BP is in stitches!

When BP’s David Dawes and Mike Myden asked the St Andrew’s Church Sewing Circle to produce a tapestry depicting the 85 year history of BP in Hamble they had no idea exactly how much work would go in to such a project. The Tapestry took 19 people over one year and well in excess of one quarter of a million stitches to produce. It combines the use of traditional needlepoint techniques as well as some complex embroidery produced by Sandra Tyzack and her state of the art sewing machine.

The Tapestry consists of 16 panels which were copied from original designs and then individually crafted by members of the group. Each panel was subsequently joined together to create a single masterpiece. Each panel depicts important points in the history of the BP Terminal from it’s creation in 1924 through to 2009. It also features 2 people from the Hamble scene, PCSO Scott Weston who is depicted with his BP sponsored police bicycle, and BP’s Mike Myden.

Joan Clothier from the sewing circle said, “Working on the BP Tapestry has been a very positive experience for the group. We work together very effectively, however not everyone likes doing needlepoint, so we have now expanded our interests to include knitting, and other forms of needlework.”
BP’s David Dawes said, “There is no doubt about it, these very talented people have created a stunning work of art which will be enjoyed by many generations”.

Photo shows the St Andrew’s Church Sewing Circle & others, from Left to right; Rosemary Barton, Heather Smith, George Clothier, Joyce Hardy, Jan Haddock, Margaret Robinson, Bert Allwood, Gwen Cook, PCSO Scott Weston, Father John Travers, Nick Buxton, Joyce Travers, Joan Clothier, Sandra Tyzack, Beda Allwood, Sue Sefton, & BP’s Mike Myden.

New Cricket Club Fixtures

Hamble Association Cricket Club is a multi-cultural sports club that plays it's fixtures at the Underdown Pavilion.

The team always welcomes home support and the 2010 Fixtures are as follows:

BP Hamble Welcomes New Manager

At the beginning of January 2010 BP Hamble welcomed Peter Alderman as its new manager. Peter said “I am looking forward to working with the team which has won BP Terminal of the Year 4 times in the past 8 years and I’ve heard that Hamble is a great community in which to work and live.”

Peter joined BP in 1989 as a graduate Chemical Engineer. He subsequently undertook a variety of leadership roles in refining, supply and logistics, and has just completed the overall management of the implementation of bio-fuels for BP in the UK.

left to right; Neil Emmett (BP UK Storage & Handling Manager), Paul Davis (temporary BP Hamble Manager), Peter Alderman, Neale Smither (BP UKL SAM FVC Manager)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Every year businesses send out lots of Christmas cards and BP are no different. However, they do like employing the talents of local artists, so this year they asked Hamble Primary School if they would design their card. They had over 50 entries and a panel of judges were impressed with them all. They decided to show the best picture by Holly, and the runner up pictures by Abbie and Kurtis all on the same card. BP also gave a special prize to Boronia who not only entered a picture but also wrote this beautiful verse, “Mereey Chrismas evrieone. Furvar Chrismas gives you presents. You doo not see him at morning and you doo not see him at night”.

Mereey Chrismas Evrieone!

BP’s Suzie Rickman (far left), Kurtis, Boronia, Holly & Abbie
Hamble Teacher Mrs Hughes (far right)

Tremendous Christmas Spirit!

When Tom Allen from Hamble Community Sports College told BP the students were finding it difficult to get funds to decorate their Christmas tree, BP were happy to help.  Tom said, “We don’t normally have a Christmas tree in our school and we want to change this and bring a great community spirit to our school”.

Tom and the team finished decorating the 4m high tree which was donated by the Rotary Club just in time for their mock exams; unfortunately BP was unable to help with their exams too!

Photo: Jonny Hatfield (far left), Sophie Stremel, Fraser Buchanan, Francesca Keogh, Tom Allen (centre) Mr Ian Knights, Callum Foote, Jenny Cull, Matt Murdoch, Bob Bax (Rotary Club), Iesha Doel (far right)

Great Start For New Restaurant

Good food, delicious wine, great ambience and considerate service are the four benchmarks by which we judge any restaurant, and the River Rat Cellar and Kitchen scores highly in all departments.

