Sidmouth Sea Fest: Saturday 13th May >>> Variety Night including "Working the Sea" film premiere > and "Creativity on the Coast" workshops

It's all happening this Saturday:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Sea Fest: Saturday 13th May

With some great events, including the preview of a unique film:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Seafest 2017: celebrating a maritime heritage

There are plenty of daytime
Vision Group for Sidmouth - Sidmouth Seafest Daytime
... and nightime things to do:
Vision Group for Sidmouth - Sidmouth Seafest Variety Night

Here's the press release from today:

                   

Press Release 11th May 2017

Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub CIC

“Working the Sea” – film premiere at Sidmouth Sea Fest

Sidmouth’s fishing past comes alive in a stunning new film seen through the lens of the Bagwells, the last fishing family in Sidmouth.   “Working the Sea” connects community and coast beautifully, weaving Sidmouth’s fishing heritage through the narrative of a very resilient family through to present day users of the sea.  Connecting the role of Sidmouth Lifeboat to the vibrant and growing use of the sea as a “playground” through Sidmouth’s Gig Club, Sailing Club and Surf Life Saving Club, this 40 minute film tells a powerful and inspiring story.

Louise Cole, one of the four Directors of Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub who commissioned the film working with award winning Butterfly Effect Films, said;

“The film, it is stunning, the footage of Sidmouth is beautiful from perspectives that people don’t get to see.  The story of the Bagwell family and Sidmouth’s fishing heritage is fascinating and inspiring, funny and humbling and I love how it connects with the way that people both respect and enjoy the sea today.  It’s a powerful reminder of how lucky we are on the coast.  Our Director of Photography Simon and Writer and Producer Jo Stewart-Smith of Butterfly Effect Films have produced a beautiful, high quality well-crafted film which has a great sense of community.” 

“Working the sea” funded by East Devon AONB and the Sid Vale Association, is to be screened at Sidmouth Sea Fest Variety Night which follows the free daytime annual coastal community celebration Sidmouth Sea Fest on Saturday 13^th May, on the Ham, Sidmouth.  The evening programme also includes a Smugglers Play, and live music from Anna Hamill, CaveMouth and Zak Robinson.

The festival includes local coastal organisations many of which are featured in the film, alongside Creativity on the Coast activities for all and local food and drink. 

Tickets for the evening event are available via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sidmouth-sea-fest-variety-night-2017-tickets-33941273262  or on the day

Event information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/sidseafest/

About Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub

Our Vision is to connect people with the sea and coast, promoting a greater understanding of the heritage, community identity, and social inclusion of Sidmouth and other coastal areas. Our Aim is to engage through art, culture, heritage and education, innovating creatively with young people and being inclusive of all generations for whole community benefit.

Contact Details

Louise Cole         Email: louisecolesidmouthdrillhallhub@outlook.com       Mobile: 07881585395

Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub CIC

(new website being launched next week www.sidmouthcoastalcommunityhub.org) 

And here's the flyer:

Sidmouth Sea Fest 2017
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Sidmouth Climate Week: Thurs 23rd March >>> >>> Sidmouth Trawlers, Fresh & Green, Lyme Bay Winery... and Prof Richard Betts guest speakers

Later this evening, there will be a veritable feast of things going on at the Woodlands Hotel:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Climate Week: Thurs 23rd March >>> >>> >>> What are the impacts of climate change on food production locally and globally?

Refreshments will be available of course, but the focus is on what the guest speakers will have to say on the impact of climate change on what they do - namely, produce food and drink in East Devon.

