October A.G.M for Hayling's BEST
The volunteers of the Hayling’s BEST
Group, part of the nation-wide “Market Town Initiative”, will be
holding their Annual General Meeting at the United Reformed
Church, Hollow Lane, Hayling Island, on the evening of Wednesday
28th October starting at 7.30 pm. Hayling’s BEST (The acronym
B.E.S.T. stands for Business - Environment - Social -
Transport.) is a multifaceted local organisation, comprising
many volunteer run subgroups. Working for Hayling to create
projects, such as the Island’s ever popular Scarecrow Festival,
which has just enjoyed its third highly successful season.
The creative spirit of Hayling was
well to the fore this year, with an astonishingly imaginative
range of Scarecrows, created and displayed for the enjoyment of
Island crow spotters. Although the highlight for many of this
year’s festival must surely have been the innovative ‘straw
poll’, designed to seek out public opinion as to Hayling
Island’s ‘most popular figure’. Candidates for this hotly
contested and cherished title included lifelike effigies of the
late great Michael Jackson, those cool dudes ‘The Blues
Brothers’, hero of the Royal Navy Admiral Lord Nelson, and a
likeness of our beloved Prime Minister Gordon Brown that was
arguably even scarier than the man himself!
Also in the Hayling’s BEST stable
are the Discover Hayling local history team, who are working to
create a living archive of Hayling's’ social history. This year
the Island’s hard working historians have unearthed fascinating
insights on subjects as diverse as the life and times of
Victorian Lord of the Manor William Padwick, and Hayling’s
important role in the run up to the D-Day Landings. Among other
highlights for Discover Hayling this year have been two highly
entertaining sell out presentations at the HIADS Hayling
Theatre, and an exhibition at the newly refurbished Newtown
House Hotel which attracted over a thousand visitors. While the
group have also published three new additions to their range of
local history booklets entitled, ‘Natural Hayling’, ’Langstone -
Gateway to Hayling’, and ‘Hayling Lifeboats’
Now in its second glorious year, the
Playing on the Plaza team have just completed their annual
season of six free Sunday afternoon live music events, at
Eastoke Corner’s Liveability Plaza. Aimed primarily as a means
of increasing footfall to the area’s businesses and traders, the
project has also developed a particularly strong second string
to its bow, as a free platform for local culture and musical
talent. Local bands and acts to have featured in this season’s
line up include, Jack Cottle, ‘Rusty Strings’, ‘Manti’, ‘Music
Madness’, ‘Rick and the Rivearas’, the wonderfully named ‘Tobo
Lumpyfoot’, and the lovely Wendy Adams-Evans, presenter of
Discover Hayling’s ‘Postcard From Hayling’ DVD, leading her band
‘Captain Stomp and the Roof Raisers’.
New for this year Hayling’s BEST have just embarked on its first ever ‘bricks and mortar’ project, in the shape of their new Community Youth Centre project, aimed at addressing the Island’s present shortage of facilities for young people in the 0-20 age group, through the creation of a facility specifically targeted to meet their growing needs, and create a safe social environment for the enjoyment a variety of positive and constructive activities.
Still to come for 2009 are the Island’s annual ‘Christmas Window Spotting Competition’, in which visitors and locals tour Hayling’s shops and businesses, armed with trail-sheets to seek out items of incongruity in the Island’s shop windows. Plans are afoot for an exciting revamp for this season, including a new logo, new entry details and lots of new mini competitions added just for fun! While still on the theme of Christmas, the ‘Playing on the Plaza’ team will also be back, suitably wrapped in holly, tinsel and mistletoe, for their regular collaboration with Hayling’s ‘Churches Together’ group, to present their second annual ‘Carols on the Plaza’ seasonal Christmas concert. More on all of these projects and events can be found at the group’s website http://www.haylingsbest.co.uk
The common link between all of these projects are their VOLUNTEER input. None of them could possibly exist without a small but dedicated and hard working team who turn out regularly to make them happen. Wednesday 28th October is YOUR chance to come along and find out exactly what Hayling’s BEST and the ‘Market Town Initiative’ is all about, and where YOU can fit into their future success and the continued prosperity of Hayling Island!
Ian Edwards,
Volunteer P.R. Officer,
Hayling’s
BEST M.T.I.
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