THERE are very few eccentrics left in Hollywood these days - but it would be possible to argue the case that the actor Billy Bob Thornton is one of them. He has a fear of antiques - worrying when he comes to London because it's full of them - and insists
FEW albums have had as traumatic a genesis as Smile, the Beach Boys' legendary "lost" follow-up to Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson, the genius who had transformed the Beach Boys from purveyors of feel-good, sunshine-splashed pop to the Beatles' only serious
YOU will be hearing a lot more from local band Kalimoto over the next few months. If you visit the HMV or Virgin record stores in Festival Place, Basingstoke, you'll find the group's debut album on sale. Live performances in the South of England are in
TRY as he may, former Radio 1 and present Classic FM DJ Simon Bates can never escape the ghost of Our Tune, the segment on his morning show in which members of the public wrote in about their relationships. Read out with their names altered and accompanied
Romsey Town 2 Liss Athletic 0 A good game between two footballing sides went the way of hosts Romsey at the Bypass Ground on Wednesday night. Liss edged the opening, with some enterprising breaks from the back, but Romsey countered that by pushing strikers
ROMSEY collected their second home win in successive weekends last Saturday to further ease their relegation fears. For the first twenty minutes of this game they looked as if they might repeat the previous week's performance and treat the spectators
ROMSEY driver Rob Austin's impressive return to motor racing in the 2004 John Cooper Challenge saw him finish a very creditable eighth in the championship, partnering Martin Wallbank to a team finish of third. The season ended with an exciting race at
THERE are very few eccentrics left in Hollywood these days - but it would be possible to argue the case that the actor Billy Bob Thornton is one of them. He has a fear of antiques - worrying when he comes to London because it's full of them - and insists
WHERE do I begin to account for where it all goes wrong in The Grudge? And before you scribble in to tell me how great it is, I'd advise you to pop down the local video shop and rent a) the original or b) anything in the vein of Nightmare On Elm Street
A FATHER whose 19-year-old daughter died from cystic fibrosis says a cure needs to be found now for the debilitating disease. Trevor Jones said the courage his daughter Emma found to fight the terminal genetic condition was inspirational but also heartbreaking
DESPITE the best efforts of TV chef, Jamie Oliver, the ailing supermarket chain Sainsbury's slumped to its first-ever loss after counting the cost of the restructuring needed to revive its fortunes. In the 139-year history of middle England's former favourite
DESPITE the best efforts of TV chef, Jamie Oliver, the ailing supermarket chain Sainsbury's slumped to its first-ever loss after counting the cost of the restructuring needed to revive its fortunes. In the 139-year history of middle England's former favourite
A HAMPSHIRE engineering company has been bought up by New Zealand firm Opus International Consultants. The move aims to double turnover at Fareham-based Evans Grant and expand its reach into international markets. The firm is now to be renamed Evans Grant
HUNDREDS of you have supported our Stop Silent Calls Campaign since we launched it four weeks ago. Nearly 900 people have sent in our End the Sound of Silence coupons and dozens of you have written letters describing the menace of silent calls. Since
JASON Mann, BT's regional spokesman advises people to sign up to the Telephone Preference Service. You can prevent direct marketing calls by calling the freephone number on 0845 07 007 07. However, this is not a foolproof system as not all marketing firms
By dialling these numbers you may reduce the number of silent calls but they are not a foolproof way as predictive dialling software is used by other companies as well as telesales firms. Only 40 telemarketing firms have signed up to the Silent Callgard
THE upper stretches of The Dorset Stour at Sturminster Newton produced excellent results in The Hants, Wilts and Dorset Winter League despite the coldest night this winter so far which saw a heavy overnight frost. A big stocking of large skimmer bream
AINTS' cup-winning former manager Lawrie McMenemy scored with the crowds when he launched the new Disability Access Guide to Romsey at the Crosfield Hall. Other guests included Hugh Marriott the author of The Selfish Pig's Guide to Caring, the Mayor of
CAMPAIGNERS are asking how many more people must die before road chiefs take positive action to prevent further carnage on the A3057 through King's Somborne. Five people have died in crashes on the A3057 in the last four years between the Mottisfont turning
A BUSKER will be spared a homeless Christmas again this year after Winchester City Council bosses backed down on plans to evict him before the new year. Frank Williams has lived in his dome tent by the Itchen Navigation next to St Catherine's Hill for
GREEN-FINGERED residents in the New Forest could soon be able to do even more for recycling in the district. A plan to collect garden waste for composting every fortnight will begin in February if members of the council's environment review panel get
A MUSEUM devoted to the New Forest is going from strength to strength since it reopened earlier this year. The New Forest Museum in Lyndhurst underwent a £1.3m transformation and now boasts a wealth of new facilities, including a fully-equipped resource
Drink-spiking is a growing menace in pubs and clubs across the country, with many women falling victim to date-rape... IMAGINE groggily waking up in a strange house, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, with not a single memory of the past ten hours. It's