Sidmouth Trawlers, fresh fish for sale

Fresh and Green

Cider, Wine, Mead & Liqueur | Shop Online | Lyme Bay Winery

The evening will kick off with an introduction to the topic from Professor Richard Betts, Head of Climate Impacts, Met Office and Chair in Climate Impacts, University of Exeter:
Richard Betts University of Exeter

Here are some recent pieces where Prof Betts is cited:
Surge in plant growth explains slower CO2 rise over past decade | Carbon Brief
The great tide: is Britain really equipped to cope with global warming? | Simon Parkin | World news | The Guardian

And this is what he wrote last December:
How Will the World Look at 1.5°C of Warming? | The Inertia
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Beach Management Plan: Local stakeholders welcome project consultant's report >>> Options S4 and S4b "technically preferred"

The cliffs are continuing to erode fast beyond Pennington Point:
Futures Forum: Pennington Point > latest cliff falls

And 'what to do' is clearly linked with the ongoing Beach Management Plan:
Futures Forum: Beach Management Plan: and ensuring cliff falls are a thing of the past

On Monday this week, the Futures Forum of the Vision Group hosted a meeting of Sidmouth stakeholders. This is the press release as sent out by its chair:

Local stakeholders welcome Beach Management report

The Futures Forum of the Vision Group for Sidmouth (VGS) met with local stakeholder businesses, residents, councillors and organisations on Monday 8th August to consider a report prepared by project consultants CH2M for EDDC and the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan (BMP) Steering Group.

The report states that Option S4 and its variant S4b are the technically preferred option. This was welcomed by all present. S4b proposes a series of submerged reefs set away from the seafront decreasing in size (see illustration).

Consultants’ published version of variant Option 4b

Improved illustration of variant Option 4b showing reefs of decreasing size.

Sidmouth Town Council’s meeting on July 4^th also voted to back option 4b.

Chair of the Futures Forum Robert Crick said: "The Steering Group is due to meet on Wednesday 17th August. We hope to work with EDDC to explore all ways of mitigating costs, testing the options, and identifying funding sources to achieve the most effective long term solution for the Sidmouth seafront, which we believe will be acceptable for the various statutory bodies such as Natural England, who in the past have consistently vetoed proposals for more rocks on the beach, as proposed by the other options.”

Local MP Sir Hugo Swire recently met the head of Natural England with EDDC Deputy Leader Andrew Moulding and Chairman Stuart Hughes on the eastern beach to discuss the BMP.

Sidmothian Mary Bagwell of Sidmouth Trawlers confirmed: “These agencies are the key to any agreement for works in this Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation on the World Heritage Coast.”

Sea levels in the South West are set to rise by well over one metre in the coming century, according to the Environment Agency. Mr Crick says the VGS believe that any plan requiring regular intervention to recycle or replenish beach materials is not realistic as it will require revenue from EDDC for the lifetime of the project, 100 years.”

He summarised the feeling of the meeting: "Sidmouth needs to protect its eastern cliffs, which have taken a terrible battering over the past twenty years, by improving the eastern beach using with reefs to deflect the natural energy of the sea to create a wide beach and a sandy foreshore along the whole seafront, just like the one behind the existing breakwaters.”

Chair of the Sid Vale Association Alan Darrant agreed: “The investment in what Halcrow describe as ‘the most effective solution’ would be more than worthwhile in the long term. It will be good for tourism as well as protecting the town from flooding.”

Sidmouth Herald (August 5^th 2016) photograph shows wide sandy “Tombolos” that have developed on the Town Beach thanks to existing breakwaters. The beach protects the town from South-westerly storms meaning that the groynes can be removed and the materials used to build a series of new smaller semi-submerged reefs to the east which will have a similar long term effect.

A bird’s-eye view of Sidmouth - News - Sidmouth Herald
Vision Group for Sidmouth - Beach Management Plan: Local stakeholders welcome project consultant's report
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TourFish: contributing to the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan, the Port Royal Scoping Study and in particular the Neighbourhood Plan

TourFish was launched during the Sidmouth Climate Week:
Futures Forum: Climate Week in Sidmouth: presentation of the TourFish project report: 'Making Coastal Communities Resilient' >>> Wednesday 9th March

The media have been very interested:
Futures Forum: Climate Week in Sidmouth: TOURFISH: Making Coastal Communities Resilient >>> reports

This is the recent piece from the Save Our Sidmouth site:

Sidmouth Drill Hall latest: TourFish RT Guide now on iBooks

March 11, 2016 by sidmouthsid Leave a comment


The TourFish Responsible Tourism Guide is now available to download from iBooks.

