Solent View
NEW WATERFRONT HOMES FOR ALL AGES COMING AUTUMN 2026
•Collection of 61 new luxury apartments
•Tranquil seaside location by the Solent
•Ideal for seafarers and nature lovers
•HHomes for every generation
• Most apartments feature scenic water views
• Private outdoor balconies & terraces
• Set within 62 acres of Grade-II listed parkland with on-site amenities and events
For further information on Solent View apartments visit
www.royalhaslar.com or call 023 9200 2087
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CALLING ALL LANDLORDS
If you thought April was good, I think May could be better!
The reason? It’s plant sale time! Yes, the annual Crescent Garden Plant Sale takes place this month. The weather has been booked, the tea and coffee supplies stocked up, the cake recipes compiled, and the plants ready to be snapped up! You know the drill - head to the beautiful Crescent Garden, enjoy tea and cake, wander the garden and buy plants… the most perfect Saturday sorted! Dates and details inside.
You may want to read Rita’s article before you head to Crescent Garden. She talks about the Persian lilac. Seek it out while you’re there - you may smell it before you spot it!
I struggle to restrain myself when it comes to buying plants. I will inevitiably leave The Fruit Basket with a couple each time I stock on my fruit, veg and dates - have you tried their dates? Oh, and the local English strawberries are in!
I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in my plant addiction, so to encourage us all, I’ve included other plant sales I’ve heard about locally and a little further afield. I’ve listed them in the events section.
I’m equally keen on cakes as I am on plants! I made a sticky ginger cake - it was delicious, so I thought I’d share it with you. It hits the spot as an afternoon treat with your coffee and is equally perfect with an elevenses cup of tea. The recipe is on page 10.
More local events are listed inside. From litter picking to the Doughnut Dash, there is something for everyone!
Need your dog looked after? Your tyre changed? Do your muscles need a massage, or do you need the professionals to finally sort your accounts? Our lovely local advertisers are here to help you. From haircuts to fitness, plumbing to fires, and everything in between! Please let them know you found them in Choice Magazine!
Are you a local business looking for more customers? Book an advert in our next edition – we’d love to help, and you’ll love our prices!
Have a marvellous May!
Editor
02394 005992
7B Bemisters Lane, Gosport @WarrenAnthonyHairSalon
Award-Winning Boutique Salon
Nestled in the heart of Gosport, our salon is a warm, friendly space where every guest is made to feel at home. We’re passionate about beautiful, healthy hair, using Dyson Professional tools, Milk_shake colour, Davroe styling and Glowwa supplements to create results that look and feel amazing.
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Scan to book or find us on Fresha - we can’t wait to welcome you.
Your hair journey starts here, with us.
Consider this comfort in cake form!
This cake is perfectly sticky, with just the right strength of ginger. It’s very easy to make - and even easier to demolish!
Prep 5 min
Cook 1 hr 20 min, plus cooling time Makes 1 x 1kg loaf, to serve 8
Ingredients:
• 250g dates, pitted and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 75g molasses
• 75g golden syrup
• 100g soft light brown sugar
• 80g rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing
• 200g plain flour – gluten-free, if you like
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 20g stem ginger in syrup, very finely diced, plus 2 tbsp of the syrup.
Method
STICKY GINGER CAKE
Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5, and grease and line a 1kg loaf tin with baking paper.
Put the dates and bicarb in a heatproof bowl, cover with 200ml just-boiled water and leave to soften for 10 minutes. Tip the dates and their soaking water into a blender (or leave them in the bowl and use a stick blender), add the molasses, golden syrup, sugar and oil, and blitz smooth.
In a second large bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking powder and salt, then fold in the pureed date mixture until the batter is well combined. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Take the cake out of the oven and, while it’s still in the tin, brush the stem ginger syrup all over the top. Scatter over the chopped stem ginger, leave to cool completely, then remove from the tin, slice and serve.
Recipe from Anna Jones annajones.co.uk
If you stroll along terrace walk in Crescent Garden, towards the eastern end you will see a bush with an open and graceful growth habit, covered in clusters of soft hued violet to lavender coloured flowers with a wonderful perfume. This bush is Syringa laciniata or Persian lilac. It is sometimes also referred to as cut leaf lilac as its leaves are far smaller than those of the common lilac and sometimes divided into such a deeply lobed shape that they almost look like leaflets. None of the leaves on our bush are divided in this way, but they do form a graceful network which, when the bush is in full bloom, can hardly be seen beneath the flowers. It belongs to the family Oleaceae, which includes, besides lilac, olives jasmine and privet.
