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Selected highlights from the recently published Wivenhoe News…

The news with Wivenhoe News is that all of this online prefacing is probably in danger of a word count on par with the fine publication itself.

Oh, y’know - JUST GO AND BUY A COPY - it will be the most worthy £1 that you can spend in Wivenhoe this weekend that doesn’t involve asking for a king size jumbo saveloy at Papa’s Fish Shop.

A showdown (of sorts) took place in the station car park over the summer months. Biros were put down, blogs were on hold. A [rather charming] member of the esteemed Editorial Team met with, um, a hit and miss hyperlocal blogger to discuss crossovers and collaboration.

Or something.

Actually it was a rather random meeting, and the lovely chat was more about how I can best get away with snaffling the entire diary pages from Wivenhoe News and pass them off as semi-original content over on the Wivenhoe Forum.

Whoops.

Anyway - a compromise was reached, hands were shaken and I looked forward to the autumn edition with all the anticipation usually reserved for a king size jumbo saveloy.

And whaddya know - here it is. A mighty fine read as well. Having explained how m’blog is going to preface and not quote word for word within, I’ve probably already spunked away 300 plus words on the intro alone.

Hey hoe.

So anyway - about those selected highlights from the recently published Wivenhoe News…

Jacqui Dankworth at St Mary’s Church is deserving of the front page treatment. It’s not everyday that the rising star of UK jazz calls in at Even Song at yer local village church. Not every small North Essex estuary town can boast the guitar genius of Chris Allard as a local either.

>Who? >What? >Where? >Why> When?

>skip >skip >skip >skip 8th October, 7:30pm, tickets from the Bookshop.

The Workers of Wivenhoe pin up this quarter is Sid the Fish, the charming fella who rolls up outside the Co-op each Friday morning with his selection of freshly caught local fish. As well as kippers, eels and elks, Sid can also satisfy the prawn peccadillo of particularly fussy cat.

Meowww.

May Fair 2011 Raises Over £4,500 for Charity… tells you all you need to know about the KGV coming together this year. Oh - and for all ye doubters out there, it is convenient timing to convey that Essex police announced this week that NO charges came out of May Fair 2011.

Splendid.

The ambitious Church Ale weekend gets a deserved plug (17th - 18th September), sitting opposite the Editorial, which helpfully de-myths the Wivenhoe News relationship with the Friends of St Mary’s (I think we’re all friends around here.) There’s also an appeal for reader’s to support Wivenhoe Town Council’s attempt to register the land opposite Millfields School as village green status (meeting at the Loveless Hall, 24th September, 2pm.)

Janes Hughes looks at the history of Colchester Road, Ian Valentine rejoices with bell ringing at St Mary’s and Jane Lee elaborates on the new town map located opposite The Greyhound.

If in doubt - head down the Colchester Road and listen for the sound of the bells…

Nottage News updates with… all news relating to The Nottage. The range of courses is impressive - as was the Nottage Summer Exhibition 2011, featuring Pru Green, Alison Stockmarr and Barbara Pierson, which also gets a review.

Moving Image reflect on the first year of staging an independent community cinema for Wivenhoe, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society explore the new production of Ruddigore. There’s also an ad for open auditions (now passed) for Wivenhoe’s Pantomime Group’s production of Robin Hood.

Looks like I’ve missed out on wearing the tights for another year.

Cricket Week and the launch of Jon Wiseman’s excellent The Story of Wivenhoe Cricket is covered, as is a favourable review of Around the World 2 - the recent show from Angie Diggens Productions.

The Wivenhoe Poetry Prize 2011 proudly prints the winning entry - Digitalis by Martin Malone. A written copy of the verse can currently be seen along the platform at Wivenhoe Station. You can also hear the poem (and others) being read out over here. No poetic licence required - just balls the size of melons for pointing a mic in the face of some performing poets.

Wivenhoe Bookshop cover, well, Wivenhoe Bookshop cover about bloody everything as per usual. Fine, fine work. Creative writing courses, readings, Philosophy breakfasts, book launches, reading groups - it’s a wonder they actually have time to sell any books.

Wivenhoe in Bloom put the green-fingered feelers out for possible bulb sponsorship. Open Gardens is reflected upon and WAGA look forward to the September show:

>Wivenhoe Allotment and Garden Association >annual show >Loveless Hall >why not >10th September.

