Page 20 • The HERALD • 23rd April 2026 v SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE HERALD v FLAT ROOFING SPECIALISTS All Roof Repairs Tel: 023 8184 5632 Mobile: 07880 508415 Email: steve@braithwaiteroo ng.co.uk THE FLAT ROOF SPECIALIST Solent Concert Orchestra Report From Solent Concert Orchestra e Solent Concert Orchestra recently gave a very successful concert entitled ‘Sounds of Spring’ in aid of the Minstead Trust at the Hanger Farm Arts Centre in Totton under the baton of their musical director Simon Wilkins. e programme on 14th March opened with Max Bruch’s ‘Swedish Dances’ based on familiar folk songs. is was followed by Holst’s ‘A Somerset Rhapsody’. e music evoked pastoral scenes of both tranquillity and sadness which the orchestra beautifully portrayed with contrasting peacefulness and jollity. e seasonal theme was continued by Delius’s ‘On Hearing the First Cuckoo of Spring’. e piece painted a vivid musical picture which was sensitively rendered by the orchestra. Next followed one of the evening’s highlights which featured Tim Leighton on oboe, Simon Wilkins on cello and Julian Williams on organ; it was Domenico Zipoli’s ‘Adagio for Oboe, Cello, Strings and Organ’. Conducted by Isobelle Stocchetti, the orchestra managed to provide an emotional accompaniment with the aid of the various textual cadences of the piece. e rst half concluded with an excellent performance of Mendelssohn’s ‘Overture in C Major for Winds’. e piece was subsequently expanded to include brass; the orchestra did not disappoint and gave a rousing rendition. e second half consisted of Beethoven’s famous ‘Symphony No.5 in C Minor’. e orchestra met the di erent challenges presented by the four movements magni cently as was shown by the prolonged applause of the near capacity audience a er the triumphant nale. e concert was once again supported by the presence of its loyal patrons Sir Julian Lewis MP and Lady Fiona Lewis. e orchestra’s next concert is on Saturday 20th June at Bramshaw Village Hall and will feature popular light classical music. Further details can be found at www.solentconcertorchestra.org.uk Solent Concert Orchestra at Hanger Farm Arts Centre Luggage Truck Renovation Nearing Completion Renovation work on the Hythe Pier Railway luggage truck which began in February 2025 is nearing completion. Although much of the undercarriage and the bogies have been retained, the most obvious di erence in appearance is with the former elevated atbed arrangement being removed and new sides being tted. One side is hinged, allowing it to be dropped down for easy loading. Racks have been tted to allow transporting of two bicycles along the pier. e luggage truck in use today is one of two hand propelled “up-to-date trolleys” introduced when tracks were laid down on the north side of the pier in 1909 for the conveyance of goods and luggage. e second of the two trolleys, modi ed for use on the new Hythe Pier Railway when installed in 1922 was accidently shunted over the side of the pier shortly a er its inauguration. No record of its recovery can be found. e renovation is a part of Hythe Pier Heritage Association’s programme to restore Hythe’s historic pier and iconic pier railway. Future work will need further funding; donations can be made through the community bene t society’s website: www.hythepierha.org.uk Hythe Pier Railway luggage truck (Credit: Alan Titheridge)
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