A former student of Wyvern and Stoke Park and also Eastleigh College, Matthew Edwards (28yrs) achieved his employment goal this week when he was appointed the Head Soccer Coach at Knox College, located in Galesburg, Illinois, USA.

Knox College was founded in 1837 by social reformers strongly opposed to slavery; Knox was one of the first colleges in the United States open to both women and people of colour. And it was on this campus that Abraham Lincoln chose to denounce slavery.

After graduating from Chichester University, seven years ago Matt left England to work as a football coach in the New York area. Six weeks into his employment, Matt was promoted to Regional Manager for the Philadelphia area where he met Kathy the woman who was to become his future wife.

After a stint at Springfield College, Massachusetts where he studied for his masters’ degree and qualified as a teacher, as well as being employed as Assistant Head Soccer Coach and holding down another job training youth footballers and coaching three of the football clubs teams, Matt found full time work in the Alumni Office as an assistant director. It was then he stepped down as assistant coach to concentrate upon coaching at the youth football club.

During his time at Springfield he has coached US soccer coaches at numerous venues where they were attending courses, spent time with the American Olympic Soccer team and attended national conferences of the national coaches association.

 An opportunity to coach at another top New England college, Amhurst arose last year where he was appointed Assistant  Coach.

 It’s ironic that at Wyvern School during his time there, one or two of his teachers told his parents, that he would not amount to anything because of his poor academic performance. On more than one occasion, Matt’s tutor at Eastleigh College would call his parents to complain of his continual lateness in attending class.

 If there ever was a success story of a young Englishman making good in an overseas country, this surely ranks in the top ten. It also shows that if you are determined to succeed at your chosen career path, it takes hard work and dedication. Congratulations Matt, your family, friends and the town of Eastleigh are proud of you.

Andy Forbes celebrating The Spitfires third goal with travelling Eastleigh supporters

Ian Baird’s Spitfires will take on rivals Salisbury City in the Blue Square Bet South tomorrow night (7.45 pm kick off) at the The Raymond McEnhill Stadium with great confidence after a 0-4 convincing away win to  second from bottom placed Hampton & Richmond Borough on Saturday.

Baird went with a different side to the one that disappointed  away to Staines, Greame Montgomery replaced Scott Rogers (out with flu) in midfield and left back Michael Green made way for Gary Elphick for his first start since he signed from Eastbourne Borough.

These changes pushed Andy Forbes to left back so captain Tommy Jordan could partner with Elphick and the new defensive partnership was a successful one as The Spitfires defended well throughout the game giving on loan Southampton goalkeeper Jack Dovey more or less an easy game.

It took just five minutes for the deadlock to be broken, Daryl McMahon who filled in for the absent Rogers in central midfield and Damian Scannell combined together on the left wing allowing the former West Ham United midfielder to cross a ball into the area where Jamie Slabber done well to flick a header just inside the post to score his tenth goal of the season in all competitions.

The first half saw very few chances after the goal,  after 15 minutes the home side had a corner taken by Ryan Blake and his cross met by the head of Beavers captain Dean Inman but his effort on goal was saved by the post, Graeme Montgomery’s shot was saved by former Eastleigh reserve keeper Craig Ross however much of the first half comfortably in Eastleigh’s half.

Qualified linesman Gareth Heighs thankfully was in the crowd

The half time whistle was approaching and Hampton won a corner however suddenly linesman Rob Smith signalled to referee Chris Powell that he had a groin problem, luckily qualified linesman Gareth Heighs was in the crowd and saved the game much to the delight of the Eastleigh supporters.

Eastleigh doubled their advantage twenty minutes after the break, Jamie Slabber released Damien Scannell who done well to run down the right wing to lay a ball across the face of goal where Bradley Bubb made no mistake with the simplest of tap-ins  however Bubb in the right place at the right time scored his seventh goal in six appearances on his loan spell at the club from Aldershot Town.

Andy Forbes has scored the most goals in Eastleigh’s history with 145 goals and the former striker collected the ball in the left back position after 72 minutes and ran down the wing to the edge of the box before placing a shot past goalkeeper Craig Ross.

