HARD pressed council tax payers across the Kennet district may see a £13 rise in their annual council tax next year - just to pay for the services provided by the district council. Other services, such as police, fire, the county council and parishes
MOD chiefs have set up an urgent board of inquiry to try to establish why an Army Air Corp Lynx crashed on exercise in the Czech Republic, killing six soldiers. None of the six was from the AAC's Middle Wallop base but the type of aircraft is a mainstay
ANDOVER'S proposed crematorium, given planning permission following an appeal in 2002, will have a four seasons landscaping theme if planners give the prosposal the green light. Applicants Langdown Comm-ercial revealed the theme when asking for detailed
TEST Valley has been chosen as one of two pilot areas for new style meetings designed to bring the council closer to the people. The first of the new public meetings will take place on Tuesday at 5pm in Houghton village hall, near Stockbridge. On the
WE always said we'd grow up in public. And that's what we've done. Our new album is about what happens when a bunch of teenage lads from Leeds lap the world a couple of times and then spit it all out." These are the wise words of The Music, spoken two
WINTON Rovers achieved the dream of most footballers as they played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff recently. The trip was won by team member Stuart Freeman in a competition in the Sunday Mirror. They came up against Park Lane from Sheffield and
Weymouth 1, Basingstoke Town 1 NEVILLE Roach continued his rich goalscoring form by netting the equaliser with an opportunist finish in front of 1,074 people at Weymouth. With 10 minutes to go, the striker alertly nipped in to rob dallying Weymouth goalkeeper
THE final death knell has sounded for St Christopher's Hospital in Fareham. The doomed 170-year-old building in Wickham Road will close to inpatients by the end of October. Health chiefs have announced that the hospital's last remaining ward, which houses
FAREHAM MP Mark Hoban has secured a meeting with a government finance chief to discuss job losses at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in Titchfield. He will join ONS union members to meet Stephen Timms, the financial secretary to the Treasury
A PROGRAMME of walks designed to boost the health of Fareham people is expanding just a month in to it due to huge demand. Organisers of Walking to Health hold sociable walks for Fareham residents two or three times a week. But more than 100 people have
WE will not be a soft touch. That's the message being sent to developers from Eastleigh Council's executive Cabinet in the wake of moves to speed up decisions on planning applications. The council has been rapped by Whitehall for failing to meet government
Horton Heath has received a council grant to improve its community centre. The centre has been awarded £1,000 by Hampshire County Council towards the installation of a sound system and a loop system for those with hearing difficulties. Councillor John
MANOR Field Junior School: The new extension will be officially opened on October 1, at 1.30pm. On September 16, I was pleased to be invited to the school to assist with interviewing pupils who wished to become members of the community relations team.
A LOCAL resident, of German origin, has been asking me what we do here in England to celebrate the start of a child's school life. Apparently, in Germany, there are services held in the local church, with relatives joining in and making the preparations
NEIGHBOURHOOD Watch cycle treasure hunt report: Unfortunately, the weather forecast was not good for the weekend, and that may have put some people off. Even so, 63 people registered (including beat bobby Ray Niblock and Sgt Ashman) and they all returned
WOODS Lane development: The village wants its voice to be heard as far as the proposed development of 24 houses (Broadview Development) in Woods Lane is concerned. Therefore, please go along to the site viewing by the development control committee, between
BASINGSTOKE Twins Club: An autumn/winter clothes, toys and equipment sale is being held on Sunday, October 10, from 2pm to 4pm, at Kempshott Village Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend. LODDON Vale Indoor Bowls: Is holding an open day this Sunday, from
INDOOR market: As usual, in the Village Club tomorrow, from 9.30am. HARVEST Festival: The annual harvest thanksgiving will be held in St Mary's Church, this Sunday, at 10am, and will be very much a family service with the church decorated appropriately
