Talk:Isle of Wight

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  • Culture section, with possible subpage Culture of the Isle of Wight if required, incorporating the current "language & dialect" and "literary & musical references" sections. Other suggestions for inclusion: notable artists, musicians, theatres, sports etc. The Isle of Wight festival paragraph from the history section, and the media paragraph from the transport section would also look better in a culture section.
  • Add statistics to the industry/economy section, e.g. GDP and employment (you can find them in this PDF file - chapter 14, IIRC), how many tourists visit the island, and proportions of the population employed in different sectors.
  • Possibly make a demographics section with population, population growth, and any interesting trends, e.g. does the county have a deficit of young adults due to people moving to cities to study and work? Does the county have a lot of retired people?
  • There is a settlements section, but it's empty, just a link to the list of settlements. There should be a couple of paragraphs of prose here naming the county town and listing anything interesting about the largest towns. See Dorset and Hampshire for ideas about what to mention.
  • The "geography & wildlife" section is mainly about physical geography and ecology, with a little bit about transport. But there is already a transport section, though IMO the transport section does not really fit in the industry section. I propose moving the transport section out of industry, and move the transport info from geography to transport and renaming the geography section "physical geography".
  • Add climate info to the geography section, using [1] [2] [3].
  • Add a summary to the education section.
  • Move the list of places of interest to the list of places page?
  • Move the county flower to a more appropriate place, e.g. culture.
  • CITE SOURCES!
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"It is traditionally considered part of the county of Hampshire; since 1974 it has been administered as a separate county for local government purposes."

This seems POV. Is the writer of the above the ssame guy who's been arguing for 'historical counties' on the list of UK towns page? It was in one county, now it's in another. -- Tarquin 15:58, 12 Oct 2003 (UTC)

I'm not the same guy, no, but it seems NPOV to me; the 1974 reforms didn't change geographical county boundaries, just local government ones. Would "It has been historically considered part of.." be fairer? Psmith 16:24, 12 Oct 2003 (UTC)
The Isle of Wight did in fact become a seperate county in 1974, in fact the smallest in England before the revival of Rutland. Dainamo, March 22, 2004
The Isle of Wight is shown on this site as being 380km2, whilst Rutland is shown as 382km2. Does this not mean that the Isle of Wight is still the smallest county in England? Vectis Exeter, March 19, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Material from Overwritten Article "Wight"

Unless it's utter nonsense -- the stuff about "were" (as in werewolf) and "world" being related isn't! -- the 3rd paragraph of this might inspire an addition (role of IofW in ancient lore) to the article Isle of Wight:

A being or creature, often referring to the elves. It is kin to the past tense of to be — were — and to world.
The Isle of Wight lies off the coast of the South of England in the English Sound, sundered from the town of Portsmouth by The Solent. It is a favorite seaside destination of sallow-faced Londoners seeking respite.
The Isle of Wight was originally settled by the tribe of Ingvæones (see Tacitus) known as the Geats in England's national epic, Beowulf. Beowulf selflessly saved his nation of Geats from the wide-spread destruction of the humanoid sea-monster Grendel and his accursed mother, by a remarkable combination of courage, athletic breath-control, and magic in a fearful drama undersea. He then was elected king, by grace of God.

--Jerzy 03:25, 2004 Feb 7 (UTC)

  • Here's an exact quotation from the Oxford English Dictionary Online:
[Com. Teut. (wanting in Gothic): OE. weorold, worold, world str. f., rarely m., corresp. to OFris. wrald, ruald, warld (EFris. warld, WFris. wrôd), OS. werold (MLG. werlt, warlt, LG. werld, MDu. werelt, Du. wereld), OHG. weralt (MHG. werelt, werlt, welt, G. welt), ON. veröld (Sw. verld, Da. verden): a formation peculiar to Germanic, f. wer- man, WERE n.1 + al- age (cf. OLD a., ELD n.2), the etymological meaning being, therefore, ‘age’ or ‘life of man’.

--Wighson 00:12, 2004 Apr 2 (UTC)


Maybe the "sallow-faced" part should be added to London [wink], but i see now there's plenty on Beowulf already in Isle of Wight. And as to Beowulf, the last sentence and a half contradict that article, and may in fact be utter nonsense. --Jerzy 17:28, 2004 Feb 7 (UTC)

Jutes says Jutes settled IoW, not Geats. Morwen 17:30, Feb 7, 2004 (UTC)