Having opened in the late Summer and situated where the Hamble Tea Rooms used to be, restauranteurs Karin and Francey have established a gem with a fast growing reputuation for a friendly welcome and quality dining.

The restaurant itself is small and cosy and tasteful and attention has been paid to the detail with stylish glassware and tableware and comfortable and elegant lighting. The garden has been remodelled with a new patio area for the summer.

The wine list is carefully selected. Personally when reviewing a restaurant I judge it by its house wine, which is often the forgotten and disappointing element of any wine list. Not so the River Rat. It is a delightful and delicious french red and perhaps one of the best house wines I have thus far tasted.

Full marks too go to the food and presentation. I started with the Ham Hock Terrine with Sauce Gribiche and my partner the Grilled Goats Cheese en Croute, both of which where delicious. For the main course we tried the Beef Bourguignon on Horsradish Pommes Mouselline (something of a signature dish for the chef) and the Wild Mushroom and Chicken Gigolette, the first bold and mouthwatering and the latter smokey and more delicate. The dessert choice allows for you to compliment the main course with either a sumptuious and rich Banana and Chocolate Delice or the more subtle Rosemary Poached Pears, served on a shortbread thin.

The service was always attentive and friendly but never intrusive, (an area some restaurants get hopelessly wrong) and you get the impression there is a passion and enthusiasm behind every level to make your experience a good one. That's why we will return.

In summary then;

a great dining experience that is to be recommended and not to be missed.

Swimathon Success

A Local Estate Agent group were delighted to have supported the Southampton East Rotary club swimathon held at Hamble Sports Community College in November for their first event as business partners.  Sponsored teams raised money by swimming or walking for local, national and international charities.  Unfortunately the swimming team fell apart when Director Ian West was taken into hospital for an operation in his own race against time to be fit in time for the birth of their 2nd baby due in mid November! 

Instead of swimming the team filled their Sidney Smart car with purple balloons and held a competition to guess the amount to win a luxury food hamper donated by the company.  The group would like to thank everyone who took part in the competition, and especially Express Yourself costume hire for supplying the balloons; the money raised was donated to the Rotary Club.  Sidney held 82 balloons! The winner wished to remain anonymous and kindly donated the hamper to Hamble Side Court.

BP is Running Great!

Amongst the 21,000 entrants in the 2009 Great South Run in Portsmouth were BP’s Caroline Cook, John McKenzie, Mike Myden & Phil Reed joined by running mates Matt Reed & Nigel Crook and a host of support crew! They ran for different charities, the Alzheimer’s Society, Help for Heroes and Leukaemia Research; and they all finished the 10 mile road race in spite of the strong headwind blowing down the final straight along the seafront.

The whole event had a carnival atmosphere and the host of runners were overwhelmed by the mass of supporters. The streets were filled with people, and the air was filled with music and chatter and the sounds of footsteps on tarmac.

Photo shows: Matt Reed (far left) Phil Reed (left) Mike Myden (centre left) Caroline Cook (centre right) Nigel Crook (right) John McKenzie (far right)

Jamie Waterman & Bill Mintram

Bill is Lengths Ahead!

Have you heard about the Swimathon and Walkathon which are taking place at the Hamble Sports Community College on the 6 & 7 November 2009? Well, Bill Mintram has, and he’s already lengths ahead. D-Day veteran Bill has already done 82 lengths which is pretty good for a 91 year old who underwent a triple by pass a few years ago. Bill swims regularly at the college; and was actually given a free lifetime membership last year being their best customer. In attempt to raise as much money as possible for Countess Mountbatten House and Cancer Research UK Bill aimed to swim 10 lengths per day over 5 days, he

actually ended up doing 82 lengths in 5 days. Bill isn’t stopping there though; he will join his team on the 7 November to do more as he wants his team to raise as much money as possible. Bill said, “Both these charities are very close to my heart as I lost my wife to cancer, and I want to do everything I can to help fight it and help those who are affected by it”.