Richard Allen looks ahead to the new birding season (first walk 10th September,) Sue Glasspool explains more about the Townscape Forum and Jo Wheatley from TTW addresses the big picture of peak oil and, um, the TTW barn dance.

Birds, historic buildings and a Barn Dance - blimey.

That’s not something that you are likely to read about in the next edition of OK magazine.

The Wivenhoe Diary 2011 is as vast as it is… plagiarised over on the Wivenhoe Forum. I hear that with so many new and emerging events around the town, a pull out A3 guide is currently under consideration for the next issue.

Diamond Jubilee preparations are well underway, writes the good Town Clerk, as are preparations for possibly the BEST night in the Wivenhoe calendar - Fireworks on the Quay, very kindly staged by WORC.

>WORC >fireworks and a fancy dress competition >the Quay >traditional >29th October, 6:45pm.

Margot Robertson, Don Smith and Andrew Nicholson are all lovingly remembered in wonderfully written obituaries.

The View from the High Street with Tom Roberts praises the “no brainer” decision of WTC to purchase the empty police houses along the High Street. Jokers to the left of me, clowns to the right - well the Loveless Hall and WTC offices - it seems the right move to make.

Cllr Robert Needham, the current Town Mayor, also reflects on this purchase, as well as managing the speed of change to the town that the University’s Knowledge Gateway is likely to bring to Wivenhoe.

“Potholes, pavements and planning concerns” are currently occupying the mind (and considerable time) of the good Cllr Steve Ford of Colchester Borough Council. The red flag waving Comrade of Cllr Julie Young of Essex County Council lambastes the failure to launch the 20mph limit in lower Wivenhoe.

Cllr Mark Cory of the Cross ward celebrates the success of The Hub, something which he hopes he can take with him in helping to put in place BRA (blimey) - the re-launched Broadfields Resident’s Association. 24th September is a date I’m hearing for the re-launch. The aim is to offer facilities for the yoof at the top half of the town.

Bernard Jenkin MP bangs on about the “surgery saga.” I suspect he will be doing the same in ten years time, should he still be holding public office.

The Sailing Club, Judo Club, Tennis Club, Bowls Club and Badminton Club all plug away with their sporting achievements. Over the page and the Chair of Wiv Soc admits to being “personally torn apart” over the planning issue for the old St John’s Ambulance Building.

Letters to the Editor praise the gravel garden opposite Wivenhoe Eyecare, bemoan Bernard Jenkin in making a party political point in Wivenhoe News and then concludes with something more positive in the Grand Garage Trail success.

And so that’s the preface out of the way - ready for the 5,000 word critical analysis written with a contemporary post-modern twist, as viewed from the perspective of a p-head down The Station?

Ah - I think I’ve just published it.

Wivenhoe News is sold at the Co-op, Crossways, the Post Office, Bryans Newsagents and the lovely Wivenhoe Bookshop.

To the Wivenhoe Bookshop on Saturday morning for some Radio Wivenhoe interview training. We may revel in our amateur status, but to keep the big boys of broadcasting from getting hold of a community licence, a training programme has to be in place.

Which is no bad thing, given the bumblings around the edges of of an mp3 player that I have so far put out in the name of Wiv Chat.

We are blessed here in Wivenhoe to have Heather Purdey as a local resident. Having made a name for herself in fronting up radio newsrooms in the ’80s and early ’90s, Heather is now a highly esteemed academic, holding the post of Director of International Journalism at City University.

But that’s all for the day job. Heather very kindly gave up her weekend to help out a rag tag collection of hyperlocal broadcasting types to sit in the splendour of the backroom shed at the Bookshop, and help us out as we explore what lies ahead for Radio Wivenhoe.

We have pretty much been making it up as we go along in the short history of Radio Wivenhoe - have mp3 recorder, will travel. Physically setting up the station was the priority. Smoothing out the rough edges and coming up with the What Next has to be addressed now.

With news of the hyperlocal station just starting to spread around the town, we have a little grace to experiment and find some future direction; or even find how to turn on your portable mp3 player and actually record some content.

Whoops.

But Radio Wivenhoe needs a focus to keep the momentum and enthusiasm progressing. We certainly found this on Saturday, with a microphone being thrust into our face and an impromptu interview greeting each guest upon arrival.

Must try that one at the locals stagger out of The Station after last orders on a Saturday night…

It wasn’t just the interview technique that Heather was able to condense into our three hour slot, but also the physical set up in putting in place a makeshift studio in your own front room.