Isle of Wight History Centre says "Around 1900 BC the Beaker people arrived - so called from their distinctive pottery. They called the Island Wiht (weight) meaning raised or what rises over the sea. Then the Romans arrived in 43 AD and translated Wiht into the name Vectis from the Latin veho meaning lifting. The Roman rule started under Vespasian and continued peacefully for over four hundred years. Then followed a period of strife starting with the Saxons under Cerdic and Cynric in 530 AD. Many of the natives were slaughtered and four years after Cerdic's death the government was divided between his two nephews Stuf and Wihtgar. In 544 Wihtgar died and was buried at Carisbrooke. In 661 AD, Wight changed hands again when it was taken by Wulfhure, King of the Mercians, but it was in 686 AD that the West Saxon King, Caedwalla, conquered it and brought Christianity to the Island."
  • According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Jutes are Geats! The difference is a matter of spelling and due to the fact that the Venerable Bede wrote in Latin (Jutes), and not in Old English (Geats). Here again is an exact quote from the OED:
[In pl. Jutes, a mod. rendering of Bæda's Jutæ and Juti, in OE. Eotas, Iótas, ?Iútan (gen. pl. Iútna), also Geátas; = Icel. Iótar people of Jutland on the mainland of Denmark.

--Wighson 00:12, 2004 Apr 2 (UTC)

I would not take OED's description for a fact. In my Scandinavian books on etymology, Jute has no connection to Geat.--Wiglaf 18:26, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)

How does this fit with Geats or Jutes? Rmhermen 18:04, Feb 7, 2004 (UTC)

I think the article should certainly mention the Jutes - there was mention of this on a UK archaeology TV programme. I'll dig out the reference. Agendum 00:54, 8 Feb 2004 (UTC)

  • Yes, that's right! But this is rather general knowledge. Bede speaks of the Jutes (ie, Geats) settling the Island in his classic Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731 AD), q.v.

--Wighson 00:12, 2004 Apr 2 (UTC)

As I understand it, this is general article rather than a work of history. The arrival of the Jutes in the Island (from Jutland, Denmark) is nothing more than a footnote in English history in that part of the country, any more than you might mention the arrival of the Saxons in other parts of the south.

What is more interesting, and might deserve a mention (if you want to cover early history in what is only a general article on the IOW), is the discovery of artefacts and finds from many different periods going right back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Medieval, etc - proving evidence of continuity of inhabitation on the Island over thousands of years. Agendum 09:30, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)

This is the original author of the paragraph. I think you might be right; it may not be strictly relevant. Perhaps an expanded section (as per comments above) could be added with more of the archæological and historical information and tourist sites. The Beowulf info. could be put in there. For now, I suggest an abbreviated paragraph, which can serve as an interesting lead-in and introduction if others feel that too much detail is currently included. This is an example of a briefer version:
According to the Venerable Bede, the Isle of Wight was mostly settled by the Geats. The Geats were an Anglo-Saxon tribe made famous in Beowulf. Today, the Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archæological sites dating from ancient times.
Current version: The Isle of Wight is unique among the British Isles in that it is a region which was, along with the adjoining Hampshire and Kent, claimed and settled in the early Middle Ages by the ancient tribe of "Jutes" or "Geats". The Geats are best known as the people whom Beowulf saved from the man-eating sea-monsters -- Grendel and his mother -- by a remarkable combination of courage, athletic breath-control, and magic in a fearful drama undersea. He then was elected Geatish king. The Geats kept their connection with the sea when they settled the island. Today, the Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archæological sites dating from ancient times.


--Wighson 03:29, 2004 Apr 6 (UTC)

I really feel that the second paragraph- about the Jutes ("Geats" or whatever) has no place here and has got to go. Out of deference to the original author I haven't yet deleted it, but please consider that this is not a historical work but an introduction to the Isle of Wight for the general reader of an encyclopedia. There may be some justfication for a brief outline of its history or archaeology later in the article, but not as virtually the first thing you read. Agendum 23:23, 3 May 2004 (UTC)

I disagree with the premise that the article on a place cannot be expanded to include notes on the history of an area. Indeed this is the style of most encyclopaedias with reference to countries or places. The more infomration the better. If you consider the entry on the Jutes to be in the wrong place conisder editing it by placing under a section in the same article titled "History". I don't think the article needs this unless it gets longer though. Dainamo 14, June 2004

[edit] Removal of Image:wight9265.png

This is a terribly innacurate map and I have removed it from the Isle of Wight article until such time as a better one can be found. The river Medina ends at about Whippingham, with Newport starting at about the same place, Ryde appears to have been plonked somewhere to the east of Seaview and other towns including Southampton appear to have been placed at someone's rough guess. Total crap. Don't use it. Dainamo 21:09, 10 May 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Rivers Yar

Concernings the following before editing:

The River Medina flows north into the Solent, whilst the other main river, the Eastern Yar flows roughly north-east, emerging at Bembridge Harbour on the eastern end of the Island. Confusingly, there is another entirely separate river called the Western Yar which flows from Freshwater Bay to Yarmouth. The south coast adjoins the English Channel.