The Swimathon and Walkathon are being organised by the Rotary Club of Southampton East and the college and are being supported by BP. On the days teams of 6 people will swim for 45 minutes per team. Each team will swim for their own nominated charity, the college’s Dreams and Teams Links with South African Townships charity and the Rotary Club’s charities which include ‘The End Polio Now Campaign’, which aims to eradicate polio. The Walkathon is for young children who will walk rather than swim their events.

Jamie Waterman who is the Sports Centre Manager said, “Both these events are great they are doing a lot for good causes and they are bringing new people in to the sports facilities. Bill is our best customer; he’s here at 6 every morning when we open.”

Further information can be obtained from Hamble Sports Community College website http://www.hamblecollege.co.uk/  or the Rotary Club of Southampton East website http://www.southampton-east-rotary.org.uk/

The 2nd Hamble Brownies

Two Hundred Years of Adventures!

In 1909 the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was formed; this subsequently became BP. A few months later a small group of girls calling themselves the Girl Scouts invaded the first Boy Scouts rally at Crystal Palace, and so was formed the Girl Guiding Association. A century on and both organisations are going from strength to strength. To celebrate the launch of the Centenary of Guiding, BP sponsored the 2nd Hamble and 1st Butlocks Heath Brownies to join 1800 girls from all sections of Hampshire at Foxlease near Lyndhurst.

The girls had a great time; they rode on a 1910 bus, took part in a drumming zone, found out about birds of prey, did lots of other activities in the Brownie zone and they saw a fashion show of Guiding uniforms from the past 100 years. Michelle Maine the Hamble Brown Owl said, “We all had such a fabulous day; the girls most enjoyed a dance workshop with Sweet Flava. Thanks so much to BP for making it possible”. The evening ended at 8pm with a performance by Sweet Flava (a street dance group) and a laser light show. A great time was had by all!

John Davison (left) & David Loh (right)

‘The Pumpkin Man’

The Jubilee Sailing Trust thrives on new challenges, and at their 12th Autumn Pumpkin Festival held at Royal Victoria Country Park they took on some monsters.. well they took on some monster pumpkins! BP sponsored David Loh who is known as ‘the Melon Man’ to carve a 1000lb pumpkin; he was renamed ‘the Pumpkin Man’ for the day. David incorporated the Jubilee Sailing Trust and BP logos in to his carved pumpkin art. The largest pumpkin at the event was however over 300lb heavier; but both pumpkins were grown by the Paton’s from Lymington.

John and Sonja Davison organised this year’s event and were helped along the way by a host of volunteers. On the day John said, “So many people put so much effort in to this event and when it all comes together on a beautiful day like this it’s just so worthwhile”.

A record 5000 people passed through the gates on the sunny October afternoon, raising funds and awareness for the Jubilee Sailing Trust. A wide variety of entertainments were laid on based around pumpkins, autumn and the sea, all accompanied throughout by musicians and performers.

There are two elements to the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s mission: one is to overcome prejudices and misconceptions about disability amongst able-bodied people and the second is to enable people with a disability to show to themselves and to others what they are really capable of when the environment is designed to be inclusive. The JST use two specially designed tall ships ‘Tenacious’ & ‘Lord Nelson’, to break down barriers for a better, more inclusive world. 

listen to more about the trust here

An Evening of Stars

Hamble Community Sports College recently held its Annual Sports Presentation Evening for their sporting stars at Hampshire Cricket’s Rose Bowl.  The presentation evening was a great success, supported by elite athletes, ex students and Hamble Community Sports College.