ZUT alors! Fire up those little grey cells, as it's the Twinning Association quiz night tonight! Rotherwick is included in the group of villages linked with St Savin, near Poitiers, in France, and Malle, in Belgium. Tonight, the fundraising for trips
Sir.-I write regarding a letter published in The Gazette on August 27, headed "Questions over licence checks". The writer was under the impression that the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) had carried out a check on private hire driver Anthony Middleton
HERE is the alternative league table which will shock the St Mary's faithful ahead of a crucial three-match spell that could shape their destiny. Though the current Premiership table makes dismal reading after just six games of the 2004/05 campaign, it's
SAINTS will face a Fulham side who must reorganise in the wake of last Saturday's controversial game at West Brom. Chris Coleman's side was hit with an FA disciplinary charge after referee Mike Dean reported them for harrassment during the 1-1 draw at
BASINGSTOKE Town chairman David Hunt has issued a stark warning that the football club faces an uphill battle to survive in the Nationwide South league unless it gets more financial support from the town's businesses. While Town manager Ernie Howe's young
ANYONE intending to listen to the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at The Anvil should not expect to hear modern, electronic, new-age music. On Sunday, October 10, starting at 7.45pm, only sublime and inspiring classical pieces are in store. And
ROMANTIC comedies from the Working Title Films stable - Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill among them - generally follow a tried and tested formula. There's a dithering British bachelor, a glamorous yet emotionally scarred American love interest
HISTORY has a nasty habit of repeating itself. The Punisher, a gratuitously violent revenge thriller based on a Marvel Comics character, was first immortalised on the big screen in 1989, with blond behemoth Dolph Lundgren in the title role. The 80s incarnation
JAMES Bond might as well hang up his Walther PPK and go into retirement. There's a new breed of secret agent on the big screen, who uses guile, intelligence and brute force to outwit his prey rather than snazzy gadgets, and his name is Jason Bourne (Matt
GENERALLY speaking, to enjoy the average summer blockbuster, you need to check in your brain at the door of the cinema. But you will definitely want your noggin to be fully functional to get the most out of unusual action movie I, Robot. Not that it's
IN THE early 90s, Disney's animation division was at the height of its powers. The Little Mermaid, which was released in the twilight days of 1989, signalled a return to form, made glorious by Beauty And The Beast, which is still the only animated feature
13 Going On 30 is a sweet yet slight confection about a girl who yearns to grow up, then gets her wish in one of those magical twists of fate that only happen in the movies. Thirteen-year-old Jenna Rink (Christa B Allen) can't wait to cross the threshold
THE live action version of Gerry Anderson's cult "Super-Marionation" series is go... Dastardly criminal mastermind The Hood (Ben Kingsley) sends Jeff Tracy (Bill Paxton) and his four eldest sons - Scott (Philip Winchester), John ( Lex Shrapnel), Virgil
THE trouble with making a big-screen version of a comic book is that there are just so many people to please. Add to that that the film you're making is the sequel to a big hit and you've got a lot of potential pitfalls to fall into. Luckily, Spider-Man
THE beginning of October brings another round of employment legislation and some of the most far-reaching changes for 25 years. If the changes are implemented properly, employers will be able to manage with more confidence. Ignored or mishandled, employers
STAFF training is getting even better at GAME, the video games chain which relocated its European headquarters to Basingstoke this year. This summer, the company launched a new training scheme in more than 80 of its stores as it introduced NVQ programmes
THE Maltings is the same house with the same name as 18 months ago - but look what has happened to it since it last sold. From being a typical 1970s detached property in a stunning north Hampshire village location, The Maltings has been transformed, both
REDWOODS Estate Agents has announced it is relocating its headquarters to Tadley. Redwoods, which currently runs its operations from Hartland House, Winchester Street, Basingstoke, is waiting to complete the purchase of the old LANkind building at Mulfords
