Robin Smith has revealed that he once turned down a big-money offer to play baseball. Former England batsman Smith, who is in his testimonial year at Hampshire, begins his 22nd season with the county in three weeks' time. But it could have all been very
The names of the shops and what they sell may have changed, there are more houses and the number of people living in and around the village has grown but basically Lowford has not really changed drastically over the years. Back in the 1950s it was where
Training in Palma with Soren Johnsen Soren has won four Men's Europe Class World and three European Championship titles. He trained with Shirley for two months at Hayling Island and one month in Sydney before she went onto win the Olympic Gold Medal for
This year's Rolex Fastnet Race will have yet another supermaxi in town turning heads. Aside from the refitted Leopard of London, the 90ft razor sharp Shockwave, owned by New Zealand entrepreneur Neville Crichton, will be shipped halfway round the world
The Royal Southampton Yacht Club (RSYC) has taken over the running of a double-handed race to Santander in northern Spain. In collaboration with the Real Club Maritimo de Santander, the race will start on July 12. The tough course will take competitors
CAMPAIGNERS are battling to save one of Hampshire's best- known pubs. The Sir Walter Tyrell, near Brook in the New Forest, is under threat from plans to turn the landmark building into a luxury home. Staff have launched a petition in a bid to save the
POLICE swooped on a Southampton industrial estate following a major lead in the hunt for the killer of Hampshire teenager Hannah Foster, the Daily Echo can reveal today. Officers descended on premises at Empress Park industrial estate, St Denys, yesterday
POLICE officers are putting in hundreds of unpaid hours in the hunt for the killer of Southampton student Hannah Foster. A group of detectives seconded to the murder inquiry, codenamed Operation Springfield, are each doing an extra hour of unpaid work
THE first humanitarian aid arrives in Umm Qasr today as, a week on from the start of the war, the invasion of southern Iraq turns into occupation. The Marchwood-based Sir Galahad of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is carrying 700 tonnes of food and water; a
SOUTHAMPTON troops, who took over running the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr this week, are thrilled their work to bring humanitarian aid into Iraq is headline news. They established a satellite link yesterday afternoon and were last night clustered around the
A SOUTHAMPTON head teacher has vowed to lock his pupils inside school grounds during lunch breaks to stop unruly youngsters causing havoc in the local community. Redbridge Community School head teacher Richard Schofield's tough new policy comes after
SPRING has sprung and a barmy blackbird's fancy has turned to a dark blue Mazda 323F saloon car. From dawn to dusk the bird has been making advances to the car parked in Marls Road, Botley, and even a brush with a cat has failed to dampen its enthusiasm
Itchen College, Southampton, is to launch a trailblazing scheme to help students earn while they learn. Put simply, the scheme offers students the chance to study for four days a week, leaving them free to work and earn money on Friday and at weekends
A SAINTS-crazy jeweller has discovered that good news travels fast after he made a sparkling offer. Kim Rose, of Eclipse Jewellers, Hanover Buildings, Southampton, has been inundated after we reported his pledge to refund all sales of diamond rings sold
Beth Orton is in her early 30s and was born in Norfolk, but if you haven't heard her speaking voice she could just as easily hail from Nashville with a lifetime of musical experience. That's not to say she's a country girl, in any sense of the word. She's
Daniel Beddingfield is not boy band fodder; he's not manufactured pop. He's a guy with talent, versatility, an amazing vocal range and the self-belief and determination to make his success happen. Whether or not his music is what floats your boat, you
ENTERTAINER Paul Daniels was said to be comfortable by staff at St Mary's Hospital, Newport, where he is being treated after collapsing before a show. Tests are being carried out to discover what caused 64-year-old Mr Daniels to collapse shortly before
DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott has cleared the way for a controversial £500,000 youth centre to be built at Fair Oak. Last month campaigning Fair Oak residents failed to stop Eastleigh council giving itself the planning green light to develop the
This year's Rolex Fastnet Race will have yet another supermaxi in town turning heads. Aside from the refitted Leopard of London, the 90ft razor sharp Shockwave, owned by New Zealand entrepreneur Neville Crichton, will be shipped halfway round the world
THERE'S nothing worse than a film with an involving plot that leaves loads of loose ends after the final reel. Happily, this is a crime against celluloid that The Recruit can't be accused of. Treading a delicate balance between being engagingly involved