More than 300 students, family members, staff, and governors and ex students attended the Presentation Evening, providing a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the student’s achievements. Awards were given out in a number of sporting disciplines, with special awards going to Tom Whitlock (Year 10) for Outstanding Commitment to School Clubs, Rebecca Xerri (Year 10) for Outstanding Achievement in Sport (Winner of National Schools Taekwondo) and Sunil Bali (Badminton Coach) for Outstanding Contribution to Coaching.

Sunil Bali (Left), Tom Whitlock (centre), and Colin Morris (Right).

photo kind permission of Mirror Box Studios

The evening began with a welcome speech from Ian Knights, Head teacher, followed by an introduction from Colin Morris, Curriculum leader. In between the presentation of awards Marlin Capers, professional basketball, Ross McGowan, London Scottish Rugby and Danielle King, Great Britain cyclist were, in true Parkinson style, interviewed by Colin Morris.  The inspirational guest speakers encouraged all the award winners to continue to strive to be the best that they can be. A massive well done to all the award winners and many thanks to BP Hamble Oil Terminal for kindly sponsoring the evening and to echo the words of Marlin Capers, “always believe in yourself!” 

Beach Wardens Conservation Project at Hamble Common Going Strong

If you visit Hamble Common you may have noticed several improvements made by hardworking volunteers over the past year.  Old boardwalks have been replaced by brand new oak constructions, and path surfaces have been improved.  Habitat management work has also been helping the fragile and unusual ecosystems at Hamble common to flourish through clearing scrub and trees in certain areas. Local volunteers have also been making great efforts to ensure that the beach at Hamble Point is clean and tidy with beach cleaning projects.  In addition, a survey project to monitor the habitats and wildlife of the shore began with a survey at low tide this September.

All this activity is part of the BTCV Eastleigh Beach Wardens project based at Hamble Common, which aims to get local people involved in protecting valuable wildlife. We are now half way through the 2 year project, which involves a range of activities including biodiversity monitoring, community events, and practical conservation volunteering.
 
We are looking for more volunteers to help out with practical conservation tasks each month, and to get involved in other activities too. 

If you would like to be involved contact or for more information contact: Katy Dudman, BTCV Project Officer, on 02380 769 719, 07740899709 or email eastleigh-projects@btcv.org.uk

Eastleigh Beach Wardens project is funded by The Veolia Environmental Trust under the Landfill Communities Fund, with additional support from Eastleigh Borough Council, Hamble-le-Rice Parish Council, and the Linley Wightman Shaw Foundation.

Christine Pullen (Left) Fiona Best (Middle Left) Sandra Tyzack (Middle Right) Charlotte Crook (Right)

A Coffee and a Bite to Eat!

Across the country thousands of people joined in The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday 25 September 2009 to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. At the Hamble Village Market they also held a raffle for a Village Market Hamper and a Hamper sponsored by BP Hamble Oil Terminal. Christine Pullen who organises the market was thrilled when she realised that her small team of coffee making and ticket selling volunteers had raised over £250 in the space of an hour. BP’s Charlotte Crook congratulated the two lucky winners Sandra Tyzack who won the Village Market Hamper and Fiona Best who won the BP Hamper.

Great River Race - London

HAMBLE SEA SCOUTS, EXPLORERS, NETWORK and LEADERS competed successfully for the fourth year running to complete this year.

The Great River Race is an annual rowing race on River Thames, each boat to have a minimum of four oars, a Cox and a passenger, the course is a gruelling 22 miles this from Greenwich to Ham Nr. Richmond,  and is becoming known as The London River Marathon.

Helen Fowler, Madelaine O’Brien, Barry Hicks

Ken MacCallum, Thomas Pearson, Barry Hicks

Industrious Students

Education and industry are essential companions so when Itchen College decided to recognise the achievements of its outstanding students aiming for a career in industry, BP Hamble Oil Terminal was happy to assist.

In the first of the BP-Itchen awards, eighteen year old Thomas Pearson was awarded the BP-Itchen Award for most Outstanding Student in Chemistry and eighteen year old Madelaine O’Brien was awarded the BP-Itchen Award for most Outstanding Student in Environmental Science. Both students were nominated by their teachers who felt that their performance, involvement and effort excelled throughout their studies.

