GEOFF Butler is backing Newport IoW to win their fight against relegation from the Ryman Division 1 - provided they start taking their chances. The Bashley manager readily admits the Islanders had ample opportunity to win Monday's 1-1 draw at St George's
HEADS turned at a Romsey hairdressers when a royal-lookalike dropped in for tea. Minutes before the Queen's double actress Jeanette Charles arrived at Finesse last Thursday morning, her butler laid out the red carpet hinting that someone very important
BOROUGH politicians have given a £14million scheme to amalgamate two private schools on one site at Florence Nightingale's former home a tick of approval. Southern area planning members unanimously backed the United Church Schools Foundation Ltd plans
WINCHESTER residents have been told they could see council tax bills hiked up 45 per cent in 2007 as a result of housing revaluations. Around 50 concerned rate-payers attended a public meeting held by South Hampshire Opposes Unfair Taxes (SHOUT), in which
YOUNGSTERS have masked their school holiday boredom with a series of art workshops. The Theatre Royal in Winchester has been offering fun-filled activities for children over the Easter holidays, from street and contemporary dancing to script-writing and
TELEVISION coverage of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will be revolutionised in 2005. Britain's biggest commercial terrestrial channel, ITV1, has confirmed it will broadcast live race action from seven of the BTCC's ten race meetings,
TELEVISION coverage of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will be revolutionised in 2005. Britain's biggest commercial terrestrial channel, ITV1, has confirmed it will broadcast live race action from seven of the BTCC's ten race meetings,
THE Monte Carlo rally course is gruelling enough for a conventional car, but that hasn't stopped Vauxhall from entering its experimental HydroGen3, a fuel cell prototype based on the Zafira MPV, in a very special event to prove its reliability. The car
THE future of the Fenwick Hospital, Lyndhurst, was still uncertain today after health chiefs met to debate a £8m black hole in their finances. Members of the New Forest Primary Care Trust described the closure of all 20 beds at the hospital as temporary
ONE year ago there was doom and gloom in Hampshire's health services as the Daily Echo reported that jobs and services would have to go as trusts battled to balance the books. Twelve months on and history is repeating itself as the real cost of solving
TICKETS are selling fast for a double-header of mystery, murder and deceit at The Mayflower this month. JB Priestley's classic thriller An Inspector Calls takes to the stage from April 12 to 16. When Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous
FANS of the original Hanna-Barbera cartoon series and children who have recently discovered the canine hero and his mystery-solving friends will love this brand new stage show at The Mayflower next week. Scooby-Do! in Stagefright is an incredible theatre
HANGER Farm Arts Centre, a converted 17th-century barn, was creaking at the seams last week when the full capacity audience enjoyed a feast of theatre. Groups from across Hampshire performed ten one-act plays at Totton Festival of Drama. Professional
The Dalian Players will be performing their next production with their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks in mystery comedy Out of Sight, Out of Murder by Fred Carmichael. The play is based around Peter Knight, an author who decides to get away to
FOR years they were king and queen of the party scene. Now after 60 years of marriage, Jim and Peggy Hollis have decided to slow things down a little. To celebrate their diamond wedding, they opted for a quiet party at home with a few friends and family
FLUORIDE could be added to Southampton's water supplies after it was revealed nearly half the city's five-year-olds have decayed teeth. Southampton health bosses last night agreed to begin action which could see a water fluor-idation scheme introduced
WE'VE had an oil rush now Hampshire is preparing for a gold rush. The discovery of the precious metal was made by chance at an activity centre in the county. Welly-clad youngsters at the YMCA's Fairthorne Manor in Curdridge near Botley struck gold during
SOUTHAMPTON'S WestQuay shopping centre was transformed into a magical storybook world at a reading event for school children. Books including classics from Roald Dahl and contemporary tales from Dick King-Smith were brought to life by readers who re-enacted
TWO Southampton-born stars have made it into a rich list of Britain's young music millionaires. Coldplay drummer Will Champion and singer Craig David have fortunes of £10m and £9m respectively, according to figures compiled by The Sunday Times.