GENEROUS students and staff at Brighton Hill Community College have donated a staggering 576 gift-filled shoeboxes to the world's poorest children. As part of the Operation Christmas Child appeal, most of the impressive collection is now on its way to
WITHOUT investment in rail, the docks will fail. That was the blunt message from civic leaders in Southampton to Tony Blair over growing concerns about delays to a planned £40m upgrade of the city's rail connections to the Midlands. At a full council
A SOUTHAMPTON man who complained of seeing visions has gone missing from his city home. Richard Anthony Cook has not been seen since Monday, when he left his Newtown home with only the clothes he was wearing and a dark grey bag containing a small vegetable
THE POLICE officer held hostage at knifepoint during a terrifying three-hour siege at a Hampshire flat has spoken for the first time about his ordeal. At an awards ceremony that saw superintendent's congratulations and chief constable's commendations
GIRLS are outperforming boys in English tests for 14-year-olds in schools across Hampshire. Results are better than last year across the board but pupils in Southampton are still lagging behind the national average. The Department for Education and Skills
Winchester City Flyers' season finally took off in style on Sunday with an excellent win in Bournemouth. Flyers' first half performance, although fairly comprehensive in possession terms, was still riddled with the individual errors that have plagued
Beach Boys, Portsmouth Guildhall IN an age of rampant spurious litigation, simply calling themselves the Beach Boys is almost an invitation to further controversy. They were a cornerstone of the Californian youth culture of the 1960s with their distinctive
SOUTHAMPTON three-piece band Fleeing New York have recently released their debut album, AOK. The band, consisting of Matt Hayward on drums, Russell Marsden on guitar and vocals and Emma Richardson on bass and vocals, are accompanying the release with
WHITEHALL cash to create a community garden could hit the compost heap if yobs on an Eastleigh estate continue their reign of terror. Damage running into hundreds of pounds has been caused by vandals who have targeted the 14th Eastleigh Scout headquarters
AMONG other things Chewton Glen has been voted Best Country House Hotel, not just in the UK but in the world. Now that's some reputation to maintain. Yet while with one hand the five star New Milton establishment fields a constant barrage of accolades
Christmas and New Year at West Beach Christmas menu (£17.95) Starters: Leek and potato soup Smoked haddock cake, parsley butter sauce Chicken and wild mushroom pat, spiced apple and red onion chutney Mains: Seared fillet of salmon, black olives, crushed
WITHOUT investment in rail, the docks will fail. That was the blunt message from civic leaders in Southampton to Tony Blair over growing concerns about delays to a planned £40m upgrade of the city's rail connections to the Midlands. At a full council
ALTO saxophonist Martin Speake is regarded as one of the most creative musicians on the contemporary jazz scene, often working across musical boundaries. He will be in The Forge at The Anvil on November 24 with two of the best exponents of Indian classical
AWARD-WINNING comedian Jeff Green, who has established himself as one of the most popular comics currently working in the UK, will drop in to the Theatre Royal in Winchester on November 30 at 8pm. Jeff's razor-sharp observations combined with an abundant
A CLASSIC fisherman's story and some ghost tales to chill the blood provide an atmospheric double-bill at Guildford's Mill Studio. The Compleat Angler, on November 25 and 27, is Izaak Walton's celebrated tale of a fisherman's fight with his prey, set
NICK Faldo is Britain's greatest-ever golfer - revered as a hero for his six Major titles and record as the leading points scorer in Ryder Cup history. But many also regard him as a selfish, emotionally-cold loner to whom winning tournaments came first
Today's Principal Arrivals: Maersk Tide, roro, 0400, 34/35; CFF Seine, roro, 0530, 30; Islay Trader, cargo, 0800, dw; Autotransporter, roro, 1000, 201; Emden, roro, 1030, 43; CMA CGM Bizet, container, 1430, 205; P&O Nedlloyd Hudson, container, 1930
SOUTHAMPTON Airport's biggest carrier Flybe continues to court City investors with its first ever results announcement today. Flybe this morning hailed an interim pre tax profit of £14m and traffic growth of 24 per cent as evidence of the "robustness"
THE managing director of a company that makes call centre software has backed our Stop Silent Calls campaign. Danny Singer has warned that if telemarketing companies continue to make more calls than they can physically handle the industry will die. "There
A TOP government minister has pledged to take action to solve the problem of silent calls. Mike O'Brien has promised to look through some of the cases of people whose lives have been blighted by the calls - an issue highlighted in the Daily Echo and by
TODAY The Southern Daily Echo gives its thousands of readers the chance to add their name to our campaign to end the menace of silent calls. By completing the attached form you could help bring about a change in the law making it illegal for direct telephone
SILENT, anonymous and mysterious. The telephone calls can come at any time of the day or night sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes a dozen times. There is no voice on the other end of the line, just an eerie silence. Today the Daily Echo is backing
ATHERLEY and Palmerston are on collision course in the Rymans Denny Cup after contrasting third-round victories. In the words of Atherley's Ray Wilkinson, the Southampton club overcame Worthing by "the width of a fag paper" on an extra end but Palmerston