IT'S THE end of the world as we know it in this big budget action flick directed by Jon Amiel. For reasons unknown, the Earth's inner core has stopped rotating, causing the gradual deterioration of the planet's vital electromagnetic field. A devastating
IF YOU'RE easily offended or suffer from a nervous disposition then look away now. The Rules Of Attraction is Roger Avary's bravura adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis' novel about sex, drugs and teenage angst on an 80s college campus. Sean Bateman (James
SALMA Hayek took a break from the Immac to play the relatively hirsute heroine of her latest film, Frida. This biopic of legendary artist Frida Kahlo has been a dream project of Hayek's for years, and she was duly rewarded for her hard work with an Oscar
Films showing in the Hampshire region until April 3. 8 MILE (15): A poor factory worker uses his music to try and gain some self respect. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (12A): Spielberg caper starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the ultimate conman. CHICAGO (12A): Award-winning
Southampton International Airport takes off as the country's latest hub for no frills, low cost flights this weekend with the inauguration of Flybe services from the city. Sunday will see initial departures to Geneva, Milan Bergamo, Dublin, Jersey and
Online shopping at Tesco stores in Southampton has become so popular that the supermarket group is taking on more delivery drivers. It is looking for drivers across the country but says Southampton is one of the boom areas where the shortage of drivers
CONSTRUCTION began in Hampshire today on the next generation of Navy warships costing £4.3 billion. After a year of wrangling and protracted union negotiations over a relocation package, workers at Vosper Thornycroft (VT) have started construction on
The Sugababes blow all the stereotypes about teenage girl bands out of the water. They're not just about market researched midriff appeal, but actually about music, attitude and passion. The industry recognised that at the Brit Awards and their Southampton
The original American Teenage Dirtbags hit the Wedgewood Rooms on Tuesday. Their music may be top ranking raw and rowdy fun stuff, but actually they are musically a serious outfit - and clearly an inspiration to Brit public school rockers Busted. Wheatus
WITH a big national launch event being held next month and a new single imminent, Southampton band Careless are definitely going places. Formed in 2001, they have already come a long way, and played at festivals and high profile clubs such as the Cavern
A NEW blueprint to transform the Medina Valley into England's answer to Monte Carlo - bringing with it hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds - has been unveiled. The Project Cowes document, a £90,000 investigation by development experts
VITAL information technology facilities across Fareham are being axed. As from today, three learning centres in the town will be closed as a cost-cutting measure by Fareham College who can no longer afford to run them. The outlets on Fareham's West Street
ISLANDERS on both sides of the divide over the Iraq conflict stepped up their respective campaigns as hostilities intensified. As 200 high school pupils walked out of lessons to protest against the war, the relatives of 20 Islanders serving in the Gulf
ISLAND firefighters are poised to reject the latest moves to end their pay dispute. In an angry response to the threat of the government imposing the deal and legislating against further strike action, firefighters have accused Deputy Prime Minister John
WIGHT Leisure expects advance Isle of Wight Pop Festival ticket sales to top the 2,000 mark by today - leaving half its allocation unsold with just days left to shift its allocation. The IoW Council's leisure arm has 4,000 tickets it is offering at a
PERHAPS the most striking feature of the Cowes skyline is at the centre of a raging heritage versus progress debate. For nearly a century, the 80-tonne hammerhead crane has jutted above the rooftops from Souter's yard (formerly J S White) as a monument
ST MARY'S Hospital has refused to deny claims it is to reduce medical cover on its children's ward. Cowes GP David Biggs fears seriously ill children admitted to hospital at night may have to go to Portsmouth or Southampton. Dr Biggs said such a move
HERO schoolboy sailor Seb Clover is planning to sail around Cape Horn for his next adventure. The 16-year-old Ryde School Pupil from East Cowes became the youngest person to complete a transatlantic crossing in January. Now Seb plans to take on the challenge
AGE Concern on the Island has netted a £3,000 cash boost from one of the UK's largest grant-making trusts. The Lloyds TSB Foundation has made the donation to help the charity meet its running costs. Age Concern on the Island provides a lifeline to older