BOUILLABAISSE. It's a great word and a better dish. Peasant fare that is simultaneously the king of soups, it's unicorn-rare round these parts, at least done well. Rich fishy broth with chunks of every kind of scaly sea-dweller you can imagine, it's the
Romsey Sports Centre hosted it's own version of the Emmy Awards Rugby in the Powergen Junior Vase Round 1 on Saturday with three of the home side battling it out for the "Best Comedy Actor" award, writes Gary Banks. Man-of-the-match Tim Darby came close
ROMSEY WASPS Under 16s took part last weekend in the Southampton Festival and were delighted to find that both Ellingham & Ringwood and Trojans had also been invited to the start of season warm-up games. Following the agreement of a timetable, Romsey
ROMSEY Town underlined their progress in the Wessex League with two fine wins this week, writes Ian Henderson. Last Saturday's win at Ringwood was followed by a 2-1 success over local rivals Stockbridge at the Bypass Ground on Wednesday night (see report
The Basingstoke Bison are set to be at full strength for the first time this season tomorrow (6.30pm), as they face the visiting Bracknell Bees for the second time in three days. This will be the case if the Herd came through their fixture in Berkshire
BAT skipper Paul Masters says it was a tug of the heartstrings that stopped him signing for Winchester City. The former Saints midfielder, who leads the Tobaccomen into FA Vase second qualifying round action at home to Shoreham tomorrow, admits he was
Fleet Town are playing down Bashley's interest in midfielder Gareth Keeping, insisting: "He's perfectly happy where he is." Pete Plowman's departure as secretary of the New Forest club means Bash have not yet lodged notice of approach for Keeping, as
Robin Smith believes England should hand Chris Tremlett his one-day international debut after tomorrow's ICC Champions Trophy final against the West Indies at the Oval. The squad for England's tour of Zimababwe is announced next week and Tremlett is in
Today's Principal Arrivals: CMA CGM Pasteur, container, 0200, 205; CFF Seine, ro/ro, 0530, 30; Oceana, passenger, 0700, 106; Saga Pearl, passenger, 0700, 101; Cervantes, ro/ro, 0745, 105; Freedom, vehicle carrier, 0900, 34/35; Sea Charente, cargo, 1130
SOUTH coast bookshop chain Ottakar's has shocked investors by revealing the departure of its well-respected finance director. The retailer, with local stores at Eastleigh and Lymington, said Edward Knighton had made the decision to leave and would stay
JIM Dixon said he was shocked and angry that his 'Stoke side "completely lost their heads" in their shoddy defeat to Old Colfeians. The flanker and senior coach labelled last Saturday's 10-29 home loss as the "worst display" he has been involved with
THE search is on for more car parking spaces in or near Romsey town centre. Test Valley Borough Council is on the lookout for possible new sites and the Romsey and District Society has also set up a working party to look at what is available. And in its
ROMSEY will have an extra market day from tomorrow onwards - and it will focus on high quality food. The town centre already has markets on Tuesdays and Fridays with plants, clothes, food and fruit and vegetable stalls. But market manager Nick Michell
ROMSEY'S first anti-social behaviour order has been slapped on a 14-year-old girl who caused trouble in and around shops in the Broadwater Road and town centre areas. It means that Rebecca Strevens is banned from the town's bus station area unless she
THE alternatives to the car were on show in Winchester High Street as part of Alternative Transport Day. Promoted by the county and city councils, the event aims to remind people that there are other ways of getting around apart from the car. Exhibits
JUST six months ago Laura De La Rue would never have dreamt of getting up on stage. After being diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of two, the wannabe actress was petrified of suffering a fit during a performance. But now the 12-year-old has been given
GRIEVING parents last night pleaded with the hit-and-run driver who killed their teenage son to give himself up. Anthony and Angela Liddon made an emotional appeal to the motorist just hours after their 15-year-old son Ryan lost his fight for life. They
MURDER squad detectives have called on the criminal underworld to help them find the killer of a Southamp-ton teenager. They have appealed to anyone with information on who stabbed 18-year-old Mikhail Thomas to death to come forward. Police last night
