Lymington fundraising for the 2016 BBC Children in Need appeal.

A number of different groups, clubs, businesses and organisations are fundraising for the BBC Children in Need appeal over the next few weeks. Here is a summary of what's happening. If you spot the fundraisers out and about, give them a smile and a wave - and if you can, a donation.

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Cake Sale in Brockenhurst!

The Property Management and Letting Company in Brockenhurst are holding a cake sale on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 November in aid of Children in Need - please go along and buy some delicious homemade cakes!

Salterns Sailing Club Sail-a-thon

2016 will be the 18th year that Salterns Sailing Club raises funds for Children In Need. The Lymington sailing club for children, run by children, raises money through sponsorship for a sail-a-thon, donations and activities during a 24 hour period when there is sailing continuously on the pond. Over the last 17 years the club has raised over £115,000.

2016’s BBC Children In Need 24 hour sailathon will start at 4.30 pm on 18 November and finish at 4.30 pm on Saturday 19 November. If you are walking out on the sea wall past Six-Acre Pond, wave some encouragement to the young sailors - and perhaps pop round with a donation!

Spot the Spotty Bus!

Colten Care have stuck 'Pudsey' spots on one of their minibuses! Spot the bus between 7-18 November, take a photo and enter the competition to win a Samsung Galaxy Tablet! Find out more...

Cycle Pudsey Bear to the BBC Studios!

Belmore Lodge is vying with two other Colten Care Lymington homes, Court Lodge and Linden House, to see how much money they can raise for Children in Need. The three care homes are cycling Pudsey from Lymington to the BBC studios - on exercise bikes - from 7-18 November. Find out how you can help cycle Pudsey home...

Pudsey helps care homes get in the saddle for Children in Need.

Children in Need appeal mascot visits Lymington's Belmore Lodge to launch two week fundraising campaign. 

Pudsey Bear paid a visit to a family-owned Lymington care home to help launch a two-week fundraising extravaganza in aid of Children in Need. The official mascot of the BBC’s annual charity appeal called in at Colten Care’s Belmore Lodge, joining participants at the start of a bike ride challenge and checking final preparations for a Spot the Spotty Bus competition.

Amid some gentle rivalry, Belmore Lodge is vying with two other Colten Care Lymington homes, Court Lodge and Linden House, to see how much money they can raise. Residents, families, friends, staff and volunteers are using stationary exercise bikes at each home to help ‘cycle Pudsey home’ to the BBC studios in

Manchester by Children in Need night on Friday, 18 November. It’s an equivalent distance there and back of around 500 miles.   

Colten Care is streaming the virtual journey live using three web cams so communities can check on progress in real time. Visitors to each home are warmly invited to pop in and hop on the saddle to help with the ride. 

At the same time, one of Colten Care’s minibuses has been specially decorated Pudsey-style with colourful spots. As it goes on its rounds in and around

Lymington up to Children in Need night, members of the public are invited to take and send in a photograph of it with the chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab A Tablet in a prize draw.

The campaign’s grand finale is a Black Tie and Diamonds ball at Lymington Sailing Club for families and community contacts. The event, also taking place on Children in Need night, includes an auction of donated items. 

Janie Pearman, Belmore Lodge Home Manager, said: “We all enjoyed Pudsey’s visit to help set us on our way with our Children in Need activities this year. It was lovely to welcome him and see the smiles on our residents’ faces. Our campaign offers a whole host of ways to get involved. We’ve got something for everyone. People can get active on the bikes, use their photographic skills for the bus competition or simply make a donation.”

Colten Care has a deliberate policy of linking its residents’ activities programmes with fundraising for charity. Last year, it raised nearly £4,000 for Children in Need. Colten Care owns and runs 20 care homes in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Sussex. 

To view the virtual bike ride, register for the Spot the Bus competition or make a donation, visit http://www.coltencare.co.uk/ChildrenInNeed.

