All eyes will be on the wind tomorrow morning as 1,750 boats, ranging from folkboats to America's Cup yachts, line up in the Solent for the start of the Hoya Round the Island Race. With a pressure system expecting to favour the big boats, a tantalising
AN ATTEMPT by campaigners to block multi-million-pound plans for a giant waste incinerator in Hampshire have been thrown out by a judge - who said their case "failed to get off the starting blocks''. Residents at Marchwood in the New Forest were given
Southampton's Waterfront Week will host two major events in September this year - Europe's largest on-water boat show and the start of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Volvo Ocean Race boats and race village will be situated in Southampton's Ocean Village, just
Jacobite, the Lymington Swan 48 helmed by Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson, won their big boat class at the Swan European in Cowes this week but failed to retain the overall title won in 1999. French Swan 42 Xaossa from Trinite sur mer, secured
THE DESPERATE mother of a teenage girl led astray by sex perverts in an internet chatroom has spoken for the first time about the family's ordeal. She told The Gazette how the lies and deceit of the men who preyed on her 14-year-old daughter turned her
THE SUCCESS of John Stephenson's benefit game at May's Bounty on Monday has prompted next year's beneficiary Shaun Udal to follow suit. Exactly a year after Hampshire played their final county championship match at the Basingstoke ground, the public were
TADLEY beat title rivals XL by just one point, 39-38, in their Hampshire North Premier Division One clash. Both teams knew defeat would put pay to any title hopes, and XL mounted a blistering start which saw them go four goals up. XL shooter Kirsty Champion
ONCE again Basingstoke racing driver Doug Ross has made a quick impression in his first season in the Elf Clio UK Cup. The Hatch Warren driver (pictured above)grabbed eighth place in the latest round at Silverstone after starting 21st on the grid in a
FOLLOWING their Middleton Cup defeat by Oxfordshire, Hampshire completed a dismal double when tumbling out of the Top Rink Championship. Playing at Ruislip, the foursome of Chris Daniels (Boscombe Cliff), Peter Hobday (IBM Portsmouth), Dean Morgan and
HYDE ABBEY have secured a place in the third round of the Travelsphere Top Club Championship, with a 3-1 away victory over Hedge End - after taking all but the pairs. Pat Wakeford had a close 21-18 victory in the singles, while Dot Tosdevine skipped her
AFTER its most successful season ever, the Solent 'Rising Stars' youth basketball programme is sending another group of youngsters to seek their fortunes out west. Seven of their brightest prospects are off to the Cage Basketball Camp at Oklahoma Christian
TONY HILL proved to be an ace in Las Vegas before returning to confirm himself as the King of Clubs in his own patch. Southampton Golden Ring ABC's National Schoolboys champion even had Mike Tyson and top promoter Bob Arum nodding in appreciation with
Hampshire's Andy Jenkins will be going into next month's televised World Matchplay at Blackpool on a high after a run of top results. The Cosham bricklayer picked up the second European title of his career when he beat Peter Manley in the final of the
Steve Blakeley's 154 top finish in the Eastleigh Town & Guests League has lasted just one week after Steve Perren rattled in a brilliant 160 finish for Foresters B. Gordon Williams even had a go at topping that finish but recorded a 124. Martin Hurst
AFTER a nine-month search for the right individual, Chilworth Science Park has appointed Tony Davies OBE to the role of business champion for the Southampton Innovation Hub. The Hub is part of a region wide network of business clusters launched late last
Autumn Season 2001 FAMOUS names and classic shows are promised for the autumn season at The Mayflower, the full line-up for which was announced this week. As ever, musicals feature heavily, from Andrew Lloyd Webber's moving Sunset Boulevard (November
COSMIC West End musical Return to the Forbidden Planet will be touching down at the Mayflower this autumn. The camp extravaganza, which mixes Fifties sci-fi, classic rock'n'roll and misquotes from Shakespeare, is packed with stellar tunes, including Good
OPEN air entertainment is on offer from the Maskers Theatre Company from July 18-28 with their latest production, The Hypochondriac, at Mottisfont Abbey, near Romsey. Moliere's classic comedy features sumptuous costumes which re-create the atmosphere