With @AnnaJCowen covering all four corners of Studio Wiv Chat with a pot of Dulux back at base, there are some basics that I have overlooked. Body language is all-important, especially when you have strapped down your guest for an hour as you try and unearth that previously unknown piece of hyperlocal history.

Come mid-morning and is was time to be let loose on the locals of Wivenhoe.

Oh Lordy.

The practical task was set to tear up and down the High Street and come back with a short piece. I pondered going to Papa’s Chip Shop and delicately producing a piece of advertorial, all for the small price of one of the finest saveloys you can get your yer lips around in North Essex.

I buggered off down to the Quay instead: not a single soul insight. Wivenhoe is very good at sleeping though Saturday mornings. Questions were considered about the unwelcome boat, but no one was around to answer them.

Hard-pressed hyperlocal news hounds can probably find a story at the Sailing Club I though. Not at low water Jase.

Whoops.

The charming Pet Shop Girls at the Business Centre were also on my radar, but by now I was starting to get some slightly crazed looks after watching a couple of local lads roll around in the mud by the jetty, hovering with my mic, and poised to ask them what they hell they were doing.

“Having fun, innit?”

Hey hoe.

With the studio clock counting down, I made a dash for the Wivenhoe Trail. This has been a hotbed of hyperlocal debate of late over on the Wivenhoe Forum (whaddya mean… blah blah blah - oh, just…)

Permissive Use by Bicyclists doesn’t amount to free love and understanding being dished out by Ferry Marsh, but watch yer back - it’s only one of those lycra lovers about to take you up the backside.

THIS is local news. THIS was going to be my lead back in the Bookshop shed.

I wandered lonely as a cloud, almost as far down as the Hythe. Not a single cyclist or pedestrian passed me.

Wake up Wivenhoe: TIME TO DIE.

Eventually a charming Dutch couple slowed down outside the old Engine Shed as I waved at them on their touring bikes like a mad fool waves at a wet hen.

“Um, yeah, um, Radio Wivenhoe, y’know, so, right, what d’ya think of cycling?”

It wasn’t the best opening question and my guests were struggling slightly with the lingo. Still, I recorded three minutes of audio, which probably made more sense if you could see the head nods that got us around the language issues.

Happy with the scoop, and with a skip and a hop along Station Road, I listened back to my recording.

Don’t press DELETE Jase, press save. DON’T PRESS DELETE, JASE PRESS SAVE.

So yeah, I inadvertently deleted my three minutes of fame.

Back down towards the Hythe it was then.

Well, not quite. A couple of new to Wivenhoe locals walked past, I filled them in; they had heard of Radio Wivenhoe and were only to keen to help out the bumbling boy about town with a mic.

A closed question here and there went against all the theory that we were taught back in the Bookshop shed, but I quite like the short piece. It’s not going to throw the global financial crash off the top of the news bulletins, but then again the Dow Jones never really played out very strong in the beer garden at The Station.

Back at the Bookshop and all four students listened to the recordings that we returned with. Puffin came back with a brilliant insight into life in the village Post Office, ex Cllr-Cyril headed for the boozer and welcomed the new land lady at the Black Buoy for a bar side chat. Mr Mule talked about Led Zep with Heather.

We all had four unique interviews, with four very different interview techniques. Those Editorial Board meetings at Radio Wivenhoe are going to keep us up all hours over those long winter months.

And so some three hours later after first bumbling through the Bookshop doors, I reflected on what had been the most useful and practical Saturday morning that I have experienced in some time - I’m including my time spent getting lost in the gardening aisles down at B & Q.

No formal news gathering is in place as yet at Radio Wivenhoe, but there are stories out there to be told, I tell ya.

We concluded with some wonderful serendipity. I knew of Heather in a different life some twenty-five years ago as my first job as the bumbling boy at the local radio station. Heather was already running the newsroom, and was about to go on to even better things.

A quarter of a century later, and we were both in the backroom shed at the Wivenhoe Bookshop and about to take the next step for Radio Wivenhoe.

The local radio station from back in the day has long since been lost to the big boys of corporate radio. Heather told me of how a breakaway hyperlocal online station back in the Fair City has since sprung up.

Now *that* sounds like something you want to here…

You know that the Wivenhoe summer has truly arrived when you have to get out the wellies once again for a short stroll along the Trail and a wade up and down in the glorious estuary mud.

Whoops.