Support the Macmillan World's Greatest Coffee Morning in Lymington and the New Forest.

This Friday 30th September enjoy coffee and cakes whilst supporting Macmillan Cancer Care.

The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan’s biggest fundraising event for people facing cancer. People all over the UK to host their own Coffee Mornings and donations on the day are made to Macmillan. Last year alone the charity raised £25 million and this year they are aiming to raise even more.

There are now 2.5 million people in the UK living with cancer. By 2030, it will be 4 million people, and Macmillan want to be there for them all. One in three of us will get cancer, and it will be one of the toughest things we’ll ever have to face. Macmillan's goal is to make sure no one faces cancer alone. They provide medical, emotional, practical and financial support, as well as campaigning for better cancer care. And because cancer affects more than just those facing it, they're there for friends and family too.

A number of organisations are supporting the Macmillan 'World's Greatest Coffee Morning' on Friday 30th September - in fact, local events are not limited to the morning!

Pop along to the following Colten Care homes and you'll be greated with a warm welcome from residents and of course their great team of carers:

• 11am at Court Lodge, Lymington 
• 2pm at Linden House, Lymington
• 2pm at Belmore Lodge, Lymington 
• 10.30am at Kingfishers, New Milton 
• 10am at Avon Reach, Mudeford 

Station Financial are holding a coffee morning from 10am - midday at 26 Station Road, New Milton.

The Montagu Montagu Arms Hotel in Beaulieu will donate £1 to Macmillan Cancer Support as part of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning event for every coffee made on 30th September.

If you fancy a spot of retail therapy whilst you support Macmillan, Lymington's KemptonBranson, are hosting a lifestyle pop up sale and coffee morning at the Stanwell House Hotel from 9.30am until 12.30pm.

If you don't have the time to attend a coffee morning, but would still like to take part, Heppenstalls Solicitors will be holding a cake sale from 10am until 12.30pm at 75 High Street, Lymington.

And if Friday is just too busy, fear not! Pennington WI will be holding their Macmillan coffee morning on Saturday 1st October from 10am until midday.

Lymington's Summer Spectacular raises £13,000 for local causes.

Over 5,000 attend the Rotary Club of Lymington's summer event, with classic car show sponsored by Colten Care.

On 7th August, over 5,000 flocked to Woodside Park for the Rotary Club of Lymington's Summer Spectacular on a spectacularly sunny day! The Rotary Club would like to thank everyone who attended the show and are proud to announce that they have raised c£13,000 for local causes.

The event had many many fun activities, field events, displays and trade stands. Deeds of Arms were popular with the children, in particular the re-run of the Battle of Poitiers where Deeds of Arms were given a sound thrashing by Lymington's children!

The classic car show, sponsored by Colten Care, also attracted the crowds. The trophy for Best Car in Show was won by Paul Davis from Doncaster with his sky blue 1955 Jaguar XK140 0TS. The trophy was presented by Colten Care resident Chushsian Camm and Executive Chairman Ian Hudson.

Event sponsors, Colten ensured that residents from their three Lymington homes - Belmore Lodge, Court Lodge and Linden House – as well as Kingfishers in New Milton, could attend the show. The Colten Care marquee was positioned close to all the action and made sure that their residents, families and guests could enjoy a special day out in a relaxing environment. As an extra bit of fun, families with children were invited to visit the marquee and take part in a free-of-charge cup cake workshop. They decorated cakes freshly baked for the occasion by Colten Care’s expert chefs.

The funds raised by Lymington Rotary will support many local causes, including local schools, organisations and projects.

Lymington Carnival 2016 was a glorious day!

Thanks to everyone who entered and supported the event on the streets and at the fete.