ROMSEY'S Christmas lights will be switched on tomorrow night (saturday) following the winter carnival lantern parade. The landlady of the town's Tavern pub has the honour of lighting up Romsey for Christmas. Sharon Conduct was nominated to carry out the
ROMSEY police believe a man claiming to be involved in a European survey may be a would-be burglar targeting elderly householders in the town. The man has called at a number of households and informed the elderly occupants they had been chosen to take
PLANS to do away with free parking on Saturdays at Test Valley Borough Council's Duttons Road offices in Romsey have been unveiled. It is in its very early stages and has to be discussed first by the council's overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday
DOUBTS have been raised about the legality of a clamping scheme in Winchester's most exclusive street. The Daily Echo reported that Sleepers Hill residents have clubbed together and introduced clamping in a bid to end rogue parking. One University College
A PLANNED new school in the heart of a major borough housing development is at the centre of a political row after education chiefs decided to put it on hold. Sherfield Park - a new development for 800 homes on the A33 near Sherfield-on-Loddon - includes
THE Nuffield's Studio Cafe Bar may have been on the sweltering side but that didn't stop the icy hand of fear clutching at our hearts for this creepy theatrical compendium of classic and modern ghost stories. Tales from the masters of the genre, including
A ROMSEY war veteran is celebrating this week after a public inquiry formally recognised the existence of Gulf War syndrome. Charles Plumridge, 64, fought in the 1991 Gulf War conflict - and has suffered a catalogue of illness since, such as osteo-arthritis
THE managing director of a company that makes call centre software has backed our Stop Silent Calls campaign. Danny Singer has warned that if telemarketing companies continue to make more calls than they can physically handle the industry will die. "There
A FREE event providing advice and information on affordable housing for people who want to get on the property ladder is due to be staged at Southampton's Civic Centre today. City housing chiefs are currently working with housing associations to try and
SOUTHAMPTON'S new Basics Bank has received a visit from former Tory Party leader Iain Duncan Smith. The service has just moved from Northam to the old St Mary's doctor's surgery in James Street, where it distributes food and clothing to the city's poorest
Last Saturday saw Solent Men's National League volleyball team up against local rivals Guildford in the Prosport Knockout Cup. Saturday's match saw Solent come back from 2-0 down in an entertaining contest only to fall just short, losing 3-2. Solent are
Micheldever are fast establishing themselves as the Wessex League's draw specialists - Saturday's draw at Netley was their eighth in sixteen league games. There's no doubt that Dever are a hard team to beat - they've only lost twice all season - but their
Weak and fluctuating North Westerly/ Northerly winds spoiled a nearly perfect day for the 183 boats that took part in the fifth week's racing, sponsored by Kayospruce Ltd. A 30 minute postponement on the Black Group course allowed the wind to steady and
ONE of the best bands to come out of Southampton, Delays, are giving something back to their fans next week with a charity gig in aid of Naomi House children's hospice. The band from Bitterne, who have gone from playing to crowds of friends and family
Winchester resident Doug Powell is revving up to drive around Britain in the Lombard Revival Rally later this month. Nothing too unusual in that perhaps, until you discover that Doug is 61 and has decided to return to competitive rallying after an interval
THE policeman at the centre of a siege in Fareham has spoken for the first time of his three-hour ordeal at the hands of a knifeman. PC Ben Bennett, 53, described the experience as frightening and harrowing, but ultimately life-changing. His story was
HUNDREDS of people are expected to flock to the centre of Fareham for a Christmas lights extravaganza on Sunday. A host of entertaining events have been arranged to start the Christmas season. Fairground rides and a live radio breakfast show with Ocean
VANDALS fired a catapult at a double-decker bus as it travelled along a dark country lane at Botley. The weapon was fired at such force that the stone smashed through a passenger window, bending the frame. Bus chiefs do not know how many passengers were
EASTLEIGH'S town centre streets will be flooded with a dazzling display of light on Saturday when Father Christmas and borough mayor Councillor June Hughes switch on the traditional Christmas illuminations. This year, more than 2km of lights will light-up
ELTON John, the Scissor Sisters, Patrick Stewart and the Duke of Norfolk; these are just a few of the famous names that have stayed at the Norfolk Royale Hotel in Bournemouth. This historic 19th century building is today turning back the clocks as it
ELTON John, the Scissor Sisters, Patrick Stewart and the Duke of Norfolk; these are just a few of the famous names that have stayed at the Norfolk Royale Hotel in Bournemouth. This historic 19th century building is today turning back the clocks as it
GOALKEEPING coach David Coles has hailed the instant impact of Kasey Keller - and backed Alan Blayney to return stronger from his West Brom and Watford experiences. With Antti Niemi (knee) and Paul Smith (thumb) both currently about a fortnight away from
WHILE Kevin Phillips was putting Pompey to the sword, our very own Super Kev (McMahon) was continuing his assault on the bookies. The Daily Echo tipster predicted the 2-1 over our fiercest rivals at odds of 8-1 and this took his £10 level stakes profit