Melodic punk musers Idlewild are back with a new album and tour. What's On's Noel Davies chatted to the band's guitarist Rod Jones ahead of their gig at the Guildhall in Southampton on Thursday... IDLEWILD. Protagonists of moody, melodic punk, seismic
THOSE lucky enough to get their hands on tickets for the Manic Street Preachers' sold-out gig at Southampton Guildhall on Sunday have really got something to look forward to. Not only will they witness a performance by one of the greatest rock acts of
THE two to four-year-olds at ABC Pre-school celebrated Easter with a parade and concert, complete with Easter bonnets. The pre-school, based at Andover Baptist Church was packed with proud parents. Lynne Turner, one of the managers said: "It went very
SOUTHAMPTON metal nuts Rather have got more rock in their riffs than a geologist's lunch box and they're playing The Joiners on Sunday night alongside Through These Lies and Reserved for Nothing Bound by their mutual love of heavy metal and a simmering
NORTH West Hampshire Liberal Democrats are launching a petition against proposed cuts in NHS staffing in the Winchester and Eastleigh Health-care Trust and the Mid Hampshire Primary Care Trust. They are already in the process of collecting signatures,
What's on in the south next week. ABBA fans are in for a treat at The Mayflower this Sunday. Sing-a-long-a-Abba features all of the Swedish Supergroup's biggest hits, but with one difference - the audience can sing along! With the lyrics projected on
THE Andover Minor Injuries Unit came in for special praise at a hospital trust board meeting for its major contribution to meeting stiff government targets. Month after month the MIU achieves 100 per cent of patients being admitted, discharged or transferred
EXTRA railings are being installed at Andover's Vigo Infant School site over the Easter holidays - the first step to better control traffic on the campus of five schools following the tragic death of an infant school pupil last month. Hampshire County
NO service or staff member is safe from the axe as Fareham and Gosport health chiefs launch a desperate bid to balance the books. Finance bosses at Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust will be looking at every penny they spend in an effort to make up
A YEAR after a horrific car smash which almost killed her, a brave Hampshire teenager is getting her life back on track. Tomorrow is expected to be a tough day in the Swanmore home of Christina Corp as she recalls the accident which killed her friend
ANGRY parents in Chandler's Ford are calling on play area bosses to fix their children's park and end a nine-month ban on fun. Youngsters at Knightwood Primary School have been turned away from their neighbouring playground in Bellflower Way after Test
A CHANDLER'S Ford youth centre targeted by vandals could be given a new lease of life in a major makeover. Eastleigh councillors will next week consider its contribution towards a proposed £150,000 upgrade of the Station Youth Centre. The complex, next
THE driving force behind one of Southampton's greatest business success stories officially retired at midnight last night. Andrew Kent, 57, handed over the reins to 53-year-old Doug Morrison at the city's port, which is owned by Associated British Ports
SAINTS look likely to be unchanged tomorrow for the test of the team Harry Redknapp believes can do the treble. With no fresh injuries, Saints will line-up with the same 4-4-2 formation that Redknapp has settled with in recent weeks. The St Mary's boss
IF YOU have not signed up for the Alberto-Culver Run4Fun, get along to a special event at the Basingstoke Aquadrome - and you can get a helping hand with your training. Everyone who signs up at the Aquadrome at the Leisure Park between 4pm and 7pm on
LIKE an old-fashioned fairground ghost train, The Ring Two is a proficient exercise in suspense that delivers a couple of predictable scares, but little else. It's all tease and anticipation, plenty of tricks but too little treat, adeptly manipulated
ELMORE Leonard's sequel to Get Shorty, adapted for the screen by Peter Steinfeld, plunges streetwise mobster-turned-movie producer Chili Palmer (John Travolta) into the cut-throat music industry. When his good friend Tommy Athens (James Woods) is killed
Fifteen years after the birth of his son and the subsequent abandonment of his child, appliance repairman Gianni (Kim Rossi Stuart) faces up to his responsibilities. Boarding a train at Milan, Gianni meets his disabled son Paolo (Andrea Rossi) for the
ALICE Wright has joined Southampton public relations agency Carswell Gould from London consumer agency Jackie Cooper PR, and previously Freud Communications. Alice, 25, has already had four years press and public relations experience, working across a