The winners of the carnival procession

Congratulations to everybody that took part in the Carnival procession - a fantastic effort by all. The Overall Winner of the Day were Little Wrens Pre-School. The winners for each category were:

Youth Sports Team - Lymington Sprites Football Club

Youth Organisation - New Forest Academy of Dance

Adult Sports - Lymington Tennis Club

Pre-School - Little Wrens Pre School

Infant School - Pennington Infant School

Adult Pedestrian - Hounds for Heroes

Child Pedestrian - Oli and Sky

Cycle, Pram, Equestrian, Barrow - The Leen Family

Senior / Charity Organisation - Rotary Club of Lymington

Trade - Barry Frampton Ltd

Carnival Darts Competition

The Carnival Darts competition with is on Friday 22nd July at the Royal British Legion in Lymington: The Lions Club of Lymington & Brockenhurst present the 2016 Darts Competition, with £200 in Cash prizes at the Royal British Legion from 7:30pm to 11pm

Photo Gallery

Many thanks to those who have shared photos, including Steve Elson. If you have more photos of the Carnival that you would like to share, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sport is the theme for the 2016 Lymington Carnival & Fête

Come and have fun at Lymington's summer carnival and

carnival fete on Sunday 17th July!

Lymington Carnival and Fête will be taking place on Sunday 17th July. Since its relaunch two years ago, it has regained its status as a leading event in the county. Organised by The Lymington Lions, it attracts a wide variety of entrants, each striving in various categories for best winning float.

The event has been largely bought back to life after a revamp by Mish Frampton. Mish was watching the event three years ago and decided that she really wanted to help bring the carnival back to former glories. She has worked tirelessly since then to establish a great committee set up, sound sponsorship packages and attractions and themes that make it appealing to children and adults alike.

Carnival Procession - 11.00am around Lymington

Before the carnival procession, there will be activities in Lymington High Street from 10:00 including morris dancing and live music from Samba Panashe.

The Carnival Procession starts from the Town Hall in Avenue Road at 11:00 and takes a circular route around the Town:

Avenue Road > Southampton Road A337 > Queen Street A337 > St Thomas’s Street > High Street > Gosport Street > Cannon Street > North Close > East Hill > Avenue Road

This year’s theme is ‘Sport’ and a number of local organisations and businesses will be taking part. We're particularly looking forward to the Colten Care Olympics and wonder what our friends at the RNLI will be getting up to this year! 

Funds raised during the procession street collection will be donated to a number of local charities, local youth and adult voluntary groups and organisations.

Bands participating in the procession: include the Hampshire Caledonian Pipe Band, Raw Samba and the Vectis Corp of Drums.

It's going to be a great procession and the weather is promising to be good - do come along and support the procession as it moves around Lymington!

Carnival Fete - 12.00 at Lymington Sports Ground

An important aspect of the carnival in recent years has been the addition of the Carnival Fete at the Lymington Sports Ground, filled with fun activities, interesting stalls and exciting attractions.

The fete will open at 12.00 midday, following the carnival procession, and this year has nearly 60 stalls! There will be giant inflatables, a sports participation arena (where people can try a whole host of different sports from Croquet to volleyball), a funfair, some great live bands on the Rivazz entertainment stage, a performing dance troupe and of course the utterly brilliant dog show. Prize giving for the carnival procession will also be at the fete. There will be plenty of food and drink stalls catering for most budgets and food preferences.

The fete is free entry - so come along for a fun day out for all the family!

To keep abreast of the latest fête news, follow the Lymington Carnival Social Media feeds on Facebook or Twitter.

It is a real community event, keep up to date with http://www.lymingtoncarnival.co.uk/

Pilates and tutus for breast cancer.

Raising funds for the Haven in Steff's Kitchen at Fairweather's Garden Centre.

Something quite different took place in Steff’s Kitchen at Fairweather’s Garden Centre in Beaulieu. There were lots of ladies dressed in pink, wearing tutus doing Barre Pilates in aid of The Haven, a charity that supports anyone affected by breast cancer.