To find out more and to access the link head to – Responsible tourism on iBooks

It is also available as a pdf from TourFish | Sidmouth Drill Hall Hub CIC

The TourFish project brought 8 partner organisations together from the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands over 18 months to research and share knowledge on, and devise and deliver projects related to inshore fishing and the small-scale fisheries sector (SSF), agri-food, coastal resilience, and rural economic growth.

Funded by the EU ERDF Interreg IVa ‘2 Seas’ programme, TourFish realised a number of outcomes and outputs which are discussed in detail in the final project report compiled and published by the University of Greenwich –
‘Responsible Tourism: A Guide for Tourism and Sustainability in Small-Scale Fisheries and Agri-Food’.

Part of the TourFish project was the commissioning of a report on the viability of the restoration of Sidmouth Drill Hall which became an ‘Economic Evidence Report’ which can be downloaded here Economic Evidence Report | Sidmouth Drill Hall Hub CIC

We will now look to offer these reports to policymakers in Sidmouth and East Devon as contributions to new and ongoing initiatives including the Sidmouth Beach Management Plan and Port Royal Scoping Study, and in particular to the Sidmouth Town Council Neighbourhood Plan.

It is vital that everyone gets behind the Neighbourhood Plan and we hope that the work that we have done to date will contribute to and be an asset to it.

Thank you to all those that came along and joined us at Kennaway House on Wednesday night as part of Sidmouth Climate Week 2016. As discussed then, we will continue our contact and work with a number of partners including the NEF.

We hope you managed to get to taste the locally caught fish provided by Sidmouth Trawlers, part of a growing network of seafood producers and suppliers in coastal towns and villages across Devon.

We very much welcome any feedback on the Responsible Tourism Guide and the Economic Evidence Report, so please do get in touch.

Thank you.

Sidmouth Drill Hall Hub CIC | Promoting positive regeneration
info@sidmouthdrillhall.org
 

Sidmouth Drill Hall latest: TourFish RT Guide now on iBooks | Save Our Sidmouth


See also:
Futures Forum: TourFish @ Greenwich Maritime Centre

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Climate Week in Sidmouth: TOURFISH: Making Coastal Communities Resilient >>> Wednesday 9th March >>> >>> "Responsible Tourism and Blue Economic Growth"

The second of the Climate Week events will focus on 'making coastal communities resilient'.

It will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 9th March in the Cellar Bar of Kennaway House - and there will be freshly prepared fish to enjoy from the Bagwell fishing family:

Sidmouth Trawlers, fresh fish for sale
Futures Forum: Stan Bagwell's Sidmouth: Celebrating Sidmouth's fishing and maritime history

Last year, the Climate Week also looked at coastal communities and local economies - with the NEF:
Futures Forum: Climate Week in Sidmouth ... The New Economics Foundation and systems change >>> "Coastal Communities and their Local Economies" >>> Saturday 7th March at 4.30pm

The theme specifically this year will be 'Responsible Tourism and Blue Economic Growth' - and the event will start with the NEF and its Blue New Deal, which has been featured on this blog:

Futures Forum: The Blue New Deal from the New Economics Foundation >>> formal launch of 'action plan to deliver jobs and economic prosperity to coastal regions'

Blue New Deal | New Economics Foundation

The event will also feature the work of the Devon Maritime Forum:

Futures Forum: Sidmouth Beach Management Plan Steering Group - background

Futures Forum: What future for coastal communities?

Home - Devon Maritime Forum

The high point, however, will be the launch of the EU TourFish Project Report:

Futures Forum: Sidmouth Trawlers at Tourfish in Hastings

Futures Forum: Tourfish in Hastings: 21st to 24th June: "raising awareness of inshore fishing and locally produced food - to promote the importance of these industries to local economies and responsible tourism."
Futures Forum: Tourfish

Tourfish | GIFS Project
University of Greenwich | Food, Fisheries and Tourism

More to follow...

