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
EASTLEIGH have dipped back into the transfer market to sign former AFC Bournemouth midfielder Michael Dean on a free transfer from Weymouth. The 24-year-old links up with two old teammates at Ten Acres - ex-Saints and Cherries defender Christer Warren
TONY Hooper has a view on whether England's cricket team should play in the World Cup. And when the Southampton-born cricket fan speaks, he is worth listening to. For he emigrated to Rhodesia, which became Zimbabwe in 1980, and worked as a reserve policeman
Andover 4 Basingstoke 2 THEY'LL be talking about this one down at the Portway for a long time to come. It wasn't just that Andover dumped Basingstoke out of the Hampshire Senior Cup on Tuesday night; Howard Goddard's young heroes outplayed, out-thought
It was back to league action in the HSA Youth League this week. In the U14s Hatch Warren kept their 100 per cent record with a comfortable 6-1 victory at Upper Clatford, while Vernham moved up one place in the table with a narrow 2-1 win over S Wonston
Wintry weather didn't put off Andover Athletic Club's athletes in the recent Ferndown cross-country event. Oliver Glynn was the first Andover athlete home for the U11s, finishing in 11th place. Gary Jones and Anna Scott were close behind. Bethan Southwood
Today's Principal Arrivals: Maersk Taiki, ro/ro, 0430, 202; Global Harvest, refrigerat, 0600, 104; Atlantic Spirit, ro/ro, 0730, 40; Faust, vehicle carrier, 0730, 34/35; Cetam Victoriae, ro/ro, 0830, 201 link; P&O Nedlloyd Vespucci, container, 1130
DENNIS DURRANT is the surprise package in the area semi-finals of the English Indoor BA singles championship. Having already put out fellow Atherley bowler Roy Skipp, George Churcher (Banister Park) and Chris Dowding (Bournemouth) Durrant produced a fine
A £1,000 payout will be made on the local circuit for the first time this year after the Nigel Turner/Thomsons Financial Planning Sunday Series is extended to 11 rounds with an entry of 60 anglers. Last year's final winner, Ray Hayward, picked up £500
A HOSPICE that cares for hundreds of terminally ill people throughout the New Forest has been dealt another serious financial blow by the National Lottery - because the dying aren't "needy" enough. Only 14 months ago the Lymington-based Oakhaven Hospice
TRIBUTES have been paid to a dedicated councillor who "fought tirelessly" for a Waterside village threatened by unwanted development. This week's meeting of Marchwood Parish Council took place just hours after members learned that Nick Smith had been
SIMON Edwards, Golden Acres Nursery retail division manager, has been appointed to the main board of the expanding south coast horticultural company. He joined Golden Acres in 1999 and initially headed up the group's retail division with responsibility
THREE motorists are set to take legal action in the belief they were illegally clamped. Michele Nash, Louise Gough and Robin Gray parked in the Tiles R Us car park in Bursledon Road as they have done every day since starting work at neighbouring Mazda
TWO new multi-million-pound projects to slash hospital waiting times across southern Hampshire look set to receive the green light. Health chiefs in Southampton and Winchester have agreed initial proposals to create two linked Diagnosis and Treatment
SOUTHAMPTON General Hospital's paediatric cardiac unit has built on its reputation as a first class facility by taking delivery of a state-of-the art ambulance. The £140,000 vehicle, which was funded by city-based charity Wessex Heartbeat, the NHS and
A FATHER who hanged himself in a Hampshire hotel room was the fourth brother in his family to die a tragic death, an inquest heard. Two of Donald Denton's brothers committed suicide and another was killed in a car crash. Mr Denton, 43, took his life after
HUNDREDS of workers staged their latest strike yesterday in the ongoing dispute over Vosper Thornycroft's the move to Portsmouth. Union leaders are demanding changes to working hours for up to 1,500 staff who join the relocation so they do not get snared
SOUTHAMPTON residents have expressed their despair as yet another community post office has been earmarked for closure. The branch in Meggeson Avenue, Townhill Park, is the next in line for the chop as part of Post Office Ltd's controversial cost-cutting
COMMUNITY groups in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are celebrating today after receiving grants worth more than £3.5 million. The 27 awards were announced by The Community Fund for groups across the south-east and total £3,659,456. Among organisations
A STAR-studded concert takes place in Southampton next month to pay tribute to the legendary frontman of The Clash and raise cash for the Fire Brigades Union. The city's The Artful Dodger and Billy Bragg are among acts confirmed for the event, the first
A STAR-studded concert takes place in Southampton next month to pay tribute to the legendary frontman of The Clash and raise cash for the Fire Brigades Union. The city's The Artful Dodger and Billy Bragg are among acts confirmed for the event, the first
FIREFIGHTERS have reacted angrily to news that the Government is preparing to take legal power to effectively take control of the fire service and impose a pay settlement. On Tuesday the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told the Commons that in his
ANDOVER marked Homeless-ness Sunday with a special service culminating in the announcement that £42,500 has been raised to revamp a resettlement home for ten to 12 people in the town. On Sunday more than 2,000 church and community groups across the country
AN air tattoo at RAF Fairford in the summer should prove of interest to those readers with links to aviation. Helicopters in the line-up include the Skeeter and the Lynx, both mainstays of the Army Air Corp in their time and familiar sights in skies around
