Final plans for Sunday’s annual Sports and Music Festival on St Mary’s have been unveiled.

The 12-hour event is expected to attract more than 2,000 people to the Garrison, and mainland visitors will be able to take part with a special sailing of the Scillonian III  from Penzance.

A full programme of music will start at noon with Immortal Thoughts and includes sets from Rob Coakley, Rusted, the Tea Band, No Pulse, Hooligans, Loaded, Back Chat and a performance from Five Star.

The evening sessions will begin with Road Runner from 6pm, followed by Nut Rock, The Steam Band and a finale from Touching Cloth.

Sports events include Junior 6-a-side football from 10.30am with the adult event from 1pm, mixed netball events from 1.30pm, junior running races from 2pm and the ‘It’s a Knockout Challenge’ from 2.30pm.

Organisers have promised that no-one will go hungry or thirsty at the festival. A beer tent will host a selection of real ales, while food on offer will range from hot dogs and pasties to cream teas and Chinese food.

Groups and individuals from all five islands will take part in the event to help raise money for causes including IOS gigs, Tresco and Bryher Gigs, St Mary’s League Of Friends, the School Sports Fund and the Air Ambulance.

Admission is free but organisers will be delighted if attendees choose to make a donation at the front gate.

Radio Scilly is urging people to join its Lottery for a new chance to win £1,000 every week.

Participants can spend just £1 for a play in the weekly draw.

The Lottery is open to Islanders, visitors and mainlanders and benefits good causes on Scilly, as well as helping keep the station on air.

Entrants can increase their chances of winning by signing up for 3 or 4 weekly plays at a cost of just £3 or £4 a week with a standing order.

Download the Lottery entry form as a PDF file from here at
http://www.radioscilly.com/scillylotteryform.pdf.

Or send a cheque for a year’s worth of plays (52 X
your weekly amount) or pay directly online with paypal at
http://www.scillylottery.com.

If you really get stuck, give the studio a call on 01720 423417
or email studio@radioscilly.com.

The helicopter search for 17-year-old Robert Merton was called off on Friday. RNAS Culdrose did not intend resuming the search this week.

A civil aircraft spotted a kayak on Thursday evening after the teenager had gone missing on Wednesday evening.

The search operation involved helicopters, emergency tugs, local vessels, tourist boats and passing shipping, all of which were on the lookout.

Robert is a well-known local gig rower and cricketer.

Search and rescue said that the area was large and so much time had elapsed that there was a decreasing likelihood of finding the Islander.

Last Tuesday the Islands stopped. The airport was closed, the tripper boats missed their two o’clock trip as many Islanders paid their respects to Nathan Woodcock and his family.

The funeral service was attended by hundreds of people in the Methodist Church and in much of the street outside. His body was carried up Church Road and laid to rest in Old Town Graveyard.

Islanders expressed their grief in different ways over the twelve days between his death after a domestic gig race and the day of his funeral. His oar has been standing on the Old Quay, near where he died, with flowers and tributes. His body had an emotional send-off on Monday as hundreds of people gathered on the quay whilst his body left to be autopsied. The following Friday’s gig race was changed to a row, where his fellow gig rowers paddled from Nut Rock to St Mary’s Quay, raising their oars upon reaching the quay in a moment’s silence. His fellow lifeboat crew-members brought his body back on board a relief lifeboat, which was joined by two lifeboats from the Cornish fleet. On Tuesday, his pub friends sung in chorus in a tradition in the Mermaid he had always enjoyed.

His family request that anyone wishing to make donations send them to St Mary’s Lifeboat or to Megan’s Trust, set up for Nathan and, his partner, Vicky’s daughter.

Cornish energy charity Community Energy Plus in conjunction with the Isles of Scilly Council and Age Concern are organising a very important home insulation campaign for everyone on the IOS.

Jasmine Reilly of the Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership says: “Home energy check forms are on their way to every resident and it is really important that people actually fill them in and return them free post to us.”

There is also going to be three information days between the 5th-7th December on the Islands.

http://www.csep.co.uk/

St Mary’s Playgroup are hoping to raise ?3000-?4000 by creating a calendar featuring many of the current 40 pre-schoolers in the future, where they are taking part in Island life: gig rowing, crewing, bird-watching. The money will be required because the number of attendants at the pre-school is due to drop to 15 or so, hence less money will be coming in to aid the playgroup.

The calendar will be available on Scillonian III, at the airport, from the Tourist Information Centre and in hotels. It will cost ?6.

According to a survey by Savills, the Westcountry is the most popular region for second homes, the Isles of Scilly being the densest area for second homes. South Hams came second with 11% of the houses being second-homes.

St Mary’s fire officer Declan Ridsdale, 38, rescued Kevin Pender from off St Agnes Quay after a severe injury leaving him floating unconscious. He sustained the injuries after being whipped by a nylon mooring in high winds. Mr Ridsdale was awarded a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum signed by the society’s president Princess Alexandra.

After a rainy honeymoon, Prince Charles and the new Duchess of Cornwall visited the Islands. They came via St Mary’s and visited St Agnes.

A playgroup on the Isles of Scilly has received a cash boost from the Co-op.

St Mary’s Pre-School Playgroup, which caters for youngsters aged between two-and-a-half and four, has been awarded ?300 to buy new toys, games and books.

Playgroup supervisor Sally Humphreys said: “As funding is so tight, it is brilliant that the Co-op has given us this award to fund lots of new items for the children to play with; we are very pleased.”

The award comes from the Co-operative Group’s Community Dividend fund, part of the Dividend customer loyalty card scheme which allows shoppers to donate the extra pence in their twice-yearly Dividend payouts to worthy causes.*

Co-operative Group regional secretary Andrew North said: “We are delighted to make this award to St Mary’s Pre-School Playgroup. The Community Dividend fund can make a real and lasting contribution to organisations like this.

“Many community groups share our co-operative values and could benefit from an award, and we would certainly like to hear from them.”

Leaflets on the scheme are available in Co-operative Group stores throughout the region.

? Press release, Co-operative Group.