IT was funded by lottery money, designed to keep children off the streets during the long summer holidays and has proved such a success that it now looks to expand next year. More than 400 youngsters took part in the Street Soccer football coaching scheme
THE LIGHTS are finally out at Bishopstoke's Mount Hospital - but campaigners say they won't give up the fight to bring top class health facilities in its place. Inpatient services at the hospital were shut down for good on Wednesday, and the remaining
SOUTHAMPTON'S controversial fortnightly rubbish collection is set to be binned for good after the council leader pledged to abide by next week's final crunch vote. Opposition parties joined forces on Wednesday to restore weekly bin rounds in addition
PREPARATIONS for a car-themed charity ball in aid of Southampton-based charity Leuk-aemia Busters have gone into overdrive. The huge fundraiser, taking place at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, next Friday, is to raise thousands of pounds to fund
EASTLEIGH Summer Music Festival - heralded as the biggest live music event in Hampshire this year - is facing an uncertain future. Despite headline acts, including Pop Idol sensation Will Young and American legend Dionne Warwick, and £25,000 sponsorship
PLANS to charge thousands of music fans to see their favourite pop acts at Southampton's Power in the Park pop festival next year are to be put under the spotlight today, writes David Newble. Youngsters could be charged about £5 to get into the event
A REPORT prepared for Test Valley Bor-ough Councillors has revealed the extent of the discontent over the council's new green waste system - but also pinpoints some of its success. Between July 2003 and 2004 the total tonnage of waste collected per month
Eastleigh were hoping to offset the loss of David Hughes for tomorrow's home game against Folkestone Invicta by loaning another ex-Saint, Jamie Gleeson, from Kidderminster Harriers. But the injury jinx that has plagued the club struck again on Wednesday
ACTIVITY among Southampton's hi-tech start-ups is flourishing, according to SETsquared, the hi-tech support programme for early stage ventures. One of the early success stories is Achyra, a company focused on the development of a new method of mass spectrometry
Romsey must make home advantage count as they welcome a much-improved Guernsey side from the one they beat to the Hampshire Division 1 title two seasons ago. The Channel Islanders, with a substantial victory under their belts from an away day at Old Amplefordians
THREE weeks after the rest of the league programme kicked off, Hampshire Divisions Two and Three finally get under way with some interesting games. Both divisions are difficult to gauge, so the first round of results could tell a tale. Eastleigh's injury
Romsey Arts Festival is under starters' orders next Friday (October 1st) with the first concert in the Festival series. Two of the region's best-known musical ensembles are joining forces to raise funds for next summer's main event. The Southampton Classical
The White Horse hotel in Romsey has been sold to a group of local businessmen. They plan a big refurbishment and hope to increase the star rating of the business that has been on the site on the centre of town since around 1500. The traditional coaching
SPINE-TINGLING melodrama comes to Salisbury Playhouse on Thursday, in the form of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. For years the residents of Baskerville Hall have been plagued by an ancient curse - a mysterious hell-hound that
ABOUT 200 police officers in central Hampshire have been kitted out with stab proof body armour which is tough enough to guard against knives, needles and blunt weapons. The officers in the Winchester district are among the first in the county to be supplied
NINE, one metre granite balls shipped in from China will provide the finishing touches to the long-awaited £1.2 million Andover High Street improvements, due to be completed by 8 November. The granite spheres are being brought from China because it's
RAF veterans gathered together on Sunday afternoon to take part in a Service of Thanksgiving to commemorate the Battle of Britain. Under the auspices of the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA), the service was held in St Mary's nd conducted by the vicar
COFFEE Morning Extravaganza: Will be held at Kents Cottage in Baughurst Road, from 10am to noon, tomorrow. Various stalls, along with refreshments, will be available. Make a date to support the church. FIRST aid: The Red Cross will be running a four-week