A NEW county office for members of the Isle of Wight Royal British Legion has been officially opened. The chairman of the Island's council, Councillor Heather Humby, attended the ceremony when the keys to the new centre in Bumbles Lane, Wootton Bridge
EASTLEIGH 10k winner Glynn Tromans is aiming high at this year's IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland. The most experienced member of the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland team believes all 11 senior men are capable
HIGH-flying Eastleigh Football Club have been doing the business on the pitch - but are now launching a campaign to get the local community more involved in their exploits. The table-topping Wessex Jewson League outfit - which numbers Saints legend Matt
CHERRIES new boy Scott McDonald is vowing to make up for lost time after completing his transfer deadline day move to Dean Court yesterday. McDonald has signed a deal with Cherries until the end of the season after his contract with Southampton was cancelled
I'D HEARD lots of good things about the food at the Dog and Crook, so I was very keen to put its restaurant to the test. In fact, the signs were so positive that I had to go for a Monday evening, after ringing four days in advance to book a table for
FIRST-TIME visitors to Kama - one of the best of Southampton's latest crop of Indian restaurants - could be forgiven for wondering what to expect. With a name directly alluding to ancient Indian sex manual the Kama Sutra and a slogan, "Feel the passion
A section of the Titanic's famous Grand Staircase is expected to fetch up to £22,000 when it sells at auction. The foot-long piece of oak made up part of the handrail of the staircase, which epitomised the luxury of the liner. More recently it was made
CRADLE 2 the Grave, or Romeo Must Still Die as it should perhaps be titled considering its similarity to director Andrzej Bartkowiak's previous film, is a routine martial arts thriller enlivened briefly by a couple of well choreographed fight sequences
JUSTIN Rose will need a good second day in Florida if he is to make the cut on his Players Championship debut. The Hampshire star was two-over-par after 11 holes of yesterday's first round when an approaching storm halted play. Nearly half the field have
VIOLINIST Nigel Kennedy has agreed to sponsor a Basingstoke College of Technology fashion student - after meeting him on the way to a football match. Chris Finney, 22, who lives in Black Dam, Basingstoke, spotted the leading violinist coming out of the
A NEW police enforcer is set to target notorious speeding and accident hotspots in the Basingstoke area. The mobile enforcer will operate on routes where motorists are known to exceed the limit and which have a high accident record. The officer's video
BASINGSTOKE'S popular Viables craft centre is being considered for redevelopment - and there are fears it could end up being replaced by blocks of flats and houses. The five-acre site is a former farm, housing more than 20 craft shops ranging from textiles
This country has of late become rather fond of its sailing heroes, names such as solo sailors Ellen MacArthur and Emma Richards and Olympic medallists Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy. With the sport enjoying this hiatus, it is vital that we pick up and run
To prove the popularity of the many paying races and challenges currently on the circuit, Deborah Stevenson, an accountant from Durley, has just signed up for her second Challenge Business experience. Having spent time windsurfing, dinghy sailing and
For its second week the Raymarine Warsash Spring Series enjoyed sparkling conditions and a good force 3-5 sailing breeze from the east. The Hunter 707s stuck to tradition by causing three general recalls, but the black flag penalty had them behaving more
Today's Principal Arrivals: Terrier, vehicles, 0530, 34/5; MOL Solution, container, 1300, 205; Tinka, general cargo, pm, 204. Today's Principal Sailings: Hoo Swift, general cargo, am, Dibles Wharf; Hual Triton, ro-ro, 1400, 40; Nedlloyd America, container
THE future of Basingstoke Town Football Club has been assured after the club agreed a settlement with substantial creditors the Inland Revenue. On Monday, Basingstoke Town and Social Club Limited agreed to be placed into a Company Voluntary Arrangement
STAND-IN skipper Alistair Ramus will fly the Atlantic twice - to play in the most important game in Tottonians' history. ramus will jet in from a business trip in America tomorrow morning - and fly back out again directly after the visit of second-placed
STAND-IN skipper Alistair Ramus will fly the Atlantic twice - to play in the most important game in Tottonians' history. ramus will jet in from a business trip in America tomorrow morning - and fly back out again directly after the visit of second-placed
SOUTHAMPTON boxer Matthew Barney climbs into the ring at Wembley tomorrow and admits: "It will be the biggest night of my life." The super middleweight takes on Basingstoke knockout specialist Dean Francis for the vacant British title on a bill topped
