News

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May 23rd, 2013 - Saxon Square shop owner nominated for prestigious business award
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May 23rd, 2013 - Saxon Square Shopping Centre gets creative
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May 10th, 2013 - Christchurch Food Festival: The Bay Tree interview with chef and author, Dale Pinnock
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May 8th, 2013 - Join The Big Lunch at Saxon Square Shopping Centre - free fun for the whole community
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April 3rd, 2013 - Saxon Square Shopping Centre spreads Easter Egg-citement in Christchurch
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February 6th, 2013 - Happy Valentine's Day at Scissors
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January 8th, 2013 - Nutrition talks at The Bay Tree
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November 27th, 2012 - Homeware boutique Latimer House opens at the Centre
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November 20th, 2012 - Santa Claus is coming to town!
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November 19th, 2012 - Enjoy fabulous free parking this Christmas!
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September 20th, 2012 - Dr Hauschka Skincare Open Day at The Bay Tree Health Store
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August 1st, 2012 - Boots Introduce Revamped No7 Counter
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August 1st, 2012 - Meet One Direction with Claire’s at Saxon Square!
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July 4th, 2012 - Local scout group receives boost for new premises
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March 29th, 2012 - Your chance to win a £100 sponsorship deal for your community group!
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January 9th, 2012 - Santa picked one lucky winner this Christmas!
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December 7th, 2011 - Santa is coming to Saxon Square
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December 7th, 2011 - Take it Easy Tuesday
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December 7th, 2011 - The Bay Tree News
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November 17th, 2011 - Saxon Square Shopping Centre welcomes Scissors salon!
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November 16th, 2011 - Christmas has arrived with our Christmas craft fair
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July 11th, 2011 - How to make the perfect ice-cream sundae
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July 4th, 2011 - Pupils pop-up for some practical experience in retail
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May 31st, 2011 - Saxon Square Shopping Centre limbers up for free yoga event
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November 18th, 2010 - Scene set for Santa at Christchurch Christmas Festival
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October 13th, 2010 - Saxon Square Shopping Centre keeps nurses sweet with chocolate delivery
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October 6th, 2010 - New Holland & Barrett store brings healthy approach to Christchurch
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September 30th, 2010 - Beat those winter blues with our top tips
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August 28th, 2010 - Summer Festival at Saxon Square
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August 11th, 2010 - Caffé Nero comes to Saxon Square Shopping Centre
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July 12th, 2010 - School pupils open up for business at Saxon Square Shopping Centre
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June 27th, 2010 - Local Community Share their Stories with Saxon Square Shopping Centre
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May 24th, 2010 - Holiday advice: Travelling with Children
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May 3rd, 2010 - What's your Story?
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April 2nd, 2010 - Saxon Square Shoppers kick off Easter Holidays
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Local Community Share their Stories with Saxon Square Shopping Centre

June 27th, 2010

Saxon Square Shopping Centre may have found potential replacements for Catherine Cookson and Bill Bryson in its search for the best storywriters in Christchurch.

To celebrate National Share a Story month, Saxon Square Shopping Centre asked for the best storytellers, storywriters and illustrators in Christchurch and the surrounding area to come forward and share their story.

The search offered the local community the chance to get involved in celebrating the power of the story, whilst promoting the importance of engaging in reading.  Welcoming all sorts of stories from fact and fiction to visual interpretations, the competition was open to all ages, with a theme of the local area.

The judges, Saxon Square Shopping Centre Manager Bryan Taylor and WHSmith store manager chose their favourite stories. The judges’ favourite final two will be displayed at WHSmith at Saxon Square and on the Centre’s website www.saxon-square.co.uk for the local community to enjoy.

Peggy Reed’s story A Mudeford Yarn at Christchurch is an imaginative tale based at Mudeford Quay which, in a surreal moment, sees the narrator caught by a giant fish which rises from the quay, “… I felt no fear, and as I gazed a face stared back at me; a bizarre face with silvery scales and flapping gills. The window opened, and I jumped as a great fishing line was flung towards me …”

Peggy, from Burton, accompanied her story with an illustration of Mudeford Quay which she created herself, using acrylics on canvas.