There is nothing confusing if one is the "Western Yar" and the other the "Eastern Yar", The confusion is that both are called "The River Yar" and the desigantion of either as eastern or western is only used in a context where disambiguation becomes necessary. Dainamo 00:15, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Yes, you are right. Feel free to make that point clear - and indeed, you're also right that they are not properly called either 'Eastern' or 'Western'. Naturenet 15:02, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Concerning Vectians

I'm not sure I agree with the prominence of the term 'Vectians'. I moved to the Island in 1970 and I've never heard the word until I saw it in the recent edit. In fact, I thought it was entirely fictional until I checked - so apologies for doubting the author. Google does show up one unqualified use of the word in the wild, although there are a few archaic usages. But I really can't see that it is anything other than a minor point, of far less prominence than Caulkheads or Islanders, for example (as I put it in my previous edit), as its a very uncommon term indeed. But, of course, I am open to being convinced, and would be pleased to see any other examples of the word in use. Naturenet 12:09, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I agree with you it was a little too prominent in its original positiion given the lack of use in more recent years outside erudite circles, but in recent years I've began to trip over it more and more recently from accademic references to pub conversations and it appears in my small Chambers dictionary as an adjective. I think also Google is more broad in its results than you have observed (and Google is somwetimes skewered to recent media anyway). A question relating to vectians it is even in the original GENUS edition of Trivial Pursuit. Since this is an encyclopedia, the term is correct and there is no substitute (Caulkheads is specific and "islanders" is used by many other island communities) it's worth its entry. Beside which, I rather the word like it as it provides a specific identity to all those who believe themselves to be "islanders" of the "Isle of Wight" and has neither the perjorative stigma or exclusitivity (depending on viewpoint) that other phrases may evoke. Nect time someone asks where you are from say "I'm a vectian" the more people do it, the less blank looks one will experience ;) Dainamo 17:39, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Could you be admitting it's hardly a current word here, but you'd like it to be? :) I've asked everyone in my office (on the Island) and I got the blank looks too. I do agree the word exists, and should be in the article; but I don't agree that it deserves first place in the paragraph or to be called the proper term. However, I'm still ready to be convinced - in fact, I kinda hope you manage to convince me as it's a fun word. Come on now, provide some examples of the word on the loose. I'm eager to see them.Naturenet 11:18, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)
sounds like fun. I need some time but herein are couple for now: The first is only a conjecture: [4]
Here is another being used in about the third review down [5] Dainamo 22:58, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Nice hunting. The Stephen Leacock (what a great connection! I'm going to add that one in) quote actually mitigates against the term, as apparantly Leacock hadn't ever heard of it. The other one is the sole contemporary wild use of the word which I referred to in my first posting above... unless you're going to reveal some others, as you suggested might be found elsewhere in Google? So, no cigar yet. What about we compromise, move the paragraph down and remove the word "properly"? I'd be happy with that.Naturenet 10:11, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I hope the revised text is an adequate compromise and accurate.
Historical reference example the publication: Index of the Vectian Taxpayers in the Poll Tax Returns for 1379 With Two Appendices Compiled by Silvio Brendler published Baar, Hamburg 2000 ISBN 3-935536-00-3 A5 booklet 64 pages Price £5. [Quote] The booklet begins with an introduction to the background history surrounding the Medieval Poll Tax. There is a comprehensive list of references and an explanation of the abbreviations used. The main body of the booklet consists of an alphabetical index of the names of those recorded in the 1379 Poll Tax Return for the Isle of Wight and the district in which they were assessed. Although we are still in the period before the firm establishment of hereditary surnames and it is unlikely that continuous pedigrees can be linked to any of these individuals, it is nevertheless interesting to see if 'your' family names appear. Several recognised 'island' names, such as, Burt, Caus (Caws), Cheverdon (Cheverton), Holbrok (Holbrook), Mew and Urry are featured. This is a valuable transcription for those interested in potential early island ancestry.[Unquote]' The geological use is not in dispute (look in any decent dictionary) I have an up to date Chambers with it in. I admit isn't in my three-volume Websters, but that's a US publication anyway. I plan to look at some local references for the term in the next few days. Dainamo 19:36, 7 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Your revisions are very good. Thanks for being such a good collaborator, and the fascinating references! Not sure if 1379 counts as contemporary but I guess you would argue that the term was used in 2000 in this context, and I'd have no dispute with that. I've made some very minor changes (mostly spelling and punctuation) and I'm more than happy with it as it stands now. Naturenet 10:42, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I'd always thought the Latin-derived name for an Islander was 'Vectensian'. I've certainly seen this printed in Iow literature. Jess Cully 15:17, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unofficial Isle of Wight To-Do list

Feel free to add topics as you notice them!