WORLD'S Biggest Coffee Morning: Today, members of Immanuel with St Mark's will be holding a coffee morning from 10am until noon in the church rooms at St Mark's School. Look out for the signs directing you to the round room. NEIGHBOURCARE quiz: The next
GOODBYE: Sadly for Hook, we said goodbye to Grahame North last Friday, manager of the village pharmacy. After many years here he is moving on to another branch. Grahame was well liked by his many customers and admired for his "bedside manner" and advice
CARERS: There has been a change of plan for the next meeting of the support group at Hylton Court, Bowmonts Road. The date is the same, Thursday, October 7, but the meeting will start later, as carers are invited to a fish and chip lunch, starting at
CALOR Village of the Year: The presentation held last Friday went off successfully. All guests and representatives from other villages were welcomed by Bruce Batting. Councillors, the mayor, and Andrew Hunter MP were also in attendance. The Lord Lieutenant
JACKIE Fowler: I mentioned last week that Jackie had passed away. I have been asked to say the following: "Representatives from Tadley WI market attended the funeral service for Jackie last Friday, September 17. Jackie suffered much of late. "She knitted
Sir.-I was one of a number of people who went up to London last week to demonstrate in Parliament Square against the proceedings on the Hunting Bill in the House of Commons. Space will not permit me to record my impressions of that extraordinary day,
DRIVING a Porsche 911 is like eating at a restaurant with three Michelin stars - you know you're going to be in for a memorable, expensive treat and anything less than a heavenly experience is simply unacceptable. Porsche is just as fiercely protective
MOBILE phones are the bane of the modern world, chirruping annoyingly in the middle of films and transforming mild-mannered teenagers into frenzied text fiends. One such handheld device takes a starring role in David R Ellis's edge-of-seat thriller, an
A MAJOR offensive is being launched this autumn to drive forward Basingstoke's economy by tackling job recruitment and the skills shortage in areas of low unemployment. Two October workshops have been set up to bring employers, the local authority and
THEY Should Have Asked My Husband sounds like something Pam Ayres would come up with in one of her witty poems. As it happens, that's the name of a new show Pam will be performing at The Anvil, in Basingstoke, on Tuesday, October 12. The writer and broadcaster
JUST when you thought it was safe to go back into the cinema, Open Water rises from the depths of obscurity to try to scare the flippers off the movie-going public. Costing around US$130,000 to make, it is by far the cheapest movie to hit cinema screens
MANY people had tomorrow's visit by Trojans' to US Portsmouth taped down as one of the games that would go a long way to deciding the destiny of the Hampshire Division 1 title. It is very early to start writing off the Navy men. But they have suffered
Solent Stars' much-changed junior women's team tipped off the new basketball season with a satisfying 67-48 victory over Ipswich Bobcats. With Alice Walton now playing and studying in the USA, Stevie Ellis and Natalie Broom at university and Rosie Chase
BLOOMING marvellous! That was the verdict for Romsey as this summer's floral decorations put it up among the top towns in the South. The town gained a silver gilt award in the 2004 South in Bloom competition, sponsored by Southern Water. That meant it
RESIDENTS can find out what's planned for Winchester over the next 15-20 years at a town forum meeting. The city council's statement, entitled Vision for Winchester, will be the hot topic of conversation at the meeting in November at the Guidhall. Key
THE job of a PA is never done. Each day brings a new set of problems to solve and the wheel keeps on turning. But what happens if you want to step off for a while and take a sabbatical? According to a 2003 survey by UK Graduate Careers, a growing number
FURIOUS New Forest residents have hit out at plans to more than double the size of an industrial estate near their homes. The district council has approved an application to extend Sandleheath Industrial Estate despite strong opposition to the scheme
IT'S the sleekest, sassiest, sexiest, sharpest show around - and it's coming to Southampton this week. Chicago returns to The Mayflower on Tuesday and if past form is anything to go by, it's sure to be a massive hit. The tone of the show is set from the