S. laciniata is almost certainly a cross between S. vulgaris from S.E. Europe and S. protolacniata from Western China. The hybrid is sterile, so no fruits form and, ofcourse, there will be no seedlings growing round it. It was first scientifically described in the seventeenth
Crescent Garden
century as from Iran, Afghanistan or Pakistan where it has been cultivated since ancient times. Not surprisingly, it enjoys a warm climate and does best in sunshine rather than shady areas. It is doing well in Crescent Garden in a patch of sunlight between the bay trees along terrace walk. It is also happy in dry soil, which is very much what it gets at the top of the bank where it is in Crescent Garden. It is a hardy plant and lives many years in all sorts of conditions, so, although it looks delicate it is strong and enduring, being resistant to mildew and other pests. The flowers produce copious nectar and pollen; a feast for pollinators drawn to it by the attractive perfume.
So, a small bush very attractive in many ways. Why not grow one in your own garden. Meanwhile, come and enjoy the one growing in Crescent Garden.
HIDDEN TREASURES HIDDEN TREASURES
51-53 HIGH STREET LEE ON THE SOLENT
We urgently require your broken and unwanted gold, jewellery and antiques.
Any amount, any condition- top CASH prices paid!
PRE 1947 COINS (SILVER) WANTED
WANTED gold - silver - jewellery of all kinds medals (any militaria) - cuff links - studs - tie pins pocket watches - wrist watches antiques - moorcroft - clarice cliff - old postcards
WANTED - rolex, breitling, omega etc
Please call in to see us. Monday - Saturday 10am-6pm. Alternatively, call to arrange a home appointment
TELEPHONE: 023 9255 3428 MOBILE: 07767 304495
If you’ve got a gap in your garden, can’t resist a plant sale, or enjoy a lovely cup of tea and cake in a beautiful setting, this is for you!
You’ll find flowering plants, seedlings, vegetable plants, herbs and houseplants tooplus gardenalia, books and pots.
The refreshment tent will once again be fully stocked, offering pots of tea served in china cups, coffee, and homemade cake.
Proceeds from the plant sale are split, with part going towards the upkeep of the Crescent Garden and part to National Garden Scheme (NGS) charities.
If you would like to donate any plants, you can drop them off at the Garden on a Wednesday morning or on the morning of the plant sale.
Plant Sale
CRESCENT GARDEN
SATURDAY 16TH MAY 10AM-4PM
If you’d like to know more about the garden, or show your support by becoming a Friend and enjoying the events they organise, visit: alverstokecrescentgarden.co.uk or email the Membership Secretary, Guy Sitwell, at membership@alverstokecrescentgarden.co.uk
Alternatively, speak to one of the Friends on the day.
If you would like to help keep the garden looking beautiful, you can do so by becoming a volunteer gardener. Volunteers meet at the garden each Wednesday morning. You can chat to a member on the day of the plant sale, pop along on a Wednesday, or email Ginny Whelan at whelanvirginia@gmail.com
Crescent Road, Alverstoke www.alverstokecrescentgarden.co.uk
HVR GARAGES
With 3 sites in the local area, all of our Garages are high ranking members of ‘The Good Garage Scheme’ and ‘Checkatrade’. Our Garages
MOTs | Servicing | Repairs
All Makes and Models catered for.
Solent Airport MOTs, Unit il1-3, Illustrious Daedalus Park, Daedalus Drive, Lee on the Solent PO13 9FX
Elkins Motors, 99b Mays Lane, Stubbington PO14 2ED Locks Heath Garage, 212 Hunts Pond Road, Locks Heath PO14 4PG
CUSTOMS
Specialists in VW’s, we also cover many other makes and models in the full or part conversion of camper vans, kombi vans and caddy’s. We manufacture and design custom built camper interiors for Volkswagens and other makes.
Full
&
Part Conversions
VW Transporters, Campers, Kombi’s and Caddy’s
HVR Customs, Unit il3-4, Illustrious Daedalus Park, Daedalus Drive, Lee on the Solent PO13 9FX
CARS AND VANS ALWAYS IN STOCK FOR SALE!
Specialising in transporters and small low mileage cars. (The cars are ideal for first time drivers.)
How’s your garden looking? May is a wonderful time for the garden, there is lots of colour, everything is growing, so much is blooming! I’m enjoying pottering in the garden. Here’s a guide of what to do right now.
Around the garden
• Sow perennials
• Sow some fast-growing annuals to fill in gaps that may appear later in the season.
• Direct sow zinnias.