AN Andover pensioner is saying his own personal thanks to the staff and carers at the Countess of Brecknock Hospice, by hosting a party in their honour at The Wolversdene Club tonight. George Rumbold's wife Marion died from cancer at the hospice on 27
AN important opportunity for the public to have a say on the future of Test Valley comes to a close on 14 February. That date marks the end of the six-week public consultation period on the review of the borough local plan. Cllr Derrick Roach, portfolio
OVERTON Rugby Club's new home at Berrydown will be known as the Ken Hogan Ground in memory of the driving force behind the project. Ken, chairman of Overton Recreation Centre for 21 years, died suddenly in November while on holiday in South Africa with
MOTORISTS have been asked to avoid driving through areas of Appleshaw when they are flooded - or drive very carefully. Members of the Appleshaw and Redenham Flood Advisory Group say they are puzzled by a 'lack of consideration' shown by some drivers for
CRICKLADE College is continuing the fight to reduce the basic skills need in the area with a 'breakfast club' meeting on 12 February. A quarter of the population of Andover has some kind of basic skills need and the meeting is a chance for local employers
SOUTHAMPTON'S Brook music venue will be bubbling with the sound of sweet soul music throughout February. On the menu are favourites Rufus Stone, Edwin Starr of War fame and the sensational Atlantic Soul Machine. Even this Saturday's opener, The Climax
STANNAH Active has made a £350 donation to support Andover's Shopmobility scheme. The family-owned business, which is based on the Portway Industrial Estate, themselves supply a range of mobility products. Operations manager Greg Nicholson said: "The
A TRAGIC Isle of Wight schoolgirl who died last year weighing just three-and-a-half stone had been suffering from a brain tumour, it has been revealed. An inquest will be held later this year to determine the exact cause of 12-year-old Charlotte Collett's
MORE people are bucking the national trend and going to Anglican churches across our communities. An average of 12,200 adults a week went to Sunday services in the Portsmouth Diocese - covering Fareham, Warsash, Locks Heath, Bishop's Waltham and Botley
MOTORISTS will have to dig deeper into their pockets to park in Eastleigh. Parking for up to one hour will stick at 50p but visitors who want to stay longer will have to cough up more. The fee for two hours will go up from 70p to 80p and there is a 20p
IT IS going to be a follicle challenge with a difference for Barton Peveril College's courageous media studies teacher Adi Waters. For the Eastleigh lecturer is set to sacrifice almost all his body hair in a bid to raise funds for a student expedition
RED Funnel's cross-Solent vehicle ferries are setting a course for the West Country rather than their normal route between Southampton and the Isle of Wight, as they undergo annual dry-docking and maintenance. As a rule the ferry refits are carried out
THE Great Hampshire Sausage and Pie competition is set to take place near Winchester early next month. The event, aimed at finding the best of the county's sausages and pies, will take place at Sparsholt College on February 12. Entries are expected from
Hampshire Farmers' Markets Ltd have just launched their new programme of markets for 2003. The programme has been extended from the sixty eight markets run during last year to an amazing eighty three markets to be held in Aldershot, Alton, Andover, Basingstoke
IT'S a fallacy that healthy food needs to cost the earth, says community dietician Jenny Davies. For as little as £50 a week a family of four can eat healthy food - and food that's good for you doesn't have to mean boring. She said: "It's all a question
LYMINGTON & Milton have withdrawn their application for Southern League football for the third successive season. While Jewson Wessex top dogs Eastleigh and Gosport Borough have already had their preliminary ground inspections done for entry into
IT WAS ladies' night at Andover golf club recently as the women's section held their AGM. Outgoing captain Liz Paul, who handed over to Wendy Plummer, reported a successful year with a record number of women taking part. Her charity, Cystic Fibrosis,
Despite two defeats in four games Redrice are top of the Hampshire Premier Division. The Oakwood Shopfitting sponsored team could only put out a weakened side away at Lee, and the only Redrice winner on the night was team captain Gary Hales, who won 3
Philip Langley's Leckford B overwhelmed their A team when the sides met this week. The contest matched son Andy Young against father Ron, and on this occasion it was Andy who came out on top, helping the B team to a 4-0 win and an increased lead at the
ELLEN MacArthur was today hoping to leave Plymouth and resume her attempt on the Jules Verne round the world record. MacArthur's team were last night still working in freezing conditions in Plymouth Sound on the mast track that was damaged earlier in
EASTLEIGH have dipped back into the transfer market to sign former AFC Bournemouth midfielder Michael Dean on a free transfer from Weymouth. The 24-year-old links up with two old teammates at Ten Acres - ex-Saints and Cherries defender Christer Warren
Former Scotland captain Budge Pountney has announced his retirment from international rugby and aimed a parting shot at the "unprofessionalism" of the Scottish Rugby Union. The Southampton-born player recently underwent an operation to remove a testicle
LYMINGTON & Milton have withdrawn their application for Southern League football for the third successive season. While Jewson Wessex top dogs Eastleigh and Gosport Borough have already had their preliminary ground inspections done for entry into