AS THE nights start to draw in, grab your diary and plan some brightness in your winter by attending some local amateur-dramatic shows next month. The south is fortunate enough to have a hugely successful and thriving theatre scene offering the chance
GOLFERS teed up thousands of pounds for good causes at a Southampton group's annual charity event. Bitterne Park CIU Golf Society's event in Fair Oak raised about £3,500 for the charity Dreams Come True, which helps seriously ill children, as well as
PLANS to introduce car parking charges at Andover War Memorial Hospital have been delayed again. Meanwhile some hospital staff are claiming their introduction would be tantamount to a pay cut. Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare Trust wants the Andover
PORTWAY Junior School pupil's Chloe Harrowell and Jasmine Smith managed to raise nearly £200 for Naomi House Children Hospice after completing a six-mile bike ride. Feeling bored with the summer holidays the girls had thought of a fundraising idea, collected
JOB losses among major employers such as Ducal and Rohill Bodies have failed to dent the success of Andover and its surrounding area - at least in terms of employment. The percentage of the population unemployed and claiming jobseeker's allowance in the
EVERYTHING gardener Arthur Easen touches seems to flourish. Take his latest planting phenomenon, a sunflower nearly 18 feet high. "I use manure, that definitely helps," said Mr Easen, when asked for the secret of his success. Mr Easen and his wife grow
THE Nether Wallop Wacky Races produced more zany thrills and spills this year despite the rainy weather on Saturday. This is the second year the village has held the event, which involves unpowered go-karts hurtling down the hill from the Five Bells pub
November is just around the corner and with it so is LULU - who will be coming to the Portsmouth Guildhall on November 9. As the pop darling of the 1960s she is one of the only female singers to have appeared in the charts over five decades. What happens
HARVEST Festival: Services at St James' Church on Sunday start with Holy Communion at 9am. The 10.30am Family Service will be followed by coffee and harvest lunch in Cross House. Tickets for the lunch are £6, £3 for under 12s, and are obtainable from
JUMBLE sale: Tomorrow, it's the turn of The Friends of Oakley Infant School to hold their annual jumble sale at the Green Hut in Hill Road. Donations of jumble will be very welcome on the day or before by enquiring at the school office. There will be
CHILDREN'S Hallowe'en party: On October 29, at the Oakridge Hall For All. There will be a disco, and refreshments will be available. For more details, contact the hall on 01256 475844. SOUTH View School: The footpath discussions are ongoing between Sentinel
JUMBLE tumble: The Ladies Section of the Royal British Legion, in Old Basing, is having a jumble tumble tomorrow, at the Legion Hall, Crown Lane, starting at 1.30pm. There will be home-made cakes, teas, a tombola and a raffle. NORTH Hampshire Ramblers
EVENSONG: The last service for this year will be this Sunday, at 6pm, in the parish church. The Rev David Picton will lead the service from the old prayer book. SILCHESTER Players: Held their annual donation evening last Wednesday, when the proceeds from
Sir.-Last Saturday evening, the Basingstoke Ex-Services Club threw its doors open to the local younger generation to enable them to have an evening of punk and goth. The committee had been approached by three teenagers who asked if they could use the
Penny Wilson said she was "as surprised as anyone" to win the recent Nottingham "Robin Hood" women's marathon. Wilson, from Hatch Warren, Basingstoke, completed the run in 3hrs 10 mins to take the title - but originally hadn't intended running the Midlands
COLLATERAL (15): Tom Cruise stars as a cold killer who hijacks a taxi in order to kill all of his targets in one night. TRAUMA(15): Colin Firth stars as a man who awakes from a coma suffering from memory loss to discover that his wife has been killed.
FOLLOWING the success of Shrek, Shrek 2 is guaranteed a certain number of rears on seats. Luckily for all concerned, this film will not disappoint. With it's mixture of adult and child humour, bold colours, rounded characters and clever observations,
IT'S full steam ahead with production at the UK headquarters of forklift truck giants Linde Material Handling. Stephen Moule, sales and marketing director, is predicting that the workforce in the state-of-the-art factory in Kingsclere Road will turn out
