WHILE travelling through India more than a decade ago, Islander Erling McCracken met an old yoga guru who prescribed for a happy and fulfilling life a daily discipline of yoga, meditation and a stick of liquorice. Those wise words inspired Erling to build
FORMER Saints defender Steve Baker admits it's been a bitter-sweet experience watching Farnborough Town hog the FA Cup publicity in recent weeks. The north Hampshire minnows travel to Highbury's marble halls tomorrow to take on the reigning Premiership
HAMPSHIRE'S education chief has given his backing to controversial plans for Worting infant and junior schools to merge and form a new Basingstoke primary school from September next year. The 330-place primary school will be on the site of the present
SOUTHAMPTON star Marian Pahars will be in Basingstoke on Monday to help launch a special football tournament that aims to deliver a vital cash boost to borough schools bidding for specialist status. The inaugural Urbis Lighting/Basingstoke Gazette Challenge
HAMPSHIRE Farmers' Markets is to extend its programme of weekend markets around the county to 83 this year. That's an increase of 15 markets from last year and will see them being held in 13 Hampshire towns and cities. Basingstoke and Southsea have increased
HAMPSHIRE firefighters could soon be striking on two fronts, union chiefs have warned. Fire Brigade Union members will vote next week on whether to begin a series of walk-outs in support of a colleague who was sacked last month. They are already set to
ONE of the great Russian orchestras, the Moscow Philharmonic makes a return visit to The Anvil under its chief conductor, Yuri Simonov. After Liszt's rousing symphonic poem, Les Preludes, Sibelius's dark-hued Violin Concerto will be performed by Priya
FANS of classic British cinema will almost certainly have heard his work - but outside the world of classical music, few people know the name of Sir Arnold Bax. Aside from composing the score for David Lean's film of Oliver Twist, starring Alec Guinness
SCHOOLBOY sailor Seb Clover was honoured by members of the Isle of Wight Council this week. The 16-year-old Ryde School pupil was presented with a certificate celebrating his achievements as well as a book on The Solent signed by the Island's coastal
A TEENAGER from Binstead on the Isle of Wight has seen her poem celebrating Island life put on permanent display at Carisbrooke Castle. Samantha Warren, 16, officially unveiled the plaque containing the poem with Island council leader, Shirley Smart.
A ROW is still raging over a house in Chandler's Ford that people say looks like a castle. Neighbours and passers-by have labelled it a fortress, a prison and a public toilet and say it doesn't match the original plans which won approval from the borough
SAINTS face Millwall tomorrow with their biggest injury-list of the season. Manager Gordon Strachan admits he has been fortunate so far this campaign, but will see the depth of his squad tested in the St Mary's FA Cup fourth round tie. A second scan on
I SPY with my little eye something beginning with B. Bland? Boring? Banal? All three adjectives certainly apply to Betty Thomas's misfiring revamp of the hit Sixties TV show I Spy, which paired Robert Culp and Bill Cosby as undercover operatives investigating
THERE you are in the middle of the Bering Sea when your little salvage tug sails right into a great luxury cruise liner... What are you gonna do? When you're Captain Sean Murphy (Gabriel Byrne) and his trusty crew of salvage experts you climb aboard and
Richard Bland and Matt Le Tissier renewed their golfing partnership in Singapore yesterday - but it was a reunion destined to end in tears. Stoneham-based Bland finished second from last on day one of the Singapore Masters, a day which finished incomplete
A PAINTER and decorator appeared before Southampton Magistrates' Court today, charged with the attempted murder and kidnap of his former partner. Leon Coombes, 40, was charged following an alleged gun and knife attack on the 25-year-old woman in Netley
One of the Solent's most high-profile and luxurious yachts, Leopard, has arrived in Auckland ahead of the four-day New Zealand Millennium Cup Superyacht Regatta 2003, being staged as a curtain raiser to the America's Cup. Mike Slade's 97-foot racer cruiser
Rain, then sun and finally some breeze was the sequence of conditions for the fleet in the second race of the Royal Southampton Yacht Club frostbite series. Dragonfly 800 Scooby III (Simon Forbes) led the multihulls from the start and won by two minutes