• Tie in sweet peas
• Put supports in place for clumps of perennials that are prone to flopping, such as top-heavy peonies or phlox
• Trim early-flowering clematis once they have finished flowering.
• Trim topiary regularly to promote bushy growth and keep it looking neat
• Prune spring shrubs, such as forsythia and chaenomeles, after flowering to keep them compact
• Pinch out the shoot tips of bedding plants and young annual
• Check lilies and fritillaries for scarlet lily beetles
In the Garden
DURING MAY
In the greenhouse and on the veg patch
• Cover soft fruit plants with netting to protect from birds.
• Continue successional sowing of salad
• Companion sow basil, next to tomato seedlings to help draw white fly away from the fruit.
• Keep mint roots under control by lifting and dividing, or alternatively grow in pots.
• Thin out your carrots and protect crops from carrot fly by covering
• Transplant tomatoes into growing bags or large pots
• Tie the stems of indoor tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines to canes as they grow
• Continue successional sowing of salads, radishes, beetroots, carrots and peas, to ensure a continuous harvest
• Plant out half-hardy annuals, or direct sow eg. French beans, carrots, sweetcorn, squash and pumpkins.
• Sow sweetcorn in deep pots
TOP TIP: Stop your cut tulips from drooping by simply pushing a needle through the stem just below the head.
Do you have important legal documents in place to protect your interests and make life easier for you and your family, whatever the future brings?
If you have received a diagnosis of dementia, or are concerned about becoming ill and unable to cope with paying your bills, wouldn’t it be helpful for a family member to be able to step in and deal with your finances? If your family member needed to make decisions for you, instead of just acting on your instructions, they would need your formal written authority to do this.
Formal authority can be given by creating a Lasting Power of Attorney. This document will allow your family member to take over managing your money, either temporarily or long term.
You can also create a Lasting Power of Attorney which allows your family member to make decisions for you about medical treatment, if you are unable for any reason to make your own decisions. This is not the same as an Advance Decision, which is a document which sets out your decision to refuse medical treatment in the future, under specific conditions.
If you are caring for an elderly relative, or are likely to be doing so in the future, a Lasting Power of Attorney will mean that you can provide the support your relative needs and access services on their behalf, without the difficulties, stress and resistance you would otherwise encounter.
Having a Will gives you peace of mind that your money, property and personal possessions will be going to the people you have chosen to benefit. An out of date Will can cause problems within the family or mean that a chosen beneficiary receives nothing.
If you have any unanswered questions about Wills or Lasting Powers of Attorney, Christine will be pleased to help, so do please get in touch for a free, no obligation, chat.
Call Christine Davies Solicitor on 07860 772274 or email: christine@winterbornelegal.co.uk
Christine is a Fully Accredited Member of Solicitors for the Elderly and a Dementia Friend. Christine will visit you in your own home and aims to provide a warm personal touch to every meeting.
Christine Davies Solicitor
CATS PROTECTION
30th May. 8.30am-3.30pm. Gosport Market It's a one stop 'shop' for everything cat! Cat themed merchandise. Volunteers on hand to offer advice. we're happy to talk to potential adopters about the cats in our care looking for a new home.
16th May. 9.30am-4pm. Morrisons Cat care advice. Branded giveaways and items for sale, we'll be collecting donations of cat food too.
ALVERSTOKE GARDEN WALKABOUT
Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th June Get the date in the diary - full details next month!
GOSPORT ROAD RUNNERS
7pm Tues & Thurs each week (except first Tues of the month). Gosport Rugby Club
Membership open to anyone over 18. Be ready to run! We’ll find you someone of a similar pace. Join us free for a few weeks to see if you like us before becoming a member. Info www.gosportroadrunners.org.uk
Local Events
THE REPAIR CAFE AT ST FAITH’S PARISH CENTRE
Victoria Square, Lee on the Solent 9th May 11am-2.30pm
Bring your broken items to have them fixed on the spot with the help of voluntary repair experts. Book in advance. Message on FB, mail@repaircafegosport.co.uk or leave a message at: 023 9298 3802.
STOKES BAY WI
Meet 3rd Tuesday of the month. St Mary’s Parish Centre, Alverstoke. 10am-12noon. Our motto is ‘Inspiring Friendship and Fun’. We enjoy companionship and laughter in our meetings, outings, special events and interest groups. Find us on Facebook and www.stokesbaywi.co.uk
SHORE LEAVE HASLAR MEMORIAL GARDEN
Wednesday 13th May 11am-1pm. Free entry, donations gratefully accepted. Crafts, plants, produce for sale. Homemade cake and drinks. Walk around the peaceful garden. Please park in main Haslar site.
