Town Team News

Jazz & Blues Festival 14 – 17 September

September is usually the busiest period for the Town Team, mainly because the Old Riverport Jazz & Blues Festival is on. This year it runs from 14th and 17th September and there are ten new acts to enjoy. For details of the 25 FREE concerts, go to www.stivescambridgeshire.co.uk or see the Facebook page: theoldriverportjazzandbluesfestival.

A change of T-shirt

Once again you will be able to support the Festival by buying one of our limited edition T-shirts. We are particularly proud of them this year and the Team are grateful to Gilly James of Mercato who did the fabulous design. Shirts cost £10 (see picture) and are already proving popular. They are on sale at the Corn Exchange, Nelson’s Head, Floods Tavern and the Haywain.

Chapel Arts @ The Corn Exchange

Due to work being done on the Corn Exchange roof, there is no Chapel Arts concert in August, however they resume in September. These intimate concerts are designed to offer a variety of genres and styles of music. Over the past nine years concerts have ranged from classical to pop, featuring guitar, woodwind, harpsichord, brass and harp. On Friday 29th September there will be the chance to hear the wonderful voices of the Tapestry Singers. This long established group will perform a range of contemporary, secular and sacred music a capella style.

On Friday 6th October we have an extra concert with the young Italian, Danilo Vignola, who has flown in, especially to perform at The Old Riverport Ukulele Festival. This is a chance to enjoy some virtuoso Ukulele playing including Flamenco in this intimate venue. All concerts start at 7.30 pm in the Riverport Café Bar. Doors open at 6.30 pm. Tickets: £10 from www.ticketsource. co.uk/eventsstives or from the Riverport Café Bar.

Bandstand Official Opening

Many of you will know already that the bandstand by The Waits has been installed and judging by the responses so far most of you like it. It has been used already for the Music on The Waits concerts and several people have said it looks like it has been there for years.

The Official opening will take place on at Midday on Sunday 10th September when the Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Julie Spence, OBE CStJ QPM, the King’s representative, will be on hand to cut the ribbon with the aid of the Town Mayor Councillor Phil Pope. Everyone who contributed to the Bandstand is invited to come along to see their name on the bandstand with everyone who helped make it possible and to enjoy an afternoon of music. There will be singing by local schoolchildren, a drumming group, performances by several musicians and bands including The Lightwaves and the, always brilliant, Split Whiskers. We hope that this will be an afternoon to come and enjoy a party atmosphere and, if the weather is good, a picnic on the grass and an ice cream or two.

The fun continues into October

On Saturday 8th October the Old Riverport Ukelele Festival returns for a third year. This event continues to be extremely popular and if you wish to attend move fast, as attendance is by ticket only. As we go to press only 25 places remain. Tickets available at: www.ticketsource.co.uk/eventsstives

For full details of all Town Team events go to the Town Team website at www.stivescambridgeshire.co.uk.

Tales From The Riverbank

This time from Holt Island Nature Reserve!

Pop onto the island (the Norris Museum has a key) and you will notice that the Friends and volunteers have embarked on an ambitious new project. You’ll now walk on a trial section of durable fibregrid. The plan is to replace all the timber decking with this longer-lasting material, but more expensive, material. It will reduce on-going maintenance expenditure but it represents a huge investment for the Friends group which supports HDC with running costs. So, take a look, and if you are able to contribute to this ambitious venture the Friends will be extremely grateful. There’s a donation box near the entrance, or you can visit the Local Giving page here.

St Ives In Bloom Update

St Ives in Bloom were excited that many St Ives gardeners entered the LOCAL GARDEN COMPETITION, and the expert judges really enjoyed visiting all the inspiring gardens. Certificates were presented at the Reception for the Anglia in Bloom judges held at the Norris Museum on 14th July.

The outstanding winners were the perfect gardens of Trevor and Sue Jones, and of Rebecca Cattell, whose garden also excelled in the biodiversity category.