WHITE Knight Laundry Services has appointed Chris Williams as national sales manager. White Knight currently serves more than 1,800 clients including hotels, restaurants, colleges and leisure clubs, with services such as the hire and laundering of workwear
MARKETING communications agency Leepeckgreenfield has strengthened its public relations team by appointing experienced journalist Patricia Thompson as senior writer. Patricia, 43, has 15 years' writing and newsdesk experience, having begun her career
THE Golden Acres Garden Centre and Nursery group has created the new position of group catering manager to oversee the restaurant and tearoom facilities at its centres in Cadnam and Landford in Hampshire and West Parley in Dorset. Rita Lavery, who was
STANBRIDGE Earls School is celebrating the success of its recent first ever Under-13s rugby 7s tournament. Teams from Hampshire and Wiltshire schools gathered there and displayed an impressive range of skills and a real enthusiasm for the game. The teams
SOPHIE MEAD and Christina Hargreaves are two of the brightest stars in the Mountbatten School's athletics galaxy. Following their individual success in the recent Hampshire Athletic Association's Sportshall Athletics Championships at Portsmouth - Mead
THE TYRO Southampton Junior Football League final cancelled because the teams asked for a new date on which to play the showpiece occasion has been saved. The Daily Echo revealed yesterday that Bishop's Waltham had received a letter from the Tyro League
GREEN-FINGERED volunteers have been out in force to carry out maintenance work at a Basingstoke nature reserve. Members of the Black Dam Ponds and Eastrop Park Conservation Group met at the Black Dam Ponds Nature Reserve as part of an ongoing project.
Today's Principal Arrivals: OOCL Fortune, container, 1300, 204; Autotransporter, ro/ro, 1530, 201; Leo Leader, vehicle carrier, 1530, 43; CMA CGM Rossini, container, 1630, 207; Coronel, cargo, PM, Southampton Water Today's Principal Sailings: Caribbean
WINCHESTER'S West End Plant Display has been bought by Dorset's Stewarts Interior Landscaping for an undisclosed sum. The deal gives Stewarts a strong foothold in the area, where West End has been operated for 28 years by the Browning family. "We are
SALISBURY boss Nick Holmes says Monday's derby clash confirmed his belief that Eastleigh are the best of the rest behind leaders Yeading in the Ryman Premier. Although his opposite number Paul Doswell has a sneaking suspicion that Billericay - home to
THE difference between victory and defeat this weekend could be the difference between safety and the drop as the heat is turned up even more in Hampshire Division One. Two rounds of matches remain and while those clubs on 16 points at the top end of
It is all about pride and a decent finish for the local sides in London Three and Four South-West as the season has just two weeks to run. Southampton can drag Surrey side Old Emanuel down into the regional leagues with them when they bring the outfit
First play fourth, second play fifth and third meet bottom - and any two of the top three can be promoted this weekend - it is as tight as that at the helm of Hampshire Three. Unfortunately for Paxton Pumas, they are on the outside looking in and need
GEOFF Butler is backing Newport IoW to win their fight against relegation from the Ryman Division 1 - provided they start taking their chances. The Bashley manager readily admits the Islanders had ample opportunity to win Monday's 1-1 draw at St George's
ROMSEY is one of the first areas in Britain where revolutionary equipment is being used to detect faulty electricity cables underground. Southern Electric has invested £500,000 in 200 CableSniffer's - a sniffer dog-like probe that detects gases given
A BRAISHFIELD woman is running the London Marathon to help raise cash for the Anthony Nolan Trust. Elspeth Dugdale - a friend of Romsey's Dave and Allison Hartley, whose sons Nathan and Luke are waiting for bone marrow transplants - is gearing herself
SUNDAY lunch, it's just as much a British institution as fish and chips. Let's face it though lad's, how many of us actually bother to help out in the kitchen while our other half's slave over a hot oven? Of course in the 21st century things should be
FINANCIAL specialist Andrew Hartley is up and running as a senior relationship manager with the Lloyds TSB corporate team in Castle Way, Southampton. Andrew, who spent 15 years with the bank in the City of London, is working closely with central south
ANY hopes Romsey Town had of a top-three finish in their first season in Wessex 2 all but vanished on Monday, when third-placed Locks Heath made the best use of the awkward bounce on their home pitch to extend their lead over Town seven points. With four
GEOFF Butler is backing Newport IoW to win their fight against relegation from the Ryman Division 1 - provided they start taking their chances. The Bashley manager readily admits the Islanders had ample opportunity to win Monday's 1-1 draw at St George's
