IT HAS been yet another strange year.
But you, our readers, have stuck by us and placed your trust in our products to keep you up to date with what's going on in Southampton and further afield.
We are ever so grateful.
Here are the most-read stories from each month of 2021 – and some may come as a surprise:
January: Another Covid 'hotspot' identified in Southampton
January 2021
Not a great start to the new year.
An area of Southampton was identified as a Covid 'hotspot', with several other areas not far behind, the interactive Government map showed on January 3.
Aldermoor and Lordswood recorded a rolling infection rate of 801.3 per 100,000 people in the seven days to December 28.
That means nearly one in every 100 people living in the area had coronavirus.
Mind you, comparing this map to the most up-to-date one, things seemed relatively mild this time last year...
February: Covid-19: South African variant found in Southampton
February 2021
The South African variant of Covid-19 was identified in Southampton back in February 2021.
A case of the variant was found in the SO15 5 area of Southampton.
With the rising Omicron variant, the South African one seems but a distant memory.
March: Garage fire in Old Redbridge Road in Southampton
March's top story was yet more bad news, as Southampton residents were woken by the sound of sirens and the smell of burning as a car garage was consumed by flames.
Dozens of firefighters and police officers rushed to Everyway Solutions Body Shop in Redbridge following reports of a fire.
Emergency services were called to the scene on Old Redbridge Road at around 6.40am.
The car garage was engulfed in flames and thick clouds of black smoke could be seen across the areas of Redbridge and Millbrook.
April: Inside the cheapest property in Hampshire right now
April 2021
Our readers love a property story.
This three-bedroom end of terrace house in Gosport was up for auction with a guide price of just £50,000, well under the average UK house price of £256,000.
Excluding shared ownership arrangements, this property on Magennis Close, Gosport, was at the time the cheapest house on the market in Hampshire.
May: Elections live 2021: Results from Southampton and Hampshire
Donna Jones.
Our live blog on the local elections was followed by so many.
The Conservatives won control of Southampton City Council from Labour, with 25 seats to 23.
The Conservatives also retained control of Hampshire County Council.
Donna Jones was also announced as Police Crime Commissioner.
June: Pub landlady who banned children gets backing of customers
June 2021
The long-standing landlady of a popular New Forest pub banned children altogether in sunny June, after an incident with ‘rowdy’ and ‘badly behaved’ youngsters.
Mop Draper, who has been at the helm of The Compass Inn in Winsor for the past 26 years, says she was forced into the decision because of a ‘family with no respect’ who dined in the pub on Sunday.
This story made the nationals, but now Mop has announced her retirement and the pub is set to close.
Read the story by clicking here.
July: St Monica Primary School in Southampton slammed in new Ofsted report
July 2021
A city primary school was given the lowest possible rating in July.
St Monica Primary School was deemed inadequate by the education watchdog, Ofsted.
Inspectors went to the site in Bay Road for a monitoring visit on June 15.
A report published said that school staff “did not ensured that the curriculum provides the breadth required by the national curriculum”.
August: M27 closed in both directions due to police incident
To the man who was meant to be going to the food bank but got stuck in the M27 traffic with us, for so far 2 hours, thank you for sharing your little packed lunches!! #M27 #traffic pic.twitter.com/rEcFLfIcKn
— becca (@BeccaJollyy) August 27, 2021
Police were forced to close the M27 in both directions in August over concerns for a man's welfare.
Despite being stuck standstill for three hours, the drivers still shared a humane moment.
The man involved was also unharmed.
September: Dining and drinking domes dot this Hampshire pub garden
September 2021
Our readers loved reading about this beautiful pub.
The Lapstone at Horton Heath took the spotlight in September after reopening in March.
It now boasts six garden domes and an authentic Italian menu which combines Mediterranean passion with Hampshire produce.
The pub is fast becoming somewhat of a community hub.
Russ Kitching took it over in 2018 when it appeared it would close for good and the land potentially be used for housing.
The successful purchase of the pub by his Chandler's Ford based soft drinks company Thirstee Business followed a Save The Lapstone campaign by locals.
October: Petrol shortage: Do I still need to go to work if I can't get petrol?
October 2021
Ah yes... the great petrol shortage of October 2021.
It appears our readers wanted to know if they could wangle a day off.
The short answer was, no, but we are sure some employers were far more humane and didn't give a blanket response.
November: Body of Southampton teen who was last seen entering water is found
Floral tributes left for Marcel Wochna on Cobden Bridge, Southampton
A terribly sad moment that shocked the community happened in November.
The body of a Southampton teenager who was last seen entering the River Itchen near Cobden Bridge was found.
Marcel Wochna was found following a two day search and rescue operation.
The 15-year-old from the city was last seen at around 11.55pm on Sunday, November 7 in the Cobden Bridge area.
December: Traffic after incident at Bursledon Tesco Extra, Hamble Lane
December 2021
Another terribly sad story that again, shocked the whole community.
A woman in her 30s suffered life-threatening injuries following a crash involving three cars.
Police rushed to the scene of the incident at the Tesco superstore in Hamble Lane, Bursledon.
The crash involved three cars including a blue Hyundai i10, a grey Ford Mondeo and a brown Kia Niro.
Share