[edit] A Template?

This page is getting too long and detailed - look at the 'prisons' entry to see what I mean. There are also way too many images - Ok on a wide screen but looks awful on a smaller one. All of it is good stuff (well, almost all), and none of it deserves deletion. I propose a template box of 'Articles about the Isle of Wight' which can house a list of all the sub-articles of this group, and appear on each one of them. thenm all the detailed stuff can be filletted out of the main article. Comments, volunteers? Naturenet | Talk 10:21, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

Done it Naturenet | Talk 15:54, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Pages to be created

[edit] Parishes/Villages needing pages

Source: List of civil parishes in England

  • Nettlestone and Seaview
  • Niton and Whitwell

[edit] Stubs

[edit] Comments

  • Would somebody like to add to the article on Freshwater which I have began, but as I know little about the village, cannot continue (the previous page linked to Fresh Water). Might be better to use Freshwater, Isle of Wight which has more potential links to it.--NeilTarrant 22:53, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)
You're right, there's not much there, is there? I'll have a look in due course but anyone else is welcome. Naturenet 12:52, 9 Oct 2004 (UTC)
  • If we can expand some of the sections of the Isle of Wight article themselves, then maybe they could be placed on supplemental pages (e.g Geography of the Isle of Wight). --NeilTarrant 22:53, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)
  • Another thing, if anyone is hanging out in the Wikipedia talk:UK Wikipedians' notice board page, then there is talk of a page for every electoral constituency in the UK, which would therefore neccesitate another Island page (onto which some of the political history could be moved) and pages on constituencies of Yarmouth, Newport and Newchurch. --NeilTarrant 22:53, 8 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I'm not sure what purpose this would serve (and what's WP:UKWNP?). Can you elaborate? And as the IW is only one parliamentary constituency now, and has been for ages, I doubt much useful stuff could be dragged up about the old ones which wouldn't fit better into 'political history', either as it is now or as a separate page. Naturenet 12:52, 9 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Erm, not sure what I meant by that link... try the link to the new page I've put there . I'm not really in favour of the proposal as it seems a bit redundant, but if any contituancy does deserve a page, then its the Isle of Wight :-)... --NeilTarrant 14:54, 9 Oct 2004 (UTC)
  • I see Solent.tv has a stub at Solent TV I'm not sure which would be correct to use, but thought I should point it out --Typhin 10:15, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

regarding the list of parish

What's this list here for? Note that there are also town councils and unparished areas (most prominently Ryde and Newport, Isle of Wight), not on this list. Naturenet 09:24, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC)
All needing pages - all the towns had pages, so I edited the list to remove them. I've re-edited the title to show this.

[edit] Important Local Issues...?

Is this the right thing for an encyclopaedia article? Interesting, to be sure, but aren't these items more like debating points? They don't really impart much information. Apart from the fixed link they're hardly anything special to the Island, either, are they? Or have I missed something here?

I added it as I think I have seen similar elsewhere (but can't recall where)... Feel free to delete, and I won't be offended. NeilTarrant 14:02, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)
What a gentleman! :) Let's leave them for a bit and see if anyone else bites. Naturenet 18:22, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I took the liberty of altering the text slightly and then merging to show the issues as part of (contemporary) Political History. IMO this keeps the entries, but avoids any conflict with encyclopaedic style. Dainamo 12:52, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I thought I recognised your distinctive copy writing skills! The Autonomy section is great, and fits in better where it now is. Good editing. The Fixed Link paragraph is also good. But I'm still unsure that the alternative energy paragraph is worth having at all, as it is not specific to the IW, and there is no end of information about this debate elsewhere. Thoughts? Naturenet 21:16, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)
I agree, I thought the same when I saw the text in its original form, but was a bit ambivalent about what to do with it. I have removed ir. If there is anything that may be "peculiar" to the IOW concerning this matter then it can all ways go back in again. Dainamo 09:24, 26 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of chaff

Removed the following:

Movies:
  • In Shaun of the Dead, after being bit by a zombie, Philip complains, "I'm quite alright, :Barbara...We had our jabs when we went to the Isle of Wight."

Non-notable. If every tenuous literary or film link like this were added the page would have more bytes than pacman. Dainamo 12:29, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC). (I Left Wyndam's Triffid Books entry as at least the Isle of Wight is an important plot item. I nearly removed the Beatles entry, but thought the international ubiquity of the song lets it get away with mention.)