ONE of last year's big hits at The Mayflower, Doctor Dolittle, is returning to the theatre this autumn - with a new face in the leading role. Taking over from Phillip Schofield as Doctor Dolittle, the man who can talk to the animals, is well-known actor
THE Gantry's summer programme is continuing at other venues, despite the main building still being shut. The diverse line-up of acts will be appearing at venues including the Turner Sims Concert Hall and the Nuffield Theatre, both in Southampton. Structural
Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Point, Eastleigh MIKE MARAN'S one-man version of the love story between an Italian soldier and a Greek civilian captured the spirit of Louis de Bernieres' novel a lot more successfully than the sugar-coated film of the
FORMER EastEnders star Leslie Grantham has been announced as one of the stars of Bournemouth Pier Theatre's summer production, Theft. Grantham, who played pub landlord Den Watts in the BBC soap opera, is also well-known for his parts in a string of other
SHAMED former Hampshire County Council leader Freddie Emery-Wallis has today been jailed for nine months for child abuse. Childline immediately branded the sentence as being too short. The 74-year-old veteran Tory politician had the sentence imposed upon
THE 44,348 luxury cruise ship Royal Princess is due to arrive in Southampton to undertake a programme of European voyages tomorrow. Originally named in Southampton by Diana, Princess of Wales in November 1984, the vessel can carry up to 1,275 passengers
SATURDAY night's Big Session at The Brook in Southampton is billed as the "gig of the century". This may be going a bit far, but there is no doubt it's going to be a night to remember. Joining the Oysterband are a selection of stellar names from the modern
MUSIC to chill the blood is on its way to Southampton. Nerf Herder, the pop-punk band who provided the theme tune and some of the incidental music to the cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will be playing at The Joiners on Friday. Support will be
Jet Harris and his Shadows, Ferneham Hall, Fareham BACK in the late-Fifties Jet Harris was spearheading Britain's rock 'n' roll revolution as one of the four Shadows backing Cliff Richard. That distinctive instrumental sound and the trademark Shadows
IT MAY be the biggest open space in the city, but hardly a blade of grass was to be seen yesterday as thousands of pop fans flocked to Southampton Common for Power In The Park 7. An estimated 50,000 people filled the Common to enjoy the unbeatable combination
EIGHTIES pop mavericks Bad Manners will be entertaining in their own, unique fashion at Hedge End Club next month. The singular outfit, fronted by the gargantuan Buster Bloodvessel, will be playing at the club on July 24. The band have been around for
COACH Rod Lock does not doubt Angus Maclean's ability to get in among the medals at the weekend's South of England Championships at Haringey. "Once we set a target for Gus, he usually manages to achieve it," said Lock, still glowing after Maclean's inspired
SOUTHAMPTON-based 400m athlete Iwan Thomas ran 46.53secs for third place in Helsinki's Olympic Stadium last night. Thomas, who aims to once again compete with the world's best one-lap sprinters after being plagued by injury, was on the shoulder of South
LORDSHILL Road Runners are hoping their change of plan for their annual 10k race will pay off on Sunday. A total of 120 runners have already entered for the race, which has been staged on Wednesday evenings in the past - between the summer's RR10 series
ACCLAIMED actress Joan Chen strays behind the camera for this sappy romantic drama about a love affair that unfolds in the Big Apple. Womanising chef Will Keane (Richard Gere) lives for the present. He doesn't believe in forever and shies away from commitment
The Weitz brothers re-work the classic fantasy Heaven Can Wait as a family-friendly vehicle for comedian Chris Rock. It's an awkward fit - their leading man is synonymous with outrageous humour, whereas Down To Earth is light and inoffensive. The end
Pearl Harbor has all the makings of this year's Titanic a three-hour running time, extravagant costumes and sets, spectacular set pieces and young lovers caught up in the ensuing drama. But Michael Bay's blockbuster doesn't need an iceberg to sink it.