Organiser Juliet Nicholas, of Juliets Pilates in Beaulieu, teaches barre Pilates, which is a fusion of ballet inspired moves incorporated with Pilates. Money was raised for the Haven, a charity that is very close to the heart of Steff Fairweather, who was affected with breast cancer and used the Haven whilst going through treatment.

Over half a million people in the UK are now living with breast cancer and this figure is expected to double by 2030. The good news is that earlier diagnoses, better research and more effective clinical treatments, mean that survival rates are improving. But that also means that more people are living with the disease and its effects longer. The Haven offers a wide range of emotional, physical and practical support services for free, including over 40 complementary therapies, counselling, nutritional advice, exercise classes, financial advice and support groups. They also run a range of courses and seminars. Everyone is welcome at any of their centres and there is no need for a referral. Everyone who is affected by breast cancer needs some additional support to get them through it, whether recently diagnosed, completed treatment, or with a relative or close friend with breast cancer. 

The evening consisted of pilates, nibbles and a selection of wines chosen especially from Helen McGinn, a wine expert and author of the bestselling book and blog ‘The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club’. The wines were from the Solent Cellar in Lymington, one particular favourite was a Provencal Rose made by the founder of Tyrells crisps, William Chase. Helen did a small talk and gave a few tips on picking a perfect wine to accompany summer food.

Antonia Boulton, a registered Osteopath and Nutritional Health Coach provided a selection of nibbles and the ingredients were specially chosen to help reduce inflammation and to help build a strong and healthy body. These included- spinach hummus, feta with watermelon and mint, wild salmon pate and to finish a raw chocolate fudge & strawberries with vanilla cashew cream.

It was a fun filled night, raising £660 for the Haven.

Pam Healy, Chief Executive of the Haven attended in a full pink tutu to say a few words and thanked Steff’s Kitchen and the women of Beaulieu for their support and for creating such a fun evening. 

Sunday is Water Slide Day in Lymington!

Oakhaven's giant slide will descend the High Street. Important things to note for sliders and spectators.

Excitement will be sliding into Lymington this Sunday, 10th July 2016, when a Giant Waterslide will descend the High Street! Please be aware that the High Street will be closed for the day to vehicles and it will therefore be important to find alternative driving routes across town.

Registration

- This will be at Lymington Community Centre

- The event is sold out, so you can only slide if you have prebooked

Water Sliders be prepared...

- You can only slide if you have your ticket and wristband

- Arrive at the top of the slide at the time on your ticket and queue in the appropriate colour lane

- Please wear comfortable clothes and avoid anything with buckles, belts or zips

- Changing rooms will be available

- Fun outfits and fancy dress are fully encouraged!

- Be prepared to get very wet!

- Enjoy the ride!

Spectators are welcome!

Travelling all the way from Costa Coffee at the junction of New Street to the bottom of the hill and a buffer zone on Gosport Street, the giant inflatable waterslide is an exciting new fundraising initiative by Oakhaven Hospice. The idea was apparently inspired by the Bristol water slide, which was put on a city centre street in 2014. 

The slide opens at 9.45am when sponsors Fred Olsen have a team of 10 going down first!

The event promises to be a great sight - Lymington High Street as you’ve never seen it before! There will be a raffle being held at Fred Olsen, event sponsors, with fantastic prizes on offer.

“This truly exciting and highly unusual fundraising event is going to attract a huge amount of attention” said Mike Denny, Oakhaven Hospice's Head of Fundraising and Communications. “We would like to extend our grateful thanks to Fred Olsen Travel Agents for their kind sponsorship of the event.

“We have worked very closely with our local councils on this, who were understandably keen to know in detail about our plans for marshalling, health and safety and environmentally of course," added Mike. "They have all been very supportive in all respects including our application for a road closure for the day. I think suffice to say Lymington is very excited about this."

Ever thought about volunteering but not sure where to start?

This summer might be the perfect time to go something great for your community!