[edit] Use of "the Island"

I'm also guilty of this one, but the article can refer to "the island" or "the Isle of Wight" but using "the Island" as a proper noun should be avoided as this is a colloquial designation. Dainamo 12:59, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Transport and Tidyup

I've spotted the sentence "GKN based at East Cowes (previously known over the years as Saunders-Roe, Westland Aircraft, British Hovercraft Corporation remains one of the most notable historical firms; having produced many of the flying boats, and the world's first hovercraft." in the article (Industry and Agriculture section). This is clearly missing a closing ), but I'm not entirely sure where it should be (otherwise I'd have added it myself). If it is after 'Corporation' then I think the comma after 'Aricraft' should be replaced with 'and' (I think).

The transport section of the article about transport says the FastCat service runs from Portsmouth Harbour station to Ryde Esplanade station. When I visited the island (1996) the ferry service went to Ryde Pier Head station - has this changed?.

Thryduulf 21:40, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for your observations. Well spotted! I've resolved the matters you raised. Naturenet 22:42, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Politics of the Isle of Wight

I've created a page called Politics of the Isle of Wight based upon material from this page, but including results for the most recent and upcoming elections. Can people please take a look, and edit as appropriate (there are likely to be a number of spelling errors) before I link to it from the main Isle of Wight page. --Neo 19:38, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] "Miscalanious Facts"

User:Azezel has made a new section and some good contributions of facts to the article, but I'm not quite sure they are ready to go in without a bit more work. So I have removed the following content and the heading "Miscalanious Facts"(sic):

   * Residents of the Isle of Wight are traditionaly known as 'Caulk Heads', though in fact the term is only correctly applied to those whose family has lived on the Island for four generations.
   * It has been said that the entire population of the World could stand together on the Isle of Wight.
   * Ths Island, specificaly Cowes is considered by many the Spiritual Home of competitive Yachting.

My reasons are as follows:

  1. A much fuller treatment of Caulkhead is found in History of the Isle of Wight.
  2. This is a good proverbial saying, but is certainly no longer true. I'd like to see a more comprehensive discussion of it, perhaps also in History of the Isle of Wight.
  3. This is already dealt with in Cowes Week and Cowes.
  4. I'm not entirely sure about the section heading, either. Miscellaneous is a bit of a meaningless heading. But the facts are all of some merit, perhaps all these things can be fitted into existing articles - such as the ones I've suggested - if indeed this has not already been done.

Naturenet 20:34, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I'm opposed to any 'facts' 'trivia' or similar sections. I would agree that if a fact is important enough it should be integrated into the main body of the article. I don't like the 'population of the world' claim - its always struck me as being a little silly... plus the inevitable question 'If the entire population of the world could stand on the Isle of Wight, why the hell would they want to?' Neo 22:25, Apr 13, 2005 (UTC)
Years ago I read a Science Fiction book which concerned the ever-increasing population of the world. It asserted that the Isle of Wight was no longer big enough. The book's title was "Stand on Zanzibar". 'Fraid I can't remember much more than that, but it's only trivia anyway!--King Hildebrand 16:18, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of Joe Wyeth

I've removed from the list of famous connections:

  • Joe Wyeth - Famous for starting numerous riots.

on the following grounds:

  1. This person has no article on Wikipedia, therefore if notable no more information on him can be established
  2. A google test reveals only 45 results for "Joe Weyth", many of which seem to be a sportsman from New Zealand. A news search only reveals 1 result, relating to the New Zelander.

I'm assuming that this edit was made in good faith, and would encourage the author of this comment to provide further information on this character, and possibly write an article on him if notability can be established. --Neo 12:45, May 4, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] New Commons category

I've started a new category in Wikipedia Commons of images from the Isle of Wight. Not many in there yet, I've got a few on thier way. Please, Island Wikipedians, feel free to add a few in. See Commons category: Isle of Wight Naturenet 10:21, 8 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Suggested for inclusion

Under "Other fictional references", what about Monty Python's absurd reference to Shanklin, Isle of Wight in the Episode 'Mr Neutron' [1976]? http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode44.htm

(Maybe just too passing to include?)

Yes, I think it is too passing. I guess you probably do too! Naturenet 14:42, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Culture of the Isle of Wight

In my never ending quest to ensure that at least half of Wikipedia articles are about the Isle of Wight I have created a 'Culture of the Isle of Wight' page. Can anyone who has this page on their watchlist take a butchers, and edit if needed. I think we can maybe lose a little of the content of this page now onto the culture sub-page, and we ought to maybe link to it somewhere. Apologies if anyone thinks the page is a needless extravogence... but I like it ;) --Neo 19:27, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Grey squirrels

To be fair, although the reverted post [6] was invalid as original research, there have been reports. Tearlach 18:23, 8 August 2005 (UTC)

Indeed there have. Following one corpse being discovered in 2002, over £10,000 was spent on trapping and hair-tube studies, with hundreds of hours of work by volunteers and paid staff. Thankfully not a single grey squirrel was located. We are now confident that there are no breeding grey squirrels on the Island. No confirmed sighting or recovered corpse has been received since 2002. [7] Naturenet | Talk 21:45, 8 August 2005 (UTC) (and this is me too - I don't normally mix work with Wikipedia but in this case it seems relevent!)
Accepted. Seriously unsubstantiated, then? Tearlach 23:06, 8 August 2005 (UTC)
The Council is always interested in reports of grey squirrels, we get perhaps 2 or 3 a month and every single one is followed up. With only one exception in the last 5 years they always turn out to be something else, such as red squirrels, rats or rabbits. At present, there is no evidence of any grey squirrels at all on the Island, and certainly none breeding. If anyone thinks they've seen one they should immediately ring 01983 823893 in office hours or, out of hours, email the Countryside Section and the report will be dealt with as a priority. Naturenet | Talk 09:14, 9 August 2005 (UTC)
Sounds like the Isle of Man and foxes. Repeated reports, but when the Manx government got in marksmen a couple of years back, they couldn't find any. Tearlach 11:34, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Removed text

I removed this from 'Transport and Communications'

The cost of ferry travel is reputedly high for those taking a car, and the omission of pensioner concessions on ferry fares that had applied to land transport in the Travel Concessions Bill in 2001 was highlighted by the constituency's Member of Parliament: "Given that, on 4th July, the Prime Minister promised concessionary travel for pensioners on long-distance coach services, does he sympathize with pensioners on the Isle of Wight who have to cross the most expensive stretch of water in the country to board those coach services? Will he provide similar concessions on ferries?”

My reason was that it was too detailed for this article, and seemed to be teetering on the POV as well. I'm sure a place could be found for it somewhere so I've left it here for anyone else to pick up. Naturenet | Talk 23:03, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The map

The map gives the impression that the Isles of Scilly are not a part of England. //Big Adamsky 20:47, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

If only there were a cartographer on Wikipedia who was able to actaully draw maps! They'd soon be able to fix it. Naturenet | Talk 23:07, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ticket to Ride

This has appeared before. Unless a reliable source can be named, I suspect urban myth or just wishful thinking by those familiar of the said town. I have removed the quote:

Ticket to Ride, the Beatles classic, is a pun on 'Ticket to Ryde', the ferry port to the North of the Island.

Dainamo 12:28, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

My source is 'Revolution In the Head' - fantastic (and very well respected) analysis of The Beatles' music by Ian MacDonald (ISBN 0-7126-6697-4) - its on page 127, and to quote;

'The title arose from a pun on Ryde, the ferry port in the north of the Isle of Wight. Lennon and McCartney took a daytrip ferry from Portsmouth to Ryde to visit friends (possibly on 8th April 1963)

I think its well enough established (and now sourced) to make the article - didn't add the reference to the article 'cos I wasn't sure it really added anything (and don't really know how to do it anyway) - but there you go - cheers, Petesmiles 14:11, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Long way round to Yarmouth

I was in the Isle of Wight for the first time today and, by chance, took the double-decker 7B bus from Newport to Yarmouth to catch the Lymington ferry - the trip should be a tourist attraction in itself: sort of roller-coaster time-travel on the edge of a cliff.--shtove 18:38, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Folklore

Is there any folklore about keeping strangers out? Say, legends about punishments meted out to Roman/Jute/Norman invaders?--shtove 18:38, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Isle of Wight UDI

I today removed this text:

REMOVED TEXT STARTS

Isle of Wight (U.D.I.). [[8]]

After a brief dispute with the British goverment over the thretened closure of 1 the island hospital and the minting of a chartiable colectors' issue of Euro coins; the island's council declaired there intrest in creating a devolved system similar to that of the Isle of Man after a proposal made by the council leader, Morirs Barton of the Liberal Democrats. A referendum of sorts was to be held on July 17th, 1996.


There plan was to take control of-

1/ Torisum,

2/ Local laws,

3/ Taxation,

4/ Agriculture,

5/ Local media,

6/ The fate of a disliked fixed transport link to Hampshire,

7/ Whether the isleand should become a duty free zone,

8/ Whether the isleand's ports should take up a 'free port' status.


The council voted 17/3 infavor of the bill, but the Labour (opersition) leader, Ken Pearson added the need for a seperat E.U. infrastucture/regonal funding boddy, rather than just relying on the U.K. to negotiate for them. The Conservatives and some Indipendents chose to form a loyalist movement that campained against devolving the island's authoraty.


A £12,000 serveay of 8,000 people by Morri Poll, on July 17th, showed only limeted support for this proposal. None the less The fixed link was voted out of exsisteance and the island's campaine was aired on the B.B.C.'s Newsnight program and Channel 4 news.


The Later the councli decided that the island should declair U.D.I. from the U.K. after thire wishes were not honoured (give or take the now scraped fixed link issue) by the British goverment. This only lasted a few weeks, since, after realising everythng was going too far and the U.K. was not in anyway impressed by there actions, they gave up and rejoined thire former home-country.

It is worth noteing, none the less, that the handfull of charitabale Euro coins were not declaired illigal tender and the threatend hospital stayed open as a gesture of good will towatd the council (or goverment) of the Isel of Wight. The fixed link was, of coarse, scraped, since evey one on the island agreed that it would be a unsightly intrusion on the noth of thire buteiful island.

REMOVED TEXT ENDS

My reason for this is that the information is not suitable for the encyclopaedia, as it is too detailed for the general article. It is also not written from a neutral point of view and needs some copy editing. However the information is interesting, and sourced. I include it here as parts of it may be of some merit possibly to go in History of the Isle of Wight or Politics of the Isle of Wight. Naturenet | Talk 18:43, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Links purge

There were way too many links on the page. There should not be a list of all IW-related links but only those suitable for the main IW article. The following links have been removed, leaving only those with particular relevance to the whole Island and not a particular aspect of it. These may be good links, and many of these would be usefully included in other IW articles, so please reallocate them as you see fit, and strike them out from here with <s>...</s> when you've done so.

Naturenet | Talk 21:39, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Grockel / Duver ?

I always thought we called 'em grockles. Is there a sound basis for either spelling? --TheMadBaron 23:58, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

and talking of colloquialisms does anybody know the origin of the word duver used as a name for a thin neck of land or spit as at St Helens and Yarmouth ? And is this term unique to the island ? Kittyalex 23:25, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Great Britain

Did Great Britain exist in 686 AD? The term is usually used these days for the union of England, Wales and Scotland, which was formed by the Act of Union of 1707. The term Great Britain has been used as a contrast to Little Britain - the Brittany Peninsula - but not in present day common parlance. If you are using GB as the name of the island of Great Britain, can you validly state that there was a single date of conversion to Christianity? I suspect that "England" would more accurately convey the meaning intended.--King Hildebrand 15:53, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm almost sorry I mentioned this now. I've been browsing the Talk:Great Britain page, where far more comments and counter comments may be found. Seems to be a sore point! --King Hildebrand 17:26, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Camphill

This person:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&target=193.113.48.9

Appears to have added a contribution about free water for residents of Camphill prison estate. Can this person contact me on garry.price@iow.gov.uk to advise where this information originated. Currently the information appears to be inaccurate. The idea of the estate being accessed by two roads that are gated is also incorrect.

If there is any information to support the assertion that water is free in Camphill I would be very pleased to receive it on behalf of the local residents.

Clr. Garry Price, Parkhurst Ward, Isle of Wight Council

[edit] Rebound?

Surely there is some mistake in this statement: "The Isle of Wight became an island sometime after the end of the last Ice Age, when post-glacial rebound caused the land level to sink, the Solent flooding and separating the island from the mainland. " How can rebound after removal of an ice load cause the land to sink? October 4, 2006 - —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Filll (talk • contribs).

I'm not a geophysicist, but as I understand it the UK functions somewhat like a see-saw (thats a teeter-totter if you're American), with the motion upwards of Northern regions causing the southern regions to sink somewhat - i.e. the continental crust of the UK and Europe as a whole functions as a rigid slab. -Neo 20:26, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I am a geophysicist, and a little consideration demonstrates to me that the situation is far more complicated than it first appears. Some comments:

1. It is not completely clear to me what the extent of ice loading was in the British Isles during the last ice age (my apologies to those who realise we are still in an ice age, and this is just a short interregnum). This is a factor that should be considered.

2. In some locations, ground subsidence might be caused by loss of groundwater or urban area loading. Presumably this is not associated with the subsidence of the Isle of Wight and its separation from the English coast. It has been conjectured to be associated with the subsidence of Venice, the Netherlands and other regions. However, I have my doubts about these theories without doing any computations.

3. It is true that loading of the earth's crust can be observed to result in subsidence, such as on the sea floor around the Hawaiian islands, and presumably on the sea floor near Reunion as well. There is also a "rebound" some distance away from the main load which fits continuum mechanics models well. I do not know if this situation holds in the case of the Isle of Wight, or if it is much of a contributing phenomenon.

4. Changes in oceanic temperatures can affect sea levels because of expansion of sea water.

5. Sea level is also influenced by the volume of ice that is sequestered on land, such as in glaciers, in Greenland, or Antarctica.