A CELEBRATION of that extraordinarily Australian trait of being able to see the world with its trousers down, The Dish is a simple pleasure. It's based on the true story of how a small team of boffins who operated a huge satellite dish next to a sheep
A 20-year-old Totton driver who caused the deaths of four young people after falling asleep at the wheel while returning from an all-night rave was today sent to a young offenders' institution for two and a half years. Charlotte Frankham, who had taken
A TEENAGE knifeman who robbed a Hampshire convenience store may have been caught on camera. Detectives are studying CCTV footage handed over by Alldays Stores Ltd following the raid on its shop at Water Lane, Totton. As reported in yesterday's Daily Echo
ROBIN WESTON hit his first half-century of the season to help Middlesex recover from a slow start in their CricInfo County Championship Division Two clash against Hampshire. Weston, whose previous best this term was 29, made an unbeaten 51 as Middlesex
REVOLUTIONARY 20mph speed limits are set to be introduced on roads in the Basingstoke area. Basingstoke council's Cabinet approved the move on Wednesday night, saying they want to save the lives of children and the elderly in residential areas where there
A MAJOR medical project for Basingstoke took a big step closer this week when the Earl of Portsmouth laid the foundation stone for The ARK a £4.5 million medical education centre. The three-storey building, which has been the dream of doctors for several
Today's Principal Arrivings: Autofreighter, vehicle carrier, 0200, 201 link; hual Trubaudor, ro/ro, 0430, 40; Arcadia, cruise ship, 0530, 106; Verona, ro/ro, 0600, 34/35; Danica Green, general, 0900, 33; Nordsee, general, PM, 206E; North Sea Trader, general
Clubs paid a fitting tribute to the memory of Leigh Frances when two members of each of the competing clubs formed an archway of oars through which the new Poole Rowing Club racing four bearing her name was launched at the Poole Regatta. Leigh, who lost
STONEHAM Park Sports & Social Club was the venue for the third AGM and presentation evening of the Southampton Trailblazers Basketball Club. Acting chairman Mel Garlick spoke of the major influence the club has had on junior basketball in its short
SOUTHAMPTON Operatic Society have come over all Star Trek in their latest production - but they're convinced Gilbert and Sullivan purists won't be saying "Beam me up" when they see the results. Director David Rayner, who won a Daily Echo Curtain Call
SOUTHAMPTON Operatic Society is getting ready to go where no amateur theatre group has gone before. Their latest production, a radically revised version of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic HMS Pinafore - which the group have retitled simply Pinafore -
REGINALD Perrin may be his best-known creation, but comic author David Nobbs has been responsible for a host of other just as loveable literary characters - one of whom will be given a new lease of life at Salisbury Playhouse later this month. Henry Pratt
Four Plays for Coarse Actors, The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke, June 14-15 IMAGINE all the things that could possibly go wrong in an amateur dramatics production, and treble it. This is the premise behind Michael Green's play Four Plays for Coarse Actors
A SOUTHAMPTON man, who believes just one jolt could kill him, has had his urgent operation cancelled three times. Salesman Tony West, who has a bone missing in his neck, has been told that a minor car shunt could kill him or leave him paralysed. Mr West
A MEDIEVAL silver pendant thought to have magical powers was among several pieces of jewellery declared treasure trove at inquests in Winchester yesterday. The pendant dates back to the 13th Century. It is set with an amethyst and engraved with a Latin
THE HAMPSHIRE schoolgirl who ran away with her best friend's dad has spoken out for the first time - but vowed not to return to her distraught family. Rachel New, 16, who vanished from her Southampton home last week, said she was happy where she was in
Haven, The Joiners, Southampton, June 16 IT WAS by sheer luck that Haven got together. The summer of 1997 and Haven founder members Nat Watson and Gary Briggs met in a second-hand record shop in Cornwall where they both spotted the same Quicksilver Messenger
Hugh Cornwell, The Brook, June 27 SID VICIOUS of The Sex Pistols died of a heroin overdose at the height of his notoriety and Joy Division's Ian Curtis hanged himself shortly before the release of the band's second album, but what do punk rock's angry
A most flamboyant rock group of three decades is honoured in a tribute show at the Anvil, Basingstoke, on Friday. Magic will be celebrating the music rather than the image of the famous quartet, including in the show all the best-known Queen hits like
ONE OF the biggest names in British jazz, John Dankworth, will be performing with his quintet at The Concorde Club, Eastleigh, next week. Dankworth started out playing the clarinet but switched to the saxophone and became a leading figure in post-war
POST across Fareham will remain undelivered today as workers walk out in protest over a raft of disputes with postal bosses including the timing of meal breaks. In the first of two 24-hour strikes workers at the Newgate Lane sorting office began picketing
HASSAN KACHLOUL has plumped to join Ipswich less than a year after turning down a move to the Suffolk club. Kachloul's decision will be doubly frustrating for Saints, who were not only snubbed in their attempts to keep him, but lost out on the £1.8 million
Wyvern Football Club are holding Under-15 trials at Wyvern Technology College, Botley Road, Fair Oak, on Saturday, June 23, at 10am. For further details contact M Rogers on 023 8069 6427. Weston Sports are also staging a six-a-side competition during
SAY It Isn't So is a film which almost makes me want to hang up my reviewer's cap and never set foot in a multiplex again. Indiana animal shelter employee Gilly Noble (Chris Klein) is a sweet-natured and caring soul who has always wanted to meet his natural
THE summer blockbuster season begins in earnest with Stephen Sommers' spectacular adventure. Following a jaw-dropping prologue chronicling the rise and fall of The Scorpion King (Dwayne Johnson) some 5,000 years ago, the film opens proper in 1933, eight
LOVE, honour and sweet music make a powerful combination in John Madden's luscious film of Louis de Berniere's best- selling romantic novel. The small Greek island of Cephallonia has seen its share of upheavals - massacres, earthquakes, myths and trails
This months free computer wallpaper celebrates one of the South's great events, The Hoya Round the Island Race which sets sail on Saturday 16th June. The 50 nautical mile race, anticlockwise around the island, is one of the world"s biggest yacht races
Title holders Havant fear their unbeaten Southern Electric ECB Premier League record could go when they send a weakened team to face third-placed BAT at Southern Gardens tomorrow (11.30am). The defending champions, who won all five 50-over games before
SAINTS youngster Brian Howard can hold his head high after a solid performance in an England Under-17 side who slipped to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Italy in Tivoli yesterday. Howard was not in the starting line-up but patiently waited for his chance
A PUBLIC relations woman - who became the TV face of the Basingstoke-based Automobile Association - was the target of a series of disturbing letters. Basingstoke magistrates heard a 43-year-old viewer became fascinated by Rebecca Rees after watching her
A FORMER employee of a Hampshire estate is claiming compensation after alleging he was worked so hard that he suffered a nervous breakdown before being made redundant. David Elsbury has taken the trustees of Wellington Re-settled Estate, at Stratfield
Lenny Henry, Southampton Guildhall LENNY HENRY has finally embarked on middle age. How can you tell? He's got himself a concept. His latest, all-new stage show Have You Seen This Man? sees one of Britain's foremost clowns giving a comic overview of his
The Waterside area plays host to the 24th Hampshire & Isle of Wight Games on Sunday with more than 100 teams from all over the county competiting in 18 different sports. Sunday's event is being hosted by the local sports councils of the New Forest
A BABY was rushed to hospital after eating a lump of cannabis she found at her family home, the Echo can reveal. The 13-month-old tot swallowed the class B drug while playing at her Hampshire home, and was taken to the city's General Hospital. Her distraught
THEY are three centimetres long, live in a tent and leave a trail of victims itching in their wake. Headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, numbness, blisters and breathing problems are all among the known side-effects of touching the furry caterpillar destined
SOUTHAMPTON'S sports complex the Quays celebrates its second birthday this weekend with the best possible present - news that visitor numbers are up by 20 per cent. As two-year-old toddlers splashed happily in the pool to mark the second anniversary,
THE sun shone brightly but it needn't have bothered as everyone brought their sunshine with them on the Kids Out fun day. Paulton's Park near Ower was a seething mass of smiling children and grinning grown-ups, all enjoying the ninth annual outing for
LOOK out! Singer and composer Gordon Haskell is in a very positive state of mind. He is about to release his best ever album, appropriately titled Look Out. He has a new manager and on July 5 together with fellow singer-songwriter Robbie McIntosh he will
DRINKING in Fareham town centre could be banned if a by-law is backed by councillors. The move follows a failed previous attempt to ban drinking in the town centre. Despite a police clampdown on drink-related incidents in the town centre, Fareham borough
BRAM STOKER must be spinning in his grave. Inexperienced director Patrick Lussier has transformed his timeless tale of bloodlust into bloodless and campy schlock horror. No wonder it's taken the picture six months to wash up on these shores (undergoing
TAKE the Bard's most whimsical comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, add a dollop of US high school teen comedy and a chunk of contrived quirkiness, blend mercilessly in the mincing machine of commercial awareness and you'll end up somewhere near Get Over
IF California in the 60s was the place for good vibrations, it was also the sun-drenched backdrop for America's initial infatuation with hardcore drugs. For one buttoned-up young man from the east coast, the free and easy lifestyle he discovers there
