Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2010/January 2011 | Page 14

five years of Island Life

on to grow from 16 members to 36. Such
was their reputation in 2006 that they had
regularly played host to other visiting choirs.
Since: Three years ago (2007) Newchurch
MVC were the first non-Cornish choir to
perform at the Eden Project and were so
well received they were immediately invited
back to perform in the Mediterranean Biome
again. This they did this October (thanks to
Wightlink for the crossing, they say.) This
year, choir secretary Barry Leahy, says, the
maroon ‘off the peg school blazers’ were
replaced with tailored burgundy jackets,
thanks to a £3,000 grant from HIWCF
(Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community
Foundation) and provided by Fields of
Sandown. Jenny Riddell took over as
accompanist from Joan Chaundy in Jan 2006.
Our readers love to read about the history
of their Island, and June Elford’s seminal
series of the Island at War was full of
memories, at times very poignant (Issue 16
onwards).
RECENT history, too, has been covered.
Festivals and local shows have always been
of interest to our readers and five years has
seen some changes (Issue 12 Oct/Nov07) As

14

Island Life - December 2010

well as profiling the founder of the Isle of
Wight Music Festival, we met Rob da Bank,
of the Bestival (Issue 9 Apr/May 07). We also
looked at the summer shows. An ‘Events
Gone By’ roundup reporting on Garlic, Chale,
WhiteAir, Havenstreet Steam Show and the
County Show noted that the latter went
ahead despite the restrictions imposed by
Foot and Mouth disease (Issue 12 Oct/Nov
07).
Now: The Bestival like the Festival has gained
national recognition. Sadly WhiteAir exists
no longer, and the County Show only just
hangs on. But others, like Old Gaffers and
The Garlic Festival, are firm favourites with
Islanders and visitors alike (Issue 22 Jun/July
09).
We look forward to the next five years of Life
on the Isle of Wight and give thanks to all
of our loyal readers and advertisers for their
continued support.
We would also like to thank our team at
Island Life for all their hard work.
To view all our back issues of Island Life free
of charge please visit:
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