Bryan Taylor, Saxon Square Shopping Centre Manager said of the entry: “Peggy’s story was so imaginative, we really enjoyed the twist in the story. The description of Mudeford Quay, accompanied by the professional illustration was full of colour and a joy to read.”

Marie Godley, from Christchurch, shared her story of coming across the Norman House in Christchurch. The story describes a tourist exploring the town, taking in the sights and day-dreaming of the history behind the ancient ruins, “A large fireplace held a blazing fire, the logs spitting and roaring as they burst into flames. Light filtered through a decorated window casting magical colours and patterns on to the stone walls”.

Judges praised Marie for her descriptive narrative, providing those that hadn’t visited the Norman House a great insight.

Bryan added: “Storytelling is the perfect way for the local community to get involved in celebrating the power of the story. We're very happy to have inspired the community to share the stories that matter to them. We hope we've helped people realise their story writing ability and nurture the abundance of creative talent in the area.”

A Mudeford Yarn at Christchurch

Peggy Reed, Burton

There were squeals of delight from the throng of excited children as they landed crabs in their nets and line on Mudeford Quay. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon in June. The fish stall did a roaring trade and the crabbing lines sold out in no time.

It was hot, and the pub on the Quay was crowded. I sipped my cool cider, and then had another. The crowds began to disperse home to tea and I strolled along to Friars Cliff Beach which was quiet and peaceful after the clamber on the quay.

I enjoyed the satisfying crunch of the pebbles beneath my feet, then pausing i say on a shingly ridge and switched on my pocket tape recorder to capture the sounds of the surf washing the shore and receding in a perpetual rhythm. There was no-one around except for a distant figure by the breakwater fishing, it was quiet, peaceful, deserted and tranquil.

I was suddenly alarmed! There was a frightening sound, a great whooshing of water and a wide circle f white swishing foam appeared 20 yards out in the grey stained sea. I sat transfixed as a silvery dome rose from the foam and hovered shimmering above the waves. It must have measured 20 feet across. I noticed a large oval window facing me. I felt no fear, and as I gazed a face stared back at me; a bizarre face with silvery scales and flapping gills.

The window opened, and I jumped as a great fishing line was flung towards me. The hook was gigantic and missed me by inches as it crashed  on the pebbles beside me. It was quickly reeled in to be cast again. It caught my lapel and I was dragged down the shingle towards the ice-cold water. My eyes were now wide with shock and cold and wet I lay on the tidemark of foam dicing the water from the sand. But of the fish who had caught me there was no sign.

 

Christchurch - Where Past and Present Combine

Marie Godley, Christchurch
 
Molly loved sightseeing but she was now content to sit on the bench in the hot sun, to rest after our lunch. I decided to explore the ruin of the Norman House; unusual because it was built of stone and one of the few remaining examples of domestic architecture left, or so the tourist information leaflet said.

I walked through the entrance and immediately came to a standstill. Where was the sunshine? It was so dingy in here. My eyes adjusted, there were a couple of torches in holders on the walls, their flames giving off enough light to enable me to look round. There were barrels everywhere and a ceiling above my head. What was going on? I could hear footsteps above me. I moved cautiously to the stone staircase and started climbing; my heart racing.

I peered round the corner. The room was so bright in comparison to the one I had just left that it was hard for me to see again. Along one wall a large fireplace held a blazing fire; the logs spitting and roaring as they burst into flames. Light filtered through a decorated window casting magical colours and patterns onto the stone- walls.

I took a deep breath, mustering the courage to step into the room so I could see whoever was in there; I started to shake. The trembling became worse…

“George. George. Don’t you fall asleep.” I became aware of Molly’s voice at the same time as I realised that she was shaking my arm. “Come on. I want to see the Priory, it’s supposed to be the longest parish church in England,” she told me. She put away her guidebook and I risked a glance at the Norman house. No roof! I laughed at myself, at the need I’d had to check. What did I expect to see?

“Come on love,” I said, getting up my bones creaking from sitting on the hard bench. We walked past the figures clad in white, preparing for an afternoon of bowls and out onto the street; where we got swallowed up in the throng of people, some rushing round anxious to get their shopping done so they could return home or back to work. Others, tourists, like us, ambling, along taking in the sights.