FAMILY friendly policies helped attract London solicitor Clare Sheerin to join legal firm Warnergoodman Commercial. Clare, 35, a specialist in mergers and acquisitions, has been appointed as a company commercial lawyer, based with the commercial services
It is make or break time for struggling Gosport & Fareham, who have three games remaining to save themselves and can throw themselves a crucial lifeline tomorrow when they host already-relegated Camberley. Such is the situation facing the peninsula
HE wants to become a world champion at something - anything - from scratch in just one year. Wannabe star Justin Irwin, 36, has given up his well-paid management job and picked the sport of darts to make his bid for international glory. The first test
A huge influx of support for the Romsey and District Tsunami Appeal in the last few weeks means that they can now proudly claim they have reached the one million mark. - one million rupees that is! Their total now raised stands at £6450, but as they purchase
A POPULAR Test Valley tourist attraction is staging a special open day to help raise cash to build a £7.7 million bicentenary glass house at Wisley Gardens, home of the Royal Horticultural Society. Anthea and Captain Martin Busk are throwing the gardens
TRANSPORT chiefs in Winchester have been accused of sabotaging a trial scheme to extend park-and-ride services to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital. A patients' watchdog has criticised the decision to run the service to the hospital in Romsey Road only
ALL they wanted was a good night's sleep and now Jane Barton, Lee Cooper and their two children can look forward to an uninterrupted forty winks after their pub was given a spiritual blessing to cleanse its atmosphere. The couple took over the Fulflood
FOR the second time in just a month, Mercedes-Benz is lifting the wraps on another brand new model series, the new R-Class, which is making its world debut at the New York International Auto Show. This groundbreaking vehicle concept reaffirms the role
WITH more safety cameras springing up alongside the UK's congested roads, growing numbers of drivers are turning to global positioning system (GPS)-based safety camera detection devices to help them stay safe and legal. However, for many motorists, the
TWO PRIVATE Hampshire schools are to be amalgamated as part of a £14m improvement scheme. Test Valley Borough Council planning chiefs have given their consent to plans that will see Romsey's Embley Park school and Nursling's Atherley school transformed
RECEPTION class children at Burley Primary School are lucky they have another six years at the school. That is the opinion of one pupil reported in the latest Ofsted report on the school, which the education watchdogs describe as "good overall". Their
TWO Southampton-born stars have made it into a rich list of Britain's young music millionaires. Coldplay drummer Will Champion, pictured inset, and singer Craig David have estimated fortunes of £10m and £9m respectively, according to new figures compiled
THE School For Wives begins an extensive run at The Nuffield Theatre in Southampton from Thursday, April 14. Moliere's fourth play was first staged in the 1660s, and the French playwright himself starred as the central character of Arnolphe. Revolving
PLAYING next at the Chesil Theatre, Winchester is Arms and the Man by Bernard Shaw, which runs from Monday. Directed by Caroline Helcke, this classic satire highlights the illusions of war, romance and class. Set in small town Bulgaria in the 1880s: Raina
Laughter is also on the agenda for Horndean Amateur Theatrical Society this coming week. Ray Cooney's farce Out of Order is being performed at the Merchistoun Hall in Horndean. Directed by Frank Whitcombe, the play tells of underhand goings-on in government
REGULARS battling to save a popular pub in Bursledon Road, Southampton from demolition have been warned it faces demolition in June if a buyer cannot be found. For two years, drinkers have been fighting to save the Elephant and Castle. Developers want
PLANS to rename Southampton's Itchen Bridge after the famous Spitfire fighter plane which helped win the Second World War have been shot down in flames, the Daily Echo can reveal. City chiefs were considering renaming the bridge as part of the city's
A NEW £6m computer system to help Hampshire police fight crime went live today. The revolutionary technology, switched on at midnight, is the most advanced of its type in the world and should help get officers out on the beat rather than being stuck behind
WE'VE had an oil rush now Hampshire is preparing for a gold rush. The discovery of the precious metal was made by chance at an activity centre in the county. Welly-clad youngsters at the YMCA's Fairthorne Manor in Curdridge near Botley struck gold during