See also:
Futures Forum: Climate change: and coastal communities >>> "We need to make sure businesses and communities are more resilient."
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Sidmouth Science Festival: Sun 11th Oct: down by the sea >>> Interactive Science Trail ... Changes in Fishing ... Impact of Climate Change ... Beach Management Plan

The Sci Fest has started in earnest today:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Science Festival: Sat 10th - Sun 18th October

Earlier today we had a children's storytelling and craft morning themed around the sea at the Library:
Sidmouth Science Festival - Children's storytelling and activities

And tomorrow will be an all-day affair down by the sea:

Interactive Science Trail by the Sea

Various activities and talks by the sea and about the sea for the whole family.

Date: 11:00 AM 11th October 

Venue:  The Seafront, the Ham and the Kingswood & Devoran Hotel, Sidmouth Town Centre

Ticket Information:

Adults:	FREE - BUT DONATIONS WELCOME
Children:	FREE

Join EDDC Countryside Wardens, Sidmouth in Bloom, Sidmouth Arboretum, Sidmouth Lifeboat, Sidmouth Museum in the Arches and others on an interactive science trail along the sea shore. Investigate rock pools, find out what plants grow along the shore, have a taste of seaweed, and more. To download the programme for the day, clickhere.

Chit Rock Pools : EDDC Rangers - Rock Pooling: Explore the rock pools while the tide is low.

The Arches: Sidmouth Museum - Come and see some of the fossil collection. Bring your own fossils and artefacts for identification.

The Esplanade: Stone Balancing - defy gravity and create the biggest stone towers.

Lifeboat Station: See the new tractor. Discuss the tides.

The Ham Marquee and Bagwells Yard: Sidmouth in Bloom - Have a taste of seaweed! Sidmouth Arboretum - Find out about trees, Sid Vale Association - Meet one of our Sponsors and discuss their activities and Sidmouth Sea Fest - The Drill Hall and Sidmouth Sweaters.

Talks throughout the day in the Kingswood Room at the Kingswood and Devoran Hotel to include:

11.00am
Changes in Fishing in Sidmouth
Mary Bagwell and Matt Booth 

12.00 noon
Impact of Climate Change on the North Atlantic Ocean
Prof Toby Sherwin, Emeritus Professor of Physical Oceanography,University of the Highlands and Islands, and Scottish Association for Marine Science 

1.00pm
The Sidmouth and East Beach Management Plan
Alan Frampton Coastal Scientist, Project Manager CH2M
Alan has over 14 years’ experience of coastal projects, undertaking a range of tasks including coastal process assessment, numerical modelling studies, economic appraisals, strategic coastal flood and erosion risk management planning, beach and sand dune management planning and coastal change adaptation/resilience planning. Alan has been responsible for developing more than 15 beach (and sand dune) management plans (BMPs) to the CIRIA Beach Management Manual second edition best practice guidance, to which he was also a contributing author, since that guidance was published in 2010. 

2.00pm
Impact of Climate Change on Sidmouth
Prof Brian Golding OBE Met Office

Sidmouth Science Festival - Interactive Science Trail by the Sea
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Sea Fest: Inshore fishing traditions gather in Sidmouth

The weekend's big event 
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Sea Fest: Bank Holiday weekend: Friday 1st May - Saturday 2nd May >>> a community event
... went off very well
Sidmouth Sea Fest | Coastal Community Celebration



Sidmouth Sea Fest | Facebook
... with a real celebration of fishing traditions
Futures Forum: Stan Bagwell's Sidmouth: Celebrating Sidmouth's fishing and maritime history
... and lots of activities
Vision Group for Sidmouth - Sidmouth Sea Fest

The Festival reminded local people of the history of this part of the coast:



An important event in Sidmouth that celebrates the past, present and future of inshore fishing in Northern Europe. Inshore fishing traditions gather in Sidmouth – read more in the digital document below: 

Inshore fishing traditions gather in Sidmouth

Sidmouth Sea Fest – 1 & 2 May | Devonshire Magazine

It also reminded Festival goers of the connections along the coast and across the North Sea:



Zeeland fishermen from around 1910

Coastal communities in Britain and across northern Europe adopted unique knitting patterns, but many have been lost to the ages.