Failing that then there’s always that staunch season signifier of a copy of the esteemed Wivenhoe Society Summer Newsletter to tell you that it’s probably about time to start looking forward to the start of the new football season once again.

Any soul searching for the estuary summer is soon forgotten about, with the proud picture of Front of House winner Jill Bailey proudly displaying her certificate in her seasonal - and not at all waterlogged - summer garden.

Congratulations, Madam. I am in awe of the arrangements of your beautifully laid out borders. Thirty-five entrants took part in the competition. All funds raised will be split between Wivenhoe Helping Hands and St Mary’s.

But it’s not all about letting it hang out at the front. The Message from the Chair delivers the good news that both a Minutes Secretary and an Honorary Secretary have both been sourced for the Wivenhoe Society.

Hurrah!

Or rather the two into one role has been very kindly taken on board by Rachel Allen. Here’s hoping the left and right hand can both meet in the middle.

Not quite rising to full attention, but Mr Chair then raises the issue of Wivenhoe Town Council’s plans to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee next summer:

“I suspect they may soon be asking for money”

I suspect Mr Chair is correct.

The Wivenhoe Townscape Forum is given a decent write up by Sue Glasspool:

“Good progress is being made. The members of the group have walked every street in Wivenhoe and looked at all open spaces to identify historic buildings, areas, vistas and other assets which could go on our draft local list.”

I wonder if the Townscape Forum has had the good fortune to walk along *cough* Chapel Road of late?

Moving, or walking on in a brisk manner…

Jane Hughes reports on the outstanding success that was Wivenhoe Open Gardens 2011:

“The weekend was sunny and warm, and visitors started arriving early on the Saturday morning to enjoy a splendid show of gardens. There were 28 open in all…

It was great to have several new gardens open, and new ventures represented, such as Transition Town Wivenhoe and Millfields and Broomgrove Schools.

The weekend raised profits of £3,400 which will be divided between St Mary’s Church and the Wivenhoe Society, whose share will be given to Wivenhoe Helping Hands.”

Great things come from green fingers. My prize courgette continues to grow to an unfeasibly large size.

Changes to recycling and rubbish collection days are also highlighted in the newsletter. Police matters are updated with details of the new police.uk site, as well as flagging the 101 non-emergency telephone number.

If you are part of the Wivenhoe twitterati then you could also follow the splendid @SgtLouMiddleton - “handcuffs with humour,” as one online wag observed of late.

Resting her Minutes Secretary and Honorary Secretary role for Wiv Soc, the good Rachel Allen then multitasks to the extreme, with an update on the Helping Hands AGM, of which she is also… Secretary.

Splendid.

“The mission of Helping Hands was reiterated - any job will be considered regardless of age and ability within the bounds of Wivenhoe - and although we cannot directly help with children, we can help with parents who may need some shopping or a prescription collected if their child is ill.

Our band of 42 volunteers [blimey] will attempt a whole range of minor tasks from taking people to doctor’s appointments to putting out bins. We do not operate an emergency service, but there is a dedicated phone line.”

THAT NUMBER AGAIN… 07834 452 764.

In these austere times when we are constantly reminded by gurning fools on TV that “we are all in this together,” it is genuinely nice to be reminded by someone who isn’t gurning, and most definitely isn’t a fool that yep, we really are all in this together and so let’s help each other out.

The Treasurer’s Report breaks down the funding of Wiv Soc and comes to a rather pleasant conclusion:

“Recently we have accumulated a small surplus each year and the Committee thinks that we could donate some money without running our reserves too low.”

The Youth Hub, both primary schools, the Ferry Trust, Christmas lights for the Legion, Helping Hands, Wivenhoe in Bloom, planting trees, replacing notice boards - all have benefited from Wivenhoe locals all being in this together.

“Remembering the aims of the Society, which are to preserve the amenities of Wivenhoe and generally make it a pleasant place in which to live, the Committee would like the views of members on how any money could best be spent.”

Suggestions via email. Inviting gurning fools that we see on TV to have a look around a barren patch of land that should be a new Health Centre, probably isn’t the best use of surplus Society funds.

The new gravel garden located by the Co-op / Jardine / Eyecare Wivenhoe / Bermuda Triangle is featured on p.7:

“The perennial plants were chosen for their propensity to thrive in a sunny, dry spot.”

As for the funding?

“Although there is a restricted budget made available by Wivenhoe Town Council for planting up the floral tubs throughout the town, Wivenhoe in Bloom are managing to pay for additional planting through fund-raising. Their plant stall at the May Fair raised an impressive £320.”