After second half substitute Jamie Brown picking up a harsh tenth yellow of card of the season in all competitions, the utility man was fouled just outside the box with minutes to go and creator of the opening goal Daryl McMahon curled a free kick past The Beavers keeper which put the icing on the cake for The Spitfires.

While The Spitfires were cruising to their fifth match unbeaten, 13th placed Salisbury City were in a tough battle against relegation threatened Bromley at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium where The Whites lost their first league game in six league outings.

After Salisbury having the better of the first halves, Bromley’s Anthony Thomas gave the visitors the lead just five minutes after the restart.

Winger Albert Jarrett made a  run down the left wing, beating two players before putting a great cross into the box, which was parried away by Smith into the path of Joseph-Dubois.

The midfielder saw his shot hit the crossbar and fall to Thomas, who made no mistake by shooting home to give the visitors the lead.

Just four minutes later, Bromley doubled their advantage, Jarrett did well to beat his man down the line and whipped a cross into the box, which Hakeem Araba left for Thomas.

Thomas back heeled the ball to Joseph-Dubois  who finished at the second attempt after his first shot was blocked by Salisbury keeper Tommy Smith.

Eastleigh’s last game against Salisbury was at home at The Silverlake Stadium which proved to be a tough opposition after The Whites made The Spitfires battle for a share of the points.

It took seventeen minutes before former Spitfire Robbie Matthews put the visitors in front, Eastleigh’s Andy Forbes missed an interception which led to Matthews finishing of a awkward long ball from the right.

After a disallowed Salisbury goal in the second half and much pressure from the visitors, former Aldershot Town winger Graeme Montgomery came on as a substitute on the 80th minute.

Montgomery popped up with the late equaliser with a superb 30 yard strike that curled in the bottom right corner six minutes after he came on, much to the delight of the Eastleigh management team and players.

There was still time for a late winner however both teams just couldn’t get past the opposition goalkeepers who played a key part of the game including Eastleigh’s Jack Dovey who made a fantastic double save in the dying minutes to secure a share of the points.

Coming to this game Salisbury have secured the signings of three new players, former Portsmouth defender Ugo Udoji on a non-contract basis, Mark Scott on loan from Swindon Town who previously played on loan at the club this season and Charlie Griffin on loan from Forest Green Rovers who has also played for the club two seasons ago scoring 21 goals for The Whites.

This is going to be a great game so come to The Raymond McEnhill Stadium tonight roar on The Spitfires to 6th place in the Blue Square Bet South.

COME ON YOU SPITFIRES!!!

Photo’s by Paul Paxford

For match tweets and info follow eastleighfc

Follow Kieran James for articles on Eastleigh FC Follow @KieranJames1995

Match photos by Paul Paxford of Eastleigh’s last game away to Hampton & Richmond Borough.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lALQTgNGYLc

Itchen Valley Country Park - Visitor Centre

The Salisbury International Arts Festival has brought its Nature of Art In Wessex project to Eastleigh.

The Nature of Art in Wessex involves communities in six different areas across the South of England, using the arts to help improve access to the natural environment. The communities develop the work themselves and all projects are featured as part of the annual Salisbury International Arts Festival.

The 3yr project has been mainly funded by Natural England and the Big Lottery fund, who awarded the Salisbury festival a grant of £99,986 in 2009. The project has been running since 2010 and is now into its final year. Other communities that have been involved in this project are from Laverstock, the Isle of Wight, Emsworth, Swindon and Andover.

Artist Nicky Bellinger and Eastleigh Borough Council’s Creative Learning Team are currently working on a project that will help people with visual impairments create a sensory trail in Itchen Valley Country Park. The trail is being developed now and will be showcased during the Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival 2012, which runs from 25th May to the 9th June.

The first workshop at Itchen Valley Country Park included a play in the woods for pupils with visual impairments from Toynbee School.  Marie Negus from Eastleigh Borough Council joined in the fun, saying afterwards:

“One lovely girl Daisy said that it was the best day of her life, even better than birthdays and Christmