Archive review: Island Deli, Ventnor
Uncategorised 5th April 2009
The Island deli is now closed. If the Isle of Wight is twenty years behind the mainland then in 1989, the north island must have been awash with trendy tapas bars, cheap carveries and boutique Indian restaurants. Matt and Cat are pleased that the Island may be in a... Read more
Garlic Farm Café, Newchurch
31st March 2009 20
Just what the heck is going on? If you’re under forty, please indulge M and C for a moment of rose-tinted nostalgia. If you’re old enough please join in. Do you remember, back in the day, when all you had to do was ride around on your chopper bike,... Read more
Chale Green Stores
22nd February 2009 32
OK, alright! You’ve spoken up and, as always, Matt and Cat have taken heed. You’ve shone the beacon into the sky and your call has been answered… Chale Green Stores it is! As if the price of petrol was no object, Matt and Cat made their second trip west... Read more
Busy Bee, Ryde
20th December 2008 2
Remember the days when garden centres used to sell just seeds and compost? No, neither do Matt and Cat. Like farms, garden centres have to diversify and as well as horticultural essentials, one can often find clay gnomes, coconut-shell bird houses with raffia roofs and singing reindeer like this... Read more
Puckpool Tea Gardens
2nd October 2008 2
Even on the most unprepossessing of days, visitors to the English seaside will seek out crazy golf and a nice cup of tea. The Island is well-provided with venues for both of these past-times, and it happened one brisk autumnal afternoon that Matt and Cat set off for one... Read more
Joyce’s Café, Newport
23rd September 2008 2
Matt and Cat love to find new places to eat and are regularly recommended pubs, restaurants and cafes by friends and colleagues. One suggested establishment is the elusive Greasy Lil’s – M and C have been unable to find this notorious greasy spoon café and the person who proposed... Read more
The Beach Hut Diner, Ventnor
29th June 2008 9
Everyone likes to be nosy. The fascination with our fellow humans occupies a lot of our time. You’ve only got to look through the TV listings to find programmes dedicated to satiating the needs of trunky-want-a-bun viewers. You can spend half an hour watching people struggle with their hysterical... Read more
The Hungry Caterpillar, Medina Garden Centre, Wootton
23rd June 2008 3
The Island’s landscape is often called ‘England in Miniature‘. Maybe it is. But if so, it’s a bit short on some things. Thank goodness, there are no nuclear power stations, no motorways, no slag-heaps and no international airports. And no pylons. Or are there? Here’s a game you can... Read more
Café Maya, Bembridge
15th June 2008 3
Years ago in St Thomas Square, Newport there was a great little Italian restaurant. It occupied the premises that had been vacated by the Niton Bakery (now a mobility shop). It was a super place for lunch; cheap pizzas and fresh tomato-based salads, pouring oil and steaming cups of... Read more
Archive review: the Tollgate is now renamed and under new management Even when driving on the Island’s quiet rural roads, it is easy to be overwhelmed with highways signage and, in the towns this pervasive blight is so ubiquitous that the messages merge and homogenise, ceasing to be of... Read more