A CAMPAIGN to save two city schools has been given a major boost with more than 800 people signing up in just two weeks. The petition -- set up by the Save Harefield Schools Action Group in mid-March -- now has 835 signatures and organisers are hoping
ANDOVER is to get its very own £1.5 million theatre and cultural centre on the site of the present Cricklade The-atre block. Test Valley Borough Council leader Ian Carr unveiled the plans for the new centre on Tuesday. It could be up and running by March
TEENAGERS spent a sunny Saturday afternoon making a difference by helping out at the Boaz Project in Sutton Scotney. The project, when completed, aims to provide work for people with learning difficulties. At Hill Farm, the group of about 25 people from
Southampton indie rockers Delays open for the Manic Street Preachers at the city's Guildhall on Sunday. But as Marie Horner discovered the lads are taking it in their stride... MELODY makers Delays have just spent five weeks locked in a studio recording
A PERSONAL trainer and a dry cleaner from Andover are to run an alternative marathon on the same day as the famous London one - on the island of Tresco. David Gould of Optimise Fitness and Ben Walton of Ben's Dry Cleaners will run the 26.2 mile Tresco
THE Finn Brothers gig at the Portsmouth Guildhall tonight has been postponed until Monday, April 11. The former Crowded House duo have returned to Australia to attend the funeral of their former drummer and friend Paul Hester who tragically died recently
ANDOVER'S new-est pub will open its doors on 27 April at 7pm, says owners the Barracuda Group. It will be called 'The Redbridge' which recalls Andover's former link to the south by the now defunct canal. It closed after the opening of the railway. The
THERE are no plans for the NHS to use the secure unit for the mentally ill proposed for the site of the derelict Rothsay Hotel, near Weyhill, according to a letter received by MP Sir George Young. Sir George wrote to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic
IT was a busy weekend for Andover Churches Together as they celebrated Easter. One of the highlights was morning worship at Andover Baptist Church on Good Friday followed by the Walk of Witness to - and service at - Andover Guildhall. The Guildhall was
ANDOVER Labour Party has written to pensions minister Malcolm Wicks on behalf of current Croydex employees who may now receive very little of their pension. Croydex has been in financial difficulty which involved the winding up of the Croydex Lionheart
ROMSEY MP Sandra Gidley has been nominated for a political 'web blog' award by the Guardian thanks to her blog site at www.romseyredhead. blogspot.com. She is the first woman MP to start a 'blog' or 'web log' - an on-line diary that many think will be
THIRTEEN quail eggs bought from the shelves at Tesco have amazingly hatched into little chicks. Clive and Julie Preston, who run Fakenham Farm at St Helens on the Isle of Wight say the additions to their brood were a complete surprise. Their son Tony
A FAREHAM conservationist is urging residents to spend a penny to save the country millions. Friends of the Earth member Tony Smale gave a talk on the virtues of compost loos at St Vincent College in Gosport to open Science Week. Compost toilets can be
SOUTHAMPTON'S A&P ship repair company has landed a multi-million pound contract to refit three major cruise ships in the docks. Port watchers will see P&O Cruises' Adonia sail into the King George V drydock on Friday April 15 before re-emerging
HARRY Redknapp is backing Peter Crouch to force his way into Sven Goran Eriksson's England squad in time for next year's World Cup. The 24-year-old is the form striker of the Premiership and will tomorrow go head-to-head with perhaps the best defence
Germany's entry as Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars is a powerful account of the dramatic events of April 1945, based on the books Inside Hitler's Bunker by Joachim Fest and Until The Final Hour by Traudl Junge and Melissa Muller. Hitler
Belated release for Tony McNamara's 2003 comedy. In a world of conformity, Placid Lake (Ben Lee) has always stood out. From as young as five, Placid's bohemian parents Doug (Garry McDonald) and Sylvia (Miranda Richardson) encouraged their boy to embrace
Re-issue of K Asif's 1960 war drama, about a doomed love affair which threatens to unsettle an entire nation, and the collision between passion and loyalty to one's family. Set in the 16th century AD, Mughal-E-Azam charts the tempestuous relationship
Films showing in the Hampshire region until 7 April. BOOGEYMAN (15): Ever since he was eight years old, Tim Jensen has been afraid of the dark. Years of treatment have failed to cure his crippling phobia. When his mother dies, Tim nervously returns to