The Dutch town of Arnemuiden has resurrected the patterns from villages across the Zeeland region and Matt Booth, the brains behind Sidmouth’s festival, is keen to follow suit.

Search for sweaters that can help rediscover fishing history - News - Sidmouth Herald

Sidmouth Sea Fest added 2 new photos.

15 April at 09:44 · 

The amazing story of the Sidmouth Fishermen's Sweaters continues...

Knit pattern number 2 has been created by Anja in Holland from this photograph of another Sidmouth Fisherman, Tom Westlake, seen here in this fantastic picture circa 1950.

Our second Sidmouth knitter Gina Lusardi, created this sample of the pattern in a soft grey colour and is now knitting the sweater.

More people are contacting about us about Sidmouth's Fisher heritage and the sweaters which is brilliant. We are keen to find out if anyone knows more about colours and the likely yarns used.

Please get in touch if you have any information and also please do tell us what you think?

Sidmouth Sea Fest | Facebook

Beyond the fascinating history is the state of inshore fishing today - and tomorrow, with the exhibition from the Festival transferring to Kennaway House:



Arnemuiden Exhibition | Sidmouth Sea Fest
Zeeuwse visserstruien: Sea Fest Sidmouth
Home - Kennaway House

Sidmouth's Sea Fest has now established links with other projects:
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Trawlers at Tourfish in Hastings
Futures Forum: Sidmouth Trawlers: representing UK in-shore fishing
Futures Forum: Tourfish in Hastings: 21st to 24th June: "raising awareness of inshore fishing and locally produced food - to promote the importance of these industries to local economies and responsible tourism."

The Tourfish project includes partners from Brighton, Hastings, Greenwich, Belgium and Holland:
Fantastic dinner last night welcoming... - Sidmouth Sea Fest

The Stade in Hastings is a real success story:

. Home . History . The Stade . Fish Market . Fishermen's Museum . Fisherman's Institute . Other Links . Contact us • Jobs in Hastings The Stade  Hastings has been a maritime centre for over a thousand years. The shingle beach has always been called the Stade. The word dates from before the 1066 battle of Hastings and means " landing place ". The Stade was origenally a small area between today's boating lake and coach park, but the building of the 1887 groyne at Rock-a-Nore and the 1896 harbour stopped shingle moving east along the coast. The result was that the Stade then steadily grew out to seaward, providing new room for the fishing fleet and many amenities. On the Stade is Britain's biggest fleet of beach-launched fishing boats. The boats have to be hauled out of the sea after each trip, which stops them being more than about ten metres long. This means that they can only carry small amounts of gear and travel just a few miles. As a result the fleet has always fished in an ecologically sound way. Harbours built at Hastings have never given much shelter, so the boats have always had to be pulled up the beach. Each vessel has a shed containing an engine and winch, opperated by a " boy ashore " and tractors help push the craft into the sea, especially when the tide is low. Harbours have been built here since the 1500s but all have had short lives. The current wall dates from 1896. here are many other interesting places to visit on the Stade, including Underwater World, the Shipwreck Heritage Centre, the East Hill Cliff Railway, the Lifeboat Station, the Coastguard Station and access to the Country Park. In case you're interested in knowing more info on tin signs, stop bybeersodasports

Hastings Fisherman's Protection Society home page

The "Geography of Inshore Fishing and Sustainability" project works with the University of Greenwich, which shows the extent of its reach:


Gifs project - home
Coastal zone governance and inshore fishing
Toolkit

The current system is not working...
Futures Forum: Sustainable Fishing... the EU... and the West-Country
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Stan Bagwell's Sidmouth: Celebrating Sidmouth's fishing and maritime history

The history of the fishing community in Sidmouth has been  famously celebrated:

"A longshoreman" - from Alongshore

Stephen Reynolds (1881-1919) was an English writer probably best-known, around Devon at least, for his association with Sidmouth. His 1908A Poor Man's House (Project Gutenberg #26126) is a strongly political (the ODNB describes it as "Orwellian") and sympathetic picture of working life among poor Sidmouth fisherfolk, based on Reynold's life from 1907 onward living and working with the Woolley family in Sidmouth (fictionalized in the book as the Widgers of Seacombe). This background has given him somewhat a reputation as a anti-establishment dilettante who 'went native'; in fact this background brought him to significant official status:

He thus familiarized himself with fishing and the fisherman's point of view so far as to become a recognised authority on the subject and a medium of communication between fishermen and the government. He was a member of the committee of inquiry into Devon and Cornwall fisheries (1912), and of the departmental committee on inshore fisheries (1913), and in that year he was appointed adviser on inshore fisheries to the Development Commission. In 1914 he became also resident inspector of fisheries for the S.W. area.
- Wikipedia, Stephen Reynolds (writer), retrieved 10 Nov 2014

Devon History Society: The Great War: Stephen Reynolds in Sidmouth
Fishermen at heart of Sidmouth play - News - Sidmouth Herald

The living legacy of Sidmouth's fishing community will be celebrated at this year's Sea Fest:
Sidmouth Sea Fest | Coastal Community Celebration

Sidmouth Sea Fest – 1 & 2 May

An important event in Sidmouth that celebrates the past, present and future of inshore fishing in Northern Europe.
Inshore fishing traditions gather in Sidmouth

Sidmouth Sea Fest – 1 & 2 May | Devonshire Magazine

This week's Herald highlighted the launch of a book on Sidmouth's last remaining fishing family:

Breaking news & sport in Sidmouth | Sidmouth Herald

The on-line Herald edition carries more in a fascinating piece on fisherman's sweaters:

Search for sweaters that can help rediscover fishing history

11:00 22 February 2015

Stephen Sumner

Zeeland fishermen from around 1900

Fishermen in bygone days sported sweaters to identify them if their bodies were washed ashore – a morbid necessity organisers want to pay homage to when Sidmouth Sea Fest returns on May 1 and 2.

Zeeland fishermen from around 1910

Coastal communities in Britain and across northern Europe adopted unique knitting patterns, but many have been lost to the ages.

The Dutch town of Arnemuiden has resurrected the patterns from villages across the Zeeland region and Matt Booth, the brains behind Sidmouth’s festival, is keen to follow suit.

He is appealing for photos to work out the town’s unique stitches.

Matt said: “This is a fascinating project that connects fishing communities across northern Europe, explores the heritage, and compares similarities in practice, hardship, challenges and more that all fishing communities had to face.

“The story lies in the patterns. It lies in the sweaters.”

The Arnemuiden team is convinced Sidmouth will have a pattern of its own, and after two years working in Zeeland, is confident it can reverse-engineer it.

The knitters will need photos from the early 1900s and Matt hopes people will dig into their attics and archives to help.

“It would be brilliant to find the pattern, recreate it, and knit Sidmouth fishermen’s sweaters in time for Sea Fest,” he added.

The results, together with an exhibition of the Arnemuiden sweaters, will be on display at the festival from 7pm on May 1.

It will be followed by a catwalk parade of the sweaters, along with a performance from a specially-formed shanty choir.

The exhibition will remain on the Ham the following day before it moves to a fixed location in Sidmouth for a fortnight.

Matt is also reaching out for 14-to 18-year-olds keen to gain experience as apprentices, volunteers who can help out, and singers for the sea shanty choir to perform at the festival.

The event will celebrate all things in and on the sea with stalls, community activities, live music, demonstrations and fun for all the family.

Anyone with photos or who is interested in getting involved, can email matt@templestreet.net or call 01395 576850.

Search for sweaters that can help rediscover fishing history - News - Sidmouth Herald

See also:
Futures Forum: Gerald Counter's Sidmouth: an insight into Eastern Town
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