This Summer might be the perfect time to get out into your local area, meet new people and do something great for yourself and your community. The New Forest Volunteer Centre has hundreds of opportunities available both indoors and out and you can meet one of our friendly volunteering ambassadors who can let you know about what’s available in your area. Over the next few weeks they are running sessions at local libraries, where you can find out more about being a volunteer. There's no need to make an appointment – just turn up!

Ringwood Library - Tuesday 24 May 10am -12pm
New Milton Library - Tuesday 14 June 10am – 12pm
Hythe Library - Tuesday 14 June 10am – 12:30pm
Fordingbridge Library - Tuesday 5 July 10am – 12pm
Lymington Library - Tuesday 7 June 10.30 – 12pm

For more information about volunteering or the volunteer outreaches please contact the Volunteer Centre 01425 482773 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ends. For further information contact Jan Barratt, Volunteer Centre, Community First New Forest on 01425 482773 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Editor’s notes
Community First New Forest is a Council for Voluntary Service supporting the voluntary and community sector across the New Forest District. Community First New Forest also provides a range of support services that aim to make a difference towards quality of life.
Community First New Forest works at the forefront of community development, supporting and promoting the sustainable development of the local voluntary and community sector. Community First New Forest offers practical advice, support and information on best practice to local voluntary and community groups, advice on funding and much more.
Community First New Forest’s support services seek to improve the quality of life for people and communities in the New Forest district.

These include amongst others:
Support with improvements or adaptations to homes
Transport services
Emergency short-term accommodation for homeless young people
Providing support to vulnerable children, young people and families including a young carer initiative
Recruiting and training volunteers
Support and advice to voluntary and community groups

Community First New Forest works towards removing barriers to social inclusion by working with communities and individuals who may be socially disadvantaged, vulnerable and isolated. By building relationships, fostering partnerships and delivering quality services, Community First New Forest aims to improve quality of life and assist in the development of diverse, strong communities.

For further information about Community First New Forest visit www.cfnf.org.uk

Make a donation to Community First New Forest on-line via www.virginmoney.com

It's time to get colourful for Oakhaven Hospice!

The Colour Run in aid of Oakhaven Hospice will take place on 15th May at Brockenhurst College in the heart of the New Forest.

This 4km course gives you the opportinity to turn yourself from a blank canvas into a human kaleidoscope!

Dressed in a white t-shirt, you will whizz through colour stations where you will be showered in clouds of brightly coloured powder paint. Don’t worry, the paint is non-toxic, safe and biodegradable, although sunglasses and a closed mouth are both recommended! Come and join the party for a fun run, jog or walk.

You will end up every colour of the rainbow, so organisers recommend not to come along wearing your best clothes. The paint does wash out but in some cases can stain. Participants will receive a white t-shirt and sunglasses to wear on the day and are recommended to wear old trainers or comfortable shoes.

If you are not taking part in the run, please do come along and watch! It is quite a sight! Spectators and participants will have the opportunity to purchase paint, which can be thrown after the finish in a “paint throwing zone.” Be aware that if you are spectating you are just as likely to get paint over yourselves, so do wear old clothes!

Please note that dogs are not permitted on college grounds.

It is not recommended for children under 5. Top tip: younger children may prefer to wear swimming goggles.

• Free White T-Shirt (to save yours!)
• Free Colour Sunglasses (own goggles may be preferred)
• Free Water Station for all participants at the end
• Refreshments & Music
• Start and Finish at Brockenhurst College
• Registration: 10am – collect T-Shirts & Glasses
• Changing Rooms available
• Secure Bag Drop so participants can bring a change of clothes
• Start at 11:30am

Entry by registration only – you can register on the day from 10am at the college but we can not guarantee the availability of places, so pre-entry highly recommended. 

TICKETS: pre-registered: Adult £15 / Students (16yrs+) £10 / Child (5-15yrs) (£8) / Family (2 adults & 2 children) £40. Tickets purchased on the day are £5 extra per ticket. Click the link below to find out out more: http://www.oakhavenhospice.co.uk/events/