MONTHLY QUIZ - POWDER MONKEY TAP HOUSE
7pm Last Thursday of the month. Priddy’s Hard, Gosport. Book ahead to avoid missing out. Max 6 per team. £2 pp. Call 023 9252 3970.
CROFTON PROBUS CLUB Monthly lunch 12pm Lee-on-the-Solent Golf Club. Are you a retired gentleman, missing social contact? Come to a trial meeting. New members welcome 07508711299 morton.wouter@gmail.com
DARREN HARRIS
Darren Harris is a skilled, reliable and professional carpenter and joiner based in Gosport offering a wide range of carpentry services for your home or business. The options are pretty endless but to give you an idea of the most popular services a list is below:
■ door hanging
■ door frames
■ picture rails
■ flooring
■ skirting
■ bespoke fitted wardrobes
■ painting and decorating
■ bespoke fitted cupboards
■ bannisters
■ internal and external doors
■ bespoke furniture
■ windows
HUGE PLANT SALE Sat 2nd May 10am-4pm. 66 Catisfield Rd PO15 5LY. All plants grown locally. Knowledgeable plant advisors available who can assist you with your choices if required. Come and browse. ALL proceeds donated to Hampshire & IOW Air Ambulance.
BISHOPS WALTHAM GARDENING CLUB ANNUAL PLANT SALE Sat 9th May 10am-4pm. Albany Road Allotment Shop, Bishops Waltham SO32 1BY. Great plants at great prices, drinks, homemade cakes, and plenty of gardening chatter. Do come along and support this wonderful village gardening club charity.
ANNUAL GARDEN SALE FOR ROWANS HOSPICE
Saturday 20th June 9.30am-12.30pm
16 Anglesey Road, Gosport PO12 2EQ
Pre-loved goods, jewellery, books, bric-a-brac, toys, plants and more! Entry is free. Tea, coffee and homemade cake available. Lots of bargains to be had! Come along and support this amazing charity.
FRIENDS OF STANLEY PARK LITTER PICK
Litter pick first Sunday of the month 10-11am Meet in car park at rear of The Alverbank Hotel. Free car parking if you join us in a car, also pickers, gloves etc.
ADVERTISE
YOUR EVENT
Visit gosportchoice.com and head to the ‘submit an event’ button from the menu.
Local Events
LEE HUB 5TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
Saturday 6th June 10am-1.30pm
Lee Hub, High Street, Lee on the Solent.
Come and celebrate our 5th Anniversary. Prosecco & cocktails, children’s activities, cakes , treats, live music and more!
STUBBINGTON LIBRARY FAIR
Every Friday 9:30-11:30am Home-baked cakes, jams, and chutneys, unique handmade crafts, plants & vegetables.
SPITHEAD ARTS MONTHLY LECTURE
26th May 7pm. Bay House School, Gosport. The empty chair in contemporary art by Angela Findlay. Everyone welcome. Guests £7 per lecture, £1 for students. Annual subscriptions £50pp. www.spitheadarts.co.uk
GOSPORT JAZZ CLUB Gosport RFC, Dolphin Crescent, Gosport 8-10.30pm
6th May Jazz Cafe
20th May TheJake LegJug Band
G/NM £12 to book: gjcreserve@gmail.com or 02392429302 gosportjazz.org.uk
COFFEE MORNING
Alverstoke Parish Centre 10.30am-12noon. Every fourth Tuesday of the month. £4 for coffee/tea & cake. Book stall and raffle. All proceeds towards Regeneration Project.
Looking for something to do over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend?
Why not take part in an unusual charitable fund-raiser which combines fresh sea air, some exercise along the coast and a slightly unusual mid-race challenge.
The Doughnut Dash, organised by Gosport Rotary Club, takes place on Whitsun Bank Holiday Monday, May 25th at 9am, with participants running, jogging or walking a two-mile route along the Stokes Bay promenade to Fort Gilkicker and back.
While the scenic coastal run will appeal to regular runners, joggers and families alike, it is the halfway point that gives the event its distinctive twist. There they will encounter a “refuelling station” and challenged to eat two Krispy Kreme doughnuts before continuing to the finish line.
Junior runners are also welcome to take part, although their challenge will be limited to one doughnut.
The event has been designed as a lighthearted community fundraiser, building on the success of the club’s popular Christmas Pud 5K, which has attracted runners from across the region in recent years. The race HQ will be at the Diving Museum along Stokes Bay Road which is expected to re-open in May after refurbishment.
