She continued: One of the aspects of
Island life that has made writing this
book so enjoyable was the residents’
willingness to talk. In my research I
chatted to fishermen, pub landlords,
campsite owners and ferry captains.
The generosity of the locals is
heartwarming.
“Some locations possess a special
quality, a gentle energy in the air that
makes me want to write; the Isle of
Wight is one of those places.”
The novel is set at the start of one of
the hottest summers on record. Luke
Wolff is about to turn 18 and is set to
enjoy his last few months at home on
the Island before leaving for college.
His parents are too preoccupied with
their own lives to worry much about
their son’s growing independence. But
with windows and doors constantly
open and life increasingly lived
outside, secrets become hard to
hide. As Luke listens in, his parents’
seemingly ordered lives come unstuck.
Soon the community is gripped by
scandal, and everything Luke thought
he knew about family and trust is
turned on its head.
Summer of ’76 is published by Myriad
on July 4, priced £7.99.