An incredibly generous £250 donation from Jardine has also helped, as has the Wiv Soc contribution of £200.

Some hapless hyperlocal type hails the first six months of the Wivenhoe Forum on p.8. Whaddya mean you haven’t… blah blah blah. Oh - just join. 243 members (and counting…) can’t all be wrong. Or even online bores.

Moira Collett reflects on the first year of Moving Image - twelve months with many ups and down, but overall an incredibly positive place to be after just one year of supporting an independent community cinema in Wivenhoe.

Having had to let go of the “ambitious plans to turn the St John Ambulance Hall in Wivenhoe’s very own cinema,” Moving Image has found a base at the Philip Road Centre. The Lakeside Theatre at the University was also experimented with, although “the audiences were never large enough,” and sadly this will not continue.

Taking Moving Image out into the community with the bicycle powered cinema at the May Fair, screenings at The Station and at the Cricket Club have been highlights. After a short summer break, Moving Image returns on 10th September with The King’s Speech.

Keeping the uplifting mood and what we all need is a picture of a semi-naked Mayor of Wivenhoe teasing all with a fine barrel chest and a towel wrapped around his torso in the style of a handsome Roman warrior.

Cripes.

The fantastic sport that is Mayor Robert Needham poses - in a very decent fashion - outside the newly re-opened outdoor swimming pool up at Broomgrove School:

“The swimming pool was originally built over thirty years ago but inevitably over the years it had fallen into a state of disrepair. The Wivenhoe Society gave £540 towards the pool’s refurbishment costs.

This saw the start of a major fundraising drive. The Broomgrove School’s Association managed to raise over £4,000 to add to £2,000 from the BSA reserves.”

Fine work from local parent and bathroom installer, Leigh Haig from LH Installations, who volunteered to complete the work at no cost. Seeing a semi-naked Mr Mayor in print is but a small price to pay.

And then finally on p.11 we have the New Town Map and Sign story:

“Wivenhoe First, an organisation that promotes local businesses, is responsible for the appearance of a new Wivenhoe map and notice board which has appeared in front of the floral boat outside the public car park.”

And most splendid it looks to. I got lost the other day simply leaving the house and putting the rubbish out. You’ll be telling me that there’s life north of the Co-op next.

Until next time…

Blatant self plug. Re-published from the @15QueenStreet blog.

How are you a part of, and use 15 Queen Street?

I am a flexi-member, having joined 15 Queen Street on my third morning after moving into the area. With a planned move from South London to Wivenhoe, I had been following the growth of 15 Queen Street online. A very generous offering of croissants at a Breakfast Club was a sufficient bribe to sign up.

I now use the space mainly as a social gathering, but also as a great opportunity to collaborate with others, both in a paid and purely creative capacity. I also use 15 Queen Street as a toilet stop if I am ever caught short in town.

What do you think of our membership hub and Colchester’s growing Cultural Quarter?

The range and background of the members is brilliant. For a broad creative industry that often falls into the trap of everyone being individual but creating the same old crap, there is a tremendous range of skills and diversity at 15 Queen Street. Asking someone to define what exactly it is that they do for a living can often take up the best part of a social evening.

Tell us a bit about your journey and where you are today.

With a broad background in traditional journalism, I now work on online projects that engage people and communities. It’s not exactly a job description that you’ll find down at the Job Centre, and I have long since lost any ambition to pass it off as a proper job.

My work involves managing online communities using various social media tools. Most of this work is online and remote, hence the move from London to Wivenhoe.

I commute back to South London once a week, as I also work in a couple of local primary schools creating online content. I shoot video and record audio with the kids, and generally get very messy whenever I enter into the school Reception classes.

Since moving to Wivenhoe I have tried to engage the local community more online. There is a tremendous offline community spirit around the town, and I am keen to enable further collaboration both online and offline. I have set up the Wivenhoe Forum to try and capture this community cohesion.

And then there’s m’blog.

Give us a sneaky peak of what you are working on right now.

I was greatly humbled to be asked to contribute my blogging skills and work with the Creative Co-op here in Colchester. I am capturing the online presence of a number of projects, including Keep Colchester Cycling, the Hidden Kiosks and Mentor Me.

What events are you looking forward to at Queen Street this month?

Booze.

Chin chin.

Time to clear up a little bit of the mess left over from May Fair - first with the very practical clean up of the KGV, and then to clean up some of the fallout that has followed.