BASINGSTOKE Town have rejected an initial offer from Queens Park Rangers for prized asset Craig McAllister. The Nationwide division two side want to sign the 22-year-old striker after he impressed in a trial match last week against Portsmouth at Northwood
NEIGHBOURHOOD wardens are unlikely to be hired in the New Forest - despite the success of a scheme in neighbouring Test Valley. District councillors dismissed the idea of wardens, saying what the area really needed was more police officers. Jeremy Heron
HAMPSHIRE County Council's leader has pledged not to take a £1,660 pay increase this year - to show solidarity with residents facing a 15 per cent rise in their council tax bills. Ken Thornber said it would be wrong to accept the cash when he was asking
LITTLE Alice Stubbings realised her dream of meeting a princess this morning when the Princess Royal came to Southampton. The five-year-old, a pupil at Meonstoke Infant School, was wearing a sparkling new dress bought especially for the big occasion from
IT WAS the party to beat all parties - and a fun and fitting climax to six years of non-stop fundraising for disabled youngsters in Southampton. Last night's gala sports dinner was the final major event of the Rose Road Children's Appeal - aimed at raising
SOUTHAMPTON is top of the charts for its music education after scooping a hat-trick of national awards The city council's music services department has won the National Music Council's diploma of merit for the third year running. The awards are made to
ANGRY members of the Island's Bus Users Group have launched a campaign to cut fares for Isle of Wight pensioners. Campaigners say they hope to force Southern Vectis to have a concessionary rate on the company's 28-day pensioner's Rover ticket axed last
HEALTH bosses could cut services in Fareham and Gosport as they struggle to recoup a £1.3m overspend. Most likely to face the axe is an expansion of the breast-screening programme for women aged 65 to 70. The bombshell comes just a year after the Daily
WHILE travelling through India more than a decade ago, Islander Erling McCracken met an old yoga guru who prescribed for a happy and fulfilling life a daily discipline of yoga, meditation and a stick of liquorice. Those wise words inspired Erling to build
IT'S all change down in Southampton docks where work is under way preparing for the arrival of Queen Mary 2, the world's biggest passenger liner. A major revamp of the Queen Elizabeth II passenger terminal at 38/9 berth in the Eastern Docks will see the
A familiar face has arrived in New Milton - Paolo Bagnuro formerly of Il Cervo in Lyndhurst has brought some of his Italian magic to a new restaurant in Station Road. At Paolo's Ristorante Italiano, he hopes to recreate the success of the last 15 years
BOSSES at Hampshire County Council are hoping for a quick judicial review from the High Court as they continue their bid to evict travellers camped at Peak Copse near Dummer. The travellers, who are fighting against a court decision that they must leave
There was more frustration for Ellen MacArthur and the crew on Kingfisher II this week when the northerly winds that had looked set to give them a quickfire start to their bid for the Jules Verne Trophy vanished into thin air. The all-important weather
Crew Volunteers taking part in the Round Britain Challenge have gone into training in preparation for the inaugural race in April. To give extra impetus to their efforts, organisers the Challenge Business this week announced that the race will be run
The last sailing event of the Lymington Town Sailing Club calendar attracted a mix of experts and exhibitionists as fancy dress became a criteria for winning the Hunt Cup. Each competitor in a fleet of ten dinghies, two keelboats and one powerboat had
Today's Principal Arrivals: Aquarius Leader, ro/ro, 0400, 40; Autorunner, ro/ro, 0830, 201 link; CMA CGM Berlioz, container, AM, 207; Little Lady P, bulk, AM, 47; Wloclawek, ro/ro, AM, 105; NYK Antares, container, 1300, 206; MOL Priority, container, 2359
Most European countries have a similar number of school days each year, but there the similarities end. In the wake of Southampton and Hampshire's momentous decision to switch to six terms, Gareth Lewis looks at how they organise their school year on
NIGHT-time patrols are under way on the western edge of the New Forest in a bid to save love-seeking toads from being flattened by cars. The Forestry Commission issued an appeal to motorists to take care at night because toads may be on the road. The
SOUTH coast-based sandwich restaurant Subway is topping the statistics as the fastest growing franchise chain in the world. With over a hundred restaurants in the UK and circa 18,000 across the world, Subway promotes a healthy alternative to 'junk food