Overall, an amazing total of seven gardens attained a gold award, so many congratulations also go to Veronica Avory; Angela Carey; Val Lamont; Diana Watson and Robin and Sandra Welch.

Floods Tavern was awarded the best pub floral display competition this year, and the St Ives Day Centre had a go at the community garden category, attaining a bronze certificate. Well done to all who entered!

Meanwhile, we are hoping that the volunteers and Councils working together have done enough to attain a gold award for the whole town in Anglia in Bloom. The results are due in September.

The Committee of St Ives in Bloom starts planning for 2024 at the AGM in October, so if you have opinions about how the town environment could be improved, do let us know. If you are interested in joining in with our work parties, just come along on the day (details are listed on the home page of the website: www.stivesinbloom.co.uk) or email for more information at: siibinfo@gmail.com.

ST IVES NOW! AND THEN

THE JUBILEE MEMORIAL: QUITE A STORY

At the end of The Broadway stands one of St Ives’ more prominent symbols of remembrance, The Jubilee Memorial, constructed to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. This memorial’s presence is owed to Elliott Odams, somewhat of a character, and there’s an interesting story behind the monument itself.

So, who was Elliott Odams?

Born in Fenstanton in 1833, his father was a brewer’s labourer. After working as a solicitor’s clerk in London, Elliott returned to Fenstanton in 1861, employed as a brewer’s clerk. The following year he married Mary Silk, and there followed seven daughters and a son.

By 1863 Elliott was in business in St Ives, trading as a wine & spirit merchant. The following year he was also trading cattle at St Ives Monday livestock market. His innovation of trading for ready money rather than the traditional credit sales had established sellers complaining loud and frequent. By 1869 Elliott was also the innkeeper of the White Horse Inn, Fenstanton and later added farming to his business empire.

Elliott was a staunch Protestant.

In 1901 he charged Maurice Scanlon, tax inspector of St Ives, who was a Catholic, under the Malicious Damage Act, of spoiling a petition he had raised – and he claimed damages of £1. The aim of his petition was to stop any alteration to the Accession Declaration made by the Monarch at the Coronation. Elliott had got 45 St Ivians to sign the petition, but then Maurice Scanlon refused to return the petition and revisited the signatories half of whom didn’t know what they had signed and promptly erased their names. But when the case came to Court over the changes made, the magistrates were unsympathetic and dismissed the case. In 1910 the Accession Declaration was changed, removing the reference to Catholicism, the monarch merely declaring he/she was a faithful Protestant and would secure Protestant succession.

Spot the difference

Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years on the throne, was in 1897. Some time later, Elliott was holidaying at Sandown, Isle of Wight and attracted to their Jubilee Memorial, he hired its architect to design a replica for St Ives.

By the time the memorial was ready in 1901, Queen Victoria had died and a celebration of her jubilee seemed inappropriate. Not a man easily put off, Elliott, having paid for the work, decided to have the memorial unveiled as a present to St Ives. He chose another day of celebration for the unveiling, the coronation of Victoria’s son, Edward VII.

Spanner in the works

All was ready for the grand event to take place on Thursday 26 June 1902, the day of Edward’s coronation. But the coronation was called off when Edward suffered a bout of appendicitis requiring surgery. Once it was clear the coronation wouldn’t take place for some time, the unveiling of our Jubilee Memorial proceeded on Monday 30 June 1902, complete with inscription saying the event had occurred on Edward’s original coronation date of 26 June 1902. The actual coronation took place on 9 August 1902.

To read more about St Ives in the past, and about the life of Elliott Odams, Google St Ives 100 Years Ago.

For more information about the groups in St Ives, contact Kathie on 07772 868472 or pop along to the Burleigh Hill Centre, Constable Road on Tuesday at 9.30 am, Thursday 5.30 pm, Friday 9.30 am or Saturday 8.00 am or 9.30 am.