I returned to the site early on Tuesday morning to lend a hand with the great clean up. It was good to see a dedicated local team of volunteers, all doing the litter picking thing. Wivenhoe Town Council had bin bag representation as well. Fine work, Sir.

What followed was a sweep of the site - not in the same *ahem* style that the police swept the KGV the afternoon before if some of the sensationalist reporting from our friends @The Gazette are to be believed - but a sweep of all the bottle tops, fag ends and dog water bowls.

Blimey.

For all the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll, the most exciting item I found was a hand written recipe for home made soup. University of Essex playing cards (eh?) appeared all over the place, usually torn to shred and scattered over the green and pleasant land as some form of academic confetti.

Future leaders, I tell you. Future leaders…

A mid-morning coffee break with the other KGV scavengers, and I stood to attention on hearing how Viagra had been found somewhere close to the Sunrise Stage. That’s about as rock ‘n roll as the May Fair gets, Comrades.

For all the pre-May Fair publicity of being glass free, the most time consuming part of Tuesday morning was picking out of the ground the blitz of beer bottle tops.

A midday working commitment was calling for me, and so I couldn’t put in the hours of volunteer dedication displayed by others. A return to the site early evening, and it appears that the KGV has actually been left in a cleaner condition than when it was handed over at the start of the May Fair weekend.

Fantastic work - a huge credit to the May Fair Committee.

Ah, but what of the other clean up, I hear you ask…

Well - let’s clear up some of the rumours and fall out that has followed from May Fair.

Depending on who you speak to, what you read and which pub you drink in, Wivenhoe was either besieged by an angry mob intent on rioting and having a running battle with the police over the weekend, or a little local difficulty followed when some kids who couldn’t take their lager shandies got lost in the wood whilst out on a teddy bear’s picnic.

The truth, as ever, lies somewhere in-between. I have approached the May Fair Committee for an official clarification, and to their credit, this is being prepared, once the full facts emerge.

What I do understand however is that two main trouble spots flared over the weekend. The Wivenhoe Forum is proving to be a very useful place for local dialogue and to look for future ways forward for the May Fair.

Here’s what I posted in relation to the May Fair flash points:

“I’ve been speaking with a number of sources around the town that I trust. My understanding is that apart from the wonderful music, the fantastic weather and the general community feel towards the top of the field, two separate situations developed.

A number of very young kids got very drunk in the Wood. This was out of sight of security, and come 4-5pm, it all got very messy. Safety concerns were an issue - some of these kids were out of it on booze. The police took the decision to move in to the woods so that any of the kids in trouble could be seen to.

I have been told that Sgt Lou Middleton played a very key and sympathetic role here, putting in place a policy of community policing of the very highest order. No arrests were made because the ‘offence’ was being young, being drunk and being silly. We’ve all done that. Instead, phone calls were made to parents and harsh words were spoken. Giving young local kids a police record is not a great start in life.

The second situation was not May Fair related, but took place outside of the town. Two Colchester gangs had pre-arranged to meet. This was nothing to do with the May Fair, and I believe that the police have confirmed as much to the May Fair organisers. It is the equivalent of football thugs pre-arranging a knock about outside football grounds.

Sadly the police helicopter was required, seeing as though the trouble was taking place around the town. The effect of this was to amplify the sense of danger or trouble. You could be sitting at home up towards the Cross and hear a police helicopter buzzing over and thinking that it was all May Fair related.”

Reporting in @The Gazette led with the problems, rather than focus on the success story of May Fair:

“Officers in riot gear, police dog handlers and the force helicopter were called to Wivenhoe May Fair when trouble erupted at the event.

Police say hundreds of youths drinking near to the even began causing problems at around 5pm. Police say order was soon restored, but that three people were arrested.”

Tell It Like It Is, but leave out the charity effort, the community led organising and the vast majority of May Fair folk that went away smiling.

What follows online is a slightly random debate as readers of @The Gazette take issue with the reporting, as well as some locals voicing concern about the policing for this year. I personally prefer the useful discussion over on the Wivenhoe Forum and ideas for the way forward.

And so hopefully Wivenhoe has come clean. The KGV has been handed back as a functioning public space, and some useful dialogue is taking place between the organisers and the community about the way forward.

It is right to be patient to hear from the police and the report that is currently being prepared - likewise with the official response from the May Fair Committee.

It’s good to come clean.