Shirley Community News Spring 2008 5

Residents from Freemantle and Foyes Corner community

have expressed a keen desire to hold a Festival to bring
our very international community together for a day.
With this in mind, we will be holding a Festival on May
18th 2008 from 11:00am until 4:00pm.
This Festival is being supported by K2 Urban Youth Festival
and many agencies and groups within our community, i.e.,
youth groups, inner city social groups, Churches in Shirley,
health providers, arts projects, sports and fitness
development, Sure Start, a dult and community education,
extended schools projects, etc., to provide information,
activities and advice for our local community.
All local residents are invited to come along for a fun filled
day and it is free to enter!
Can You Help?
The focus of the day is to support community cohesion and
to signpost the many excell ent activities that are around, but
which many of the community know nothing about!
Activities will range from bucking broncos to climbing walls,
to ballroom dancing to ball pits, from live performance,
dance and music to steel drums! The Festival site will be
divided into four distinct family areas to cater for the under
5s, teenagers, family groups and the over 50s so that
everyone can enjoy a free family day out. On top of this,
there will be a central performance area as well as ongoing
sporting competitions.
If you would like to be involved on the day please let us have
a contact person and number with whom we can liase.
If you can let us know what you are likely to be sharing with
the community on that day, once again, please let us know.
If you would like to have a further chat with me about the
Festival, please contact me by email marked clearly Foyes
Corner Festival. Thanks very much.
A Steele Arnett Headteacher of St Marks Junior School
(E-mail: head@st-marks.southampton.sch.uk)
Foyes Corner Festival
May 18th 2008
My Place,
My Community, My City
St Boniface Church Shirley Road, Shirley, Southampton
is the Catholic church in Freemantle and Shirley.
The church, with its bell tower, is a prominent feature on
Shirley High Street. It offers a range of activities from coffee
mornings to a flourishing youth club and works with other
churches in Shirley to respond to the social needs of the
area. They enjoy a wide ethnic mix, with many newcomers
from India, Africa, the Philippines and Eastern Europe.
Masses and Services
10:00 Weekdays
11:00 Weekdays Prayer Group on Fridays in the Hall
18:30 Sat
08:30 Sun
10:30 Sun
St Boniface
Church
St Boniface
Church
Shirley Swimming Pool, a fixture in Kentish Road
for 35-years, could soon be refurbished to become
a state-of-the art leisure centre and provide
high-quality facilities for the local community,
including two swimming pools and a health club.
Plans are to be submitted for permission to build a two-storey
pool hall over the existing pools that will provide three new
changing rooms, a childrens gym, an adult gym and a toddlers
soft play area. The new building will take advantage of the latest
in carbon reducing technology. The existing building will
remain in place for the first phase of the development that will
see the pool close for six weeks. The plan is that this closure
will occur during the school summer holidays of 2009.
The second floor has plans for a caf where viewing swimming
lessons will take a unique twist. Large video screens will relay
views from the pools and a glass panel in the floor and
underwater camera will give unusual angles for stroke analysis.
The need for expansion has come about because of the
popularity of the facility. Pool manager, Chris White explained
to Shirley Community News that over 1,200 families bring their
children to lessons every week and the place is currently
bursting at the seams. His wish is to create a more comfortable
environment for the swimmers and their families.
Graham Davies, the Project Manager, has been full of praise for
the City Council, explaining that they have been very
supportive and helpful. He explained The really clever part of
this is that the pools will only be closed for six weeks; it is
complicated, but I think we have found the solution. The pools
and plant room have already been refurbished, the water is now
lovely and we aim to keep it that way.
The new innovation is being driven by the current owner, Dave
Perry, who is proud that thousands of local children have learnt
to swim at the centre, many going on to swim at County,
National and even International level. He accepts that the old
building needs replacing but insists that nothing will change
regarding objectives. Dave insisted We will always concentrate
on the things we do well; teaching young babies, children and
adults to swim as quickly, effectively and safely as possible.
However, it will be nice to be able to get a decent cup of coffee
and some room to sit down and spread out when we get the
second floor.
Perrys big challenge is to raise the finance during the current
credit-squeeze. Events such as a sponsored swim will contribute
towards the costs and he believes with the support of customers,
suppliers and local businesses he will achieve his target.
Details of the plan are available at
www.shirleyswimmingpool@hotmail.co.uk and at the
Foyes Corner Festival on Sunday May 18.
NEW LEISURE FACILITIES
FOR SHIRLEY
WORN AGAIN
FASHION SHOW
On 13th March 2008 at Christ Church,
Freemantle a 'Worn Again Fashion Show'
was held to raise awareness and funds for
The Hampshire Lupus Group.
So few people have heard of
Systemic Lupus yet worldwide
it is more common than
leukaemia, multiple sclerosis
or muscular dystrophy. Lupus
causes the body's immune
system to go into overdrive
and starts to attack itself. The
symptoms are many and varied,
and the illness often seems to
mimic other diseases. This gives
rise to difficulty in diagnosis and
the condition can be
overlooked, sometimes for years.
The event was organised,
principally by the members of
a local book group, one member
of which suffers from Lupus. The planning started six months
before the event was held and friends and family were asked to
donate clothes and accessories which were stored in a willing
volunteers' garage. The Rector of Christ Church kindly offered
the spacious room to host the event and the Verger, William
Green kindly his time and talents to compere the evening.
Local businesses kindly provided some excellent raffle prizes.
On the night, Cheryl Macey entertained everyone with her
wide repertoire which including jazz and Musical hits. This put
everyone in the right mood for a lovely evening.
The models, male and female, ranging from age 6 to 66 and size
6 to 18 were enlisted (willingly or not) and gave a sterling
performance.
As some of the models came off the catwalk members of the
audience were rushing backstage to buy the outfits. The clothes
were very aggressively priced with items costing a few pounds
or less. The audience had an opportunity to look through the
clothes on sale during the interval but all too soon the 'Worn
Again Catwalk' was open again for the second half.
The evening was a great success. The great majority of clothes
were sold and over 1,200 was raised for the Hampshire Lupus
Group.
Thanks to all involved, there are too many to name everyone
individually. There are already suggestions that this will be held
again so don't throw out any of your quality clothes.
Lots to offer: A warm welcome guaranteed