Thomas and Madelaine were each presented with a prize cup by BP’s Kenneth MacCallum, Storage Operations Supervisor, and Helen Fowler, BP’s Environment Advisor, during an educational visit to the BP Hamble terminal. The visit, arranged especially for the students by BP as a reward for their achievements, included a tour of the site which highlighted the various aspects of the industry on a local, as well as global, scale. They visited the terminal’s environmentally friendly Bio Remediation and Wetland areas, and followed the routes that various products make through the terminal. A highlight for the students was scaling one of the numerous giant storage tanks.

Barry Hicks who is the Itchen College Principal commented, “It’s beneficial for students to be able to see the relevance of what they learn in the classroom in practical industrial situations. Our link with BP is of great benefit to Thomas and Madelaine and we will continue to work together to ensure we can benefit more of our students."

Madelaine, who gained four grade As in her A-levels, will go onto university to study the four year BSc in Environmental Science with a year in industry. Of winning the award she said, “I feel really privileged to have won as I know others worked really hard too. It’s really nice to be recognised.”

Said Thomas, “Winning this award has really boosted my confidence in my own chemistry skills. I really enjoyed the visit to BP, it’s given me a real insight into the oil industry and the knowledge that I will go onto bigger and better things after I graduate.” He hopes to go on to study a Masters degree in Chemistry.

Celebration 900 – The Priory Church of St Andrew Flower Festival

Imagine standing in the same place for 900 years. Imagine the seasons passing, 900 springs, summers, autumns & winters. Imagine the people coming and going, the happy occasions and the sad. The Flower Festival was a part of the 900 year celebrations of the Priory Church of St Andrew which took place over the August Bank Holiday Weekend which aimed to depict many of the events the priory church could have witnessed.

The designer of the festival was Christine Wright, who has spent the past 25 years being closely involved with horticulture. She has won numerous RHS medals at many of their shows including Chelsea. Christine said, “This has been a real team effort and Valerie Pritchard has helped me immensely.

click here to see John Goodman's photos of the displays...here

Photo Shows

Father John Travers (Left) Christine Wright (Middle Left) Valerie Pritchard (Middle Right) Grant Hearn organiser of the 900 celebrations (Right)

But we are only a small part of a large team of volunteers who have given time throughout the past 3 years to make the festival such a floral success. We are so happy that it has all come together so well, and we are so grateful to BP and the other sponsors for their help too.” Father John Travers added, “This festival and all our 900 celebrations have been wonderful. With medical advances and a little help from above I can’t wait to see what we’ll do for the 1000 celebrations!”The various artistic displays feature events from the life of the Priory starting with its establishment in 1109 when St Bernard of Thiron led a band of monks from France. There also representations of the local maritime and aviation organisations and industries.

Steve Brehaut & Karen Templeton

Everyone’s a Winner.

When Steve Brehaut who works at BP Hamble decided to enter the Hamble Community Sports College mini-Triathlon he thought it would also be a great opportunity to raise money for a local charity. He chose to compete on behalf of Vitalise in Netley who operate essential breaks for disabled people and carers. Every stroke he swam, every pedal of the cycle race and every step of the run tired his body, but his determination spurred him on. At the end of the event he was tired but fitter and he raised £200 which he presented Karen Templeton who is the Marketing Manager at Vitalise.

Steve said, “I’ve always done lots of sports and a Triathlon is great as you can do different ones in the same event. I didn’t think I’d get as much as £200, and it’s great to support a local charity where you can actually see the good work they do”.

Vitalise is a registered charity that caters for any physical disability, and accommodates the needs of both disabled guests and carers. The organisation is run by a handful of employees and a multitude of volunteers who offer their various skills and abilities as required. Karen said, “We are so grateful to Steve and everyone who undertakes sponsored events on our behalf. All donations and the help of our volunteer workers is an essential part of our future success”.