Doughnut Dash
GOSPORT ROTARY’S FUNDRAISER
Organisers say the Doughnut Dash is intended to bring the same spirit of fun and camaraderie to the spring calendar, while also raising funds for charities supported by Gosport Rotary. Participants are reminded that the doughnut challenge is entirely optional, particularly for those with dietary concerns or allergies.
“If you have any concerns about allergies, including nuts or other ingredients, please do not eat the doughnuts,” organisers said. “The run is about having fun and supporting local causes - nobody will be required to take part in the eating challenge.”
With a flat seaside route, a relaxed atmosphere and the promise of a sweet treat along the way, the Doughnut Dash promises to be one of Gosport’s more memorable Bank Holiday activities.
It’s £10 for an adult entry, £5 for children, with £25 for a family ticket (two adults and two children under-16).
For all finishers, there will be a special Doughnut Dash medal. To enter, follow this link: https://bit.ly/4leJ5ry
TUESDAYS 7-9pm Wednesday 9.30am-12noon
ADDITIONS TO THE CHURCHYARD
We have recently added a seat on the north wall in a position which allows you to sit in the sunshine and properly absorb the atmosphere of the place. The seat surround will be turfed in due course, enhancing that particular part of the churchyard. Repairs to graves and gravestones continue.
OPEN DAY 2026
We are very pleased to announce that our Open Day will be Saturday 11 July from 2pm to 5pm and will take a similar format to last year, with tea, coffee, cake and refreshments available on sale to all who come to visit. We hope you, as Friends of St Mark’s Churchyard, will find the time to come and see how this beautiful place is being cared for by our expanding gang of volunteers.
AN OCCASIONAL ACCOUNT OF SOME OF OUR INCUMBENTS
Our ongoing research continues to yield new details for individual graves, as we work towards an updated edition of our current book (for sale at the Open Day). Another sample is included below:
Grave 7: Mary Isobel Strong, nee Lloyd [18511925] and her daughter Mary Mabel Strong [1877-1925]
Born in 1851, Mary originally came from Hackney in London, where her father was a print seller and publisher. He later became an art dealer and by 1871 the family had moved to
Friends of
ST MARK’S CHURCHYARD
Kent. There Mary met her husband, Henry Harford Strong, in 1871. He was Royal Marine Light Infantry, stationed in the barracks in Walmer, Kent. They married in Dover in 1872 and over the next few years had four sons and a daughter.
By 1877 Henry was serving in the Portsmouth area, and their only daughter Mary was born in Alverstoke in that year. The 1881 Census shows them living in 2, Cambridge Villas [it later became 6, Village Road, Alverstoke]. By this time Henry was a major in the RMLI, but sadly he appears to have died at the battle of Tel-elKebir in Egypt in September 1882.
On the Census records of 1891 Mary is listed as a widow, still living at the same address, where she remained until her death in March 1925. Mary Mabel Strong, their daughter, died in August 1925, only 5 months after her mother.
One of her brothers, Frederic Lewis Harford Strong, born in 1875, became a doctor and married Frances Margaret Meade in 1903 in Alverstoke.
Thursday mornings and Sunday afternoons continue to be the time that volunteers come and help. The work of weeding, strimming, cutting back, tree-felling, planting and general maintenance goes on… We hope you will find time to visit the churchyard during the Spring. You will always be most welcome. And please put the date and time of our OPEN DAY in your diaries, and bring your friends and family. They all deserve the treat – and the cake!
St Mark’s Road, Alverstoke
‐ 4 beds
‐ 3 beds
Drive ‐ C(74) £255,000 ‐ 2 beds
£389,000
GRADE II LISTED 3 BED DUPLEX STYLE APARTMENT. VIEWS OVER HERITAGE GARDENS & SOLENT
£335,000
3 BED SEMI. CUL DE SAC LOCATION. CONSERVATORY. GARAGE & DRIVE. NO
£389,950 SPACIOUS 3 BED ORIGINAL FEATURES. DETACHED GARAGE. CLOSE TO VILLAGE & SEA.
£375,000
3 BED DET. CUL-DE-SAC POSITION. GARAGE. CLOSE TO SEAFRONT & SCHOOLS. NO CHAIN.
£750,000 SPACIOUS 5 BED SEMI. 3 RECEPTIONS. 4 BATHROOMS. LIFT TO 1ST FLR. £475,000 SOUGHT AFTER STYLE DETACHED HOUSE. 4 BEDROOMS. EN-SUITE. GARAGE.