If you have a deep connection to Sandown make sure you mark Saturday 4th July into your diaries for the Sandown Jolly.
Residents and those with deep connections to the town are invited to drop in, bring an historic photograph or personal object, and share their memories.
Free lunch, refreshments and fun activities
Do you have something you want to share, a piece of Sandown that you want remembered?
On Saturday 4th July you can join Isle of Wight artist Teresa Grimaldi, writer Anmarie Bowler and oral history specialists, Discover More CIC.
There will be lunch and refreshments provided and fun activities to help you get the creative writing juices flowing.
A “penned portrait”
The event is part of a wider project called Sandown Scribe, which aims to weave together creative writing, fine art photography, and striking visual installations to create a multi-layered “penned portrait” of the town.
Anmarie, the founder of the literary zine Brevity and a fervent advocate for flash fiction, will spend the summer immersed in all things Sandownish. Her residency will culminate in an original work of fiction inspired by Sandown – which visitors to the Sandown Jolly can help contribute to.
New Romantics flocked to Zanies
Suzanne shares her memories of Zanies,
“1981: New Romantics flocked to Zanies, the Sandown nightclub that rivalled Blitz. I was one of them: Cleopatra eyes, backcombed hair, handmade clothes, and way too much makeup. The stairs to nowhere. Poseurs on a mirrored floor. Cocktails in jam jars. Fading to grey.
“Unseen, at a respectable distance, Dad, waiting in a pastel blue Vauxhall Viva to take us home at 1am.”
Gary reminisces about King’s Head,
“My favourite place was the King’s Head. I remember taking pictures of Alison sitting on the balcony with the palm trees, blue sky, and blue sea in the background.
“When I posted them online, my mates commented, ‘Whereabouts abroad are you?‘ ‘Sandown, mate,‘ I replied. It’s derelict now. Just a memory, just a photograph.
“The other day, I posted a photograph of a burnt-out hotel – it’s Sandown, take your pick. My mates commented: ‘Whereabouts are you? Hope you’re okay.’“
Where and when
The Sandown Jolly takes place on Saturday 4th July 2026 at Boojum&Snark (105 High Street, Sandown PO36 8AF) between 11am and 4pm.
