Spaces now available at ICA’s two art groups.

A really welcoming group. Beginners upwards welcome.

Feel free to call, pop-in or message us here if you are interested.

With Bee’s Knees Bakes, kicks off next-week…

Thanks to SourdoughWey’s Lindsey Horton for a fantastic and fascinating Sourdough Bread Making for Beginners course on Saturday.

Can’t stop eating it. Delicious!

Last call for sourdough makers before Saturday’s course with SourdoughWey’s Lindsey Horton…

Becky Kelly, Vicky Hope and the entire coordinating team, have asked us to pass on the following message…

“A huge thank you to everyone who has donated, helped and supported us so far. We’ve had an amazing response and are truly staggered by your generosity.

Moving forward, we are planning to:

DONATIONS: We are PAUSING donations so we can prepare, pack and transport those items that we’ve already received.

This is with the exception of the following:

• Maternity clothes
• Nursing aids e.g. nursing bras and tops, nursing/breast pads, muslin cloths, nipple cream
• Women’s sanitary items
• Men’s toiletries e.g. shaving equipment, deodorant and wash
• Medication (unopened or new items only please – no prescription medication or items e.g. needles). We still need plasters and sterile gauze dressings (all sizes), sterile eye dressings, triangular bandages, crêpe rolled bandages, safety pins, disposable sterile gloves, tweezers, scissors, alcohol-free cleansing wipes, sticky tape, thermometers (preferably digital), skin rash cream (e.g. hydrocortisone), cream or spray to relieve insect bites and stings, burn cream, antiseptic cream, painkillers such as paracetamol (or infant paracetamol for children), aspirin (not to be given to children under 16), or ibuprofen, antihistamine cream or tablets, distilled water for cleaning wounds, eye wash and eye bath.
• Torches / camping lights
• Batteries

CONDITION OF ITEMS: People have been asking us what condition the donations need to be in. The easiest response is to say that items should be new or clean and in a good state – if you would wear or use it, then we think that’s a good guide.

NEXT STEPS: VOLUNTEERS AND CARS – If you can spare any time, we need volunteers from 10am in two places on Saturday 5th March…

1. ALL SECURE STORAGE, SOUTHWELL (see attached photo for directions)- We will need people and cars to help carry boxes and donations from the lock-up area into waiting cars for dropping down to the C2000 Hall, Easton. Please note that the storage area is up two flights of stairs, so you’ll need good fitness levels. For those driving, fitness is not an issue as we can pack around you.
2. C2000 HALL, EASTON – We will need people to help sort and pack donations. C2000 has been provided free of charge for the weekend, which is fantastic.

Again, massive thanks to all who have supported this effort to date. Portland you are, as always, amazing.”

As part of ICA’s Growing Local project, we are running four new courses over the next few weeks.

February’s joint winners were Cameron Lane and Adam Kirby!

These wonderful young men have volunteered their time and skills to build a memorial bench and wall for local runner Steven Woodward.

Thank you for making our beautiful Isle even more beautiful!

In 1805 The Earl of Abergavenny (an East Indiaman sailing ship) sank in Weymouth Bay, resulting in the tragic loss of 263 lives. Portland Museum has curated a fascinating collection of finds from the wreck, and, with the help of the local community, will soon be bringing these to life in digital form, enabling new audiences across the world to discover the ship’s treasures.

To help make this work possible, the Museum is offering a rare and rewarding opportunity for local people, aged 14+, to come onboard and volunteer as part of the project team.

As a project volunteer you will have the opportunity to get hands on with the objects and learn a brand new set of digital skills, from 3D scanning/photography of the objects themselves to the cataloguing of information related to each find, writing condition reports and populating a new website with the resulting 3D images and interpretations.

The training is being supplied by the museum’s partners, NAS (Nautical Archaeology Society) and MSDS Marine and will be fully accredited.

This is a wonderful opportunity, not only for those with an interest in maritime archaeology but also for those wanting to acquire a new set of transferable skills, enhance their CV and job prospects (including those with the heritage industry) or simply support their local museum to bring an exceptional story to a wider audience.

Volunteers would be expected to commit around a couple of hours a week for the process of scanning, recording and uploading to web the finds. This can be discussed with the museum.

There will be two phases to the training and recording: the first, in the early part of the spring (up until April); the second, during the autumn (September and October). The second phase will be a replicate of the first.

In between these times and during the summer, the Museum will be getting out and about with NAS and MSDS to deliver a range of outreach activities.

Anyone interested in volunteering can email the Portland Museum or pop into the ICA office and we will pass your details on to them.

Feeling so proud of all the amazing things we achieved together last year and can’t wait to see what we accomplish in the next.