IT WAS always going to be a well-contested game between Derek Warwick and Swaythling. Both teams played steadily - but it was the shooting of the Derek Warwick girls which settled the issue in the end as they won by 42 goals to 37. The Derek Warwick team
TENNIS ace Harriet Piercy is celebrating after taking two medals in the prestigious British Universities Sports Association championships in Bath. The Winchester star, who is currently in her first year studying at Loughborough University, was victorious
The top four teams in the Kings Volvo Premier Division all recorded maximum points with leaders Generation II crushing bottom team Insurance A 10-0, with only one game going to four sets. Second place Snows A got a 9-1 victory over their D team. Malcolm
A TEENAGER wielding a terrifying seven-inch curved knife has held up a lone shop assistant in a New Forest off-licence and escaped with several hundred pounds from the till. The youth, aged about 16 and only 5ft 5in tall, rode off on a pushbike after
PROTESTERS unhappy about proposals to build a new bridge over the River Test at Romsey will have to wait to find out if they've won their fight. Test Valley planners agreed to put the proposal on hold after hearing there had been 57 letters of objection
SOUTH coast based digital print solutions company Repropoint has expanded its drawing and document scanning bureau and invested in new equipment. As part of the expansion, new machine investments include a further wide format black and white scanner,
Annie Get Your Gun, Southampton Operatic Society, Nuffield Theatre, Southampton THE gun-toting Wild West days of America come to Southampton in this colourful and charming musical. Illiterate hillbilly Annie Oakley is challenged to a gun match with shooting
Wife Begins at 40, Theatre Royal, Winchester GENERALLY, I love undemanding comedies. Anything which allows you to mentally compose a shopping list, grab a quick power-nap and fondly recall Robin's Nest can only be a good thing. Foolishly, perhaps, I expected
AS A crocodile of children snaked their way through the school gates of a Hampshire school there was no sign that a black panther could be at large. But the school run at West End's St James Primary School has taken on a safari-style atmosphere after
BRAVE Tim Neale, who married his sweetheart in a race against time after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, has lost his battle for life. His distraught widow Debs has told how the love of her life - who shared her passion for motorbikes - died as
POORLY Andover soccer fan Shane Jones will see his heroes Man-chester United play at Southampton tomorrow - thanks to the doctors and nurses who have been looking after him. Shane, aged 11, suffers from various ailments including cystic fibrosis and diabetes
PUPILS at Vernham Dean Gillum's Primary School are enjoying fantastic new surroundings following the school's £600,000 extension. For almost a year the school worked out of a temporary unit on site while building work was taking place. The original school
BUILDING work on modern accommodation barracks at Tidworth Camp costing £50 million has started. The new Lucknow Barracks will be built on the site of the 100-year-old Edwardian barracks, which have now been demolished. The new building, which will accommodate
DISABLED staff working in the horticulture division at Enham have created a new plant - a clematis called the Enham Star - after four years development. The plants are being distributed throughout the UK by Romsey-based Hillier Nurseries, who believe
AFTER Hampshire's decision to press ahead with a six-term school year the education authorities in Wiltshire are considering the idea. A questionnaire sent to schools in the autumn has revealed some support for the change - and some opposition. The survey
HAMPSHIRE'S annual Potato Day in Whitchurch grows from strength to strength as this year's event proved when more than 900 people turned out to celebrate the humble spud. "We were almost overwhelmed, but not quite," said organiser Phil Cooper, who was
POLICE have said they will return to Andover's King Arthur's Way estate. Their pledge follows last week's front page story about rubbish on the estate. Residents are demanding action to clean up their estate after an elderly couple were barricaded into
HOUSE buyers in Test Valley should now be receiving the normal standard of service for searches again, following difficulties last year. Problems arose because of an upturn in the housing market, the number of applications received and teething problems
POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a woman was attacked in the grounds of Andover's Cricklade College on Saturday night. The attacker, who was smartly dressed, started following the woman at about 10.30pm. He then approached her from behind and
PEOPLE recovering after a stay in hospital will be given the security of a 24-hour Testway Lifeline free for a month - in the name of long-standing warden Rose Galpin, who died recently. Anyone in Test Valley discharged from hospital, who doesn't already
A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to build a 40-bed care home for the elderly at Stockbridge has cleared its first obstacle. Members of the borough's southern area planning committee gave Brookvale Homes outline permission to build the new home at Winton Hill. But
WORK could be start on the long awaited Stubbington bypass by 2007. Council chiefs have made the multi-million- pound road scheme a top priority. Hampshire County Council's executive member for the environment Keith Estlin has backed the scheme to ease
RESIDENTS living near a controversial hostel for refugees and homeless people were branded "prejudiced" after objecting to plans to expand it. The claim came during a planning appeal lodged by the owner of the Hinton Hotel, Daphne Downes, after her plans