6. Change in the volume of oceanic basins associated with glacial rebound in some areas can result in an increase in sea level throughout the basin. This includes areas that had remained ice-free and are not rebounding if the amount of water to be accommodated stays constant, increases, or does not decrease sufficiently. The areas associated with rebound might experience a net lowering of apparent sea level if the rebound was greater than the sea level rise at that location.

7. Rebound is dependent on the viscosity of the mantle and many other factors. These are not well known but can be estimated in some cases.

So in conclusion, the rebound of many areas further north (as well as in the extreme Southern Ocean) after the last ice age might be associated with the apparent rise in sea level around the Isle of Wight. However, this is not completely obvious, and it would bear some investigation before making a statement like this or even a conjecture to this effect. -User:Filll 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Very interesting, but not really much to do with the Isle of Wight. Why not repackage this wisdom on a suitable page? Could be of interest I'd say. Meanwhile, just take out the ref to rebound if you don't like it. I'm sure you can think of a suitable phrase to explain the phenomenon adequately in this article; in which it is, after all, only a passing reference. Naturenet | Talk 22:53, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
A bit more investigation indicates to me that the area around the Isle of Wight was probably ice-free during the last ice-age, and therefore would be expected to experience subsidence and posibly the effects of ocean basin volume changes. I have tried to make things a bit more precise in the description but not detract from the main article's thrust. User:Filll 4 October 2006
Very nicely done! Naturenet | Talk 07:55, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fishbourne, Isle of Wight

The page at Fishbourne, Isle of Wight has been the subject of some ongoing, rather feeble vanity vandalism over the last few days. I've been keeping an eye on it but if anyone else fancies putting it on their watchlist it would be appreciated. Naturenet | Talk 19:32, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Not in England?

A person I met on the Isle of Wight told me the Isle of Wight is in the UK but not in the England. According to the article, this is false. Is there any truth to this or was she just kidding me? JIP | Talk 13:52, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

I'd guess she was just kidding you - I must admit that I myself have got people to believe lots of false things about the Island when bored, for instance suggesting that we don't have electricity or cars, and that one needs to row across to reach it. Anyway - here are some clarifications for you:
Legally: A part of England. Any legislation applying to England will apply to the Island.
Politically: A part of England, more specifically within South East England for statistical and European Electoral purposes.
Historicaly: A part of England. Probably since the creation of the state, or at the least since the sale of the Island to the Crown in 1293.
Geologicaly: A part of the English landmass. Rock strata on the Island can be followed through to the south coast of England.
Geographical: A part of England by most descriptions. Interestingly enough though *not* by the description of a number of Islanders who will happily declare to be going to 'England' when visiting the mainland. It perhaps a manifestation similar to the tendency to say 'Europe' when one means mainland-Europe in the rest of the UK.

Hope this clears stuff up. --Neo 15:38, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reduced Duplication

I removed the duplicated information about transportation. I simplified some of the wording. I added some statistics as well about tourism and geography. --Filll 22:27, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] More work needed

There is an immense amount of work needed on the articles about the villages, towns, hamlets, famous houses, geographic features etc on the island. I have added a few, but there are many many more that are just stubs or have no article at all. For example, take a look at List of places on the Isle of Wight.--Filll 22:28, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

Are people working on these? Every so often I try to knock off one or two of these. The Isle of Wight is so small with just a handful of towns, villages, hamlets etc that we could easily describe all of them with at least a stub.--Filll 16:25, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
I don't agree. There are many articles about the Isle of Wight, like these:
Articles and Categories about the Isle of Wight, England The Isle of Wight

Category:Isle of Wight | Category:Buildings and structures on the Isle of Wight | Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight | Education on the Isle of Wight | List of Isle of Wight people | History of the Isle of Wight | List of places on the Isle of Wight | Politics of the Isle of Wight | Category:Visitor attractions on the Isle of Wight | Isle of Wight (disambiguation)
plus another 65 or so. Already quite a few more than, for example (to take another much larger county at random),. Anyway, if you think more are needed, be bold, create them. But I'd suggest that they need content, not just stubs. Naturenet | Talk 19:15, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Well stubs for the red entries in the category. And filled out full articles for the stubs. I do not propose they all be stubs and left as stubs, certainly. But point taken.--Filll 20:30, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Villages and Hamlets still missing:

Alverstone Shalcombe Thorncross Whitely Bank Gurnard Merstone Five Houses Limerstone Moortown, Isle of Wight Northwood Winford--Filll 21:34, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Comment moved from mainspace page

Concerning local words - when I taught briefly on the Isle of Wight in 1967, I noted that the word 'out' could also be used as a verb - not in its modern form meaning to reveal someone's true preferences eg 'The Tory minister was outed by the press'. On the IoW, it was used more literally as in 'the candle was outed when the wind blew'.
John Scriven, University of Portsmouth School of Educational Studies.

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