A LEADING Southampton clergyman says he will throw open the doors of his church to asylum-seekers who he claims will otherwise be left to die on the streets. The Rev Ian Johnson, team rector of Southampton city centre parish, claims new legislation is
SEVENTY-seven-year-old Jim Dowdall from Southampton is proof indeed that it's never too late to Commit to Get Fit. Despite suffering a mini-stroke in 1996, Jim was adamant he wanted to get in shape to run his first marathon and in 1998 he joined Southampton
A PROJECT to launch sports events and activities in the heart of Southampton's inner city should be up and running by the end of the year. The Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, in St Marks Road, splashed out £100,000 on a derelict building standing opposite
THEY started out playing death metal, graduated to rap, and have now had their eyes opened to the wonder of melodies. A Val Doonican-style rocking chair might be a long way off for Taproot, but the Michigan-based band have certainly matured musically
ROCK, pop, ska, reggae, big band, heavy metal. If nothing else, Reel Big Fish have certainly got their musical bases covered. Spurning the back-to-basics approach of their contemporaries, the six-piece Southern Californian outfit thrive on the 'too many
THE only reason Eastbourne is ever likely to achieve legendary status is through its disproportionate number of retirement homes. It's certainly the last place you would expect to find a burgeoning music scene. Oddly, though, the Sussex seaside town has
THE Daily Echo has thrown its weight behind a campaign to safeguard vital health services on the Isle of Wight launched today. The campaign to save the accident and emergency service at St Mary's Hospital in Newport as well as some maternity unit services
DETECTIVES are hunting a mystery driver who grabbed an Isle of Wight schoolboy and tried to pull him into his car. The 12-year-old had been walking home from school when the terrifying kidnap bid happened. Police said the victim, who has not been named
COUNCIL chiefs today hit back at criticisms that they did not respond quickly enough to residents' complaints over the smell coming from a flat where the body of a man was found. As reported in yesterday's Daily Echo, neighbours discovered the body of
MOVES to stage the prestigious Island Games on the Isle of Wight have stepped up a gear. A high-profile delegation from the International Island Games Association will be taking part in a two-day tour of the Isle of Wight's facilities today and tomorrow
WORKMEN put the finishing touches to one of the historic Islandline underground trains which is scheduled to go back into service on Monday. The two-car unit will return to its duties on the line resplendent in its historic livery which it bore when it
FARMERS and landowners on the Isle of Wight are being invited to a special workshop being staged to show how land can be managed in a more environmentally friendly way. The Newport-based workshop will be run by the Department for Environment, Food and
Events taking place at the Quay Arts Centre in Newport during February and March. Character comedy CHARACTER comedy at its best comes to the Quay Arts Centre in Newport on February 20 when Count Arthur Strong delivers a hilarious talk on the mysteries
COUNCIL chiefs have stepped in to back the campaign to save the home ground of one of the town's most famous football clubs. A big question mark has hung over the future of football at Pirelli General's Chestnut Avenue ground since the cablemaking giant
MARK McGhee says best friend Gordon Strachan has a Saints side good enough to lift the FA Cup this season. But the Millwall boss still believes his players have the class and quality to spring an upset at St Mary's tomorrow. Strachan was best man at McGhee's
OKAY, so it's not The Ritz but the bus station caf is a culinary gem, just the same. Doctors and the health food industry would disagree but nothing beats a good fry-up - and believe me they don't come any better than in this caf. This is the last "greasy
JENNIFER Aniston trades the Hollywood lifestyle for depressing small-town life in her latest movie, The Good Girl. The film looks set to help Mrs Pitt prove that there's a lot more to her acting ability than playing Rachel in Friends. Jennifer plays Justine
Films showing in the Hampshire region until January 30. 8 MILE (15): Eminem stars as a poor aspiring rapper who turns to music to try to gain some respect.- Odeon Cinema, Southampton; UGC, Ocean Village; The Screen, Winchester. THE 25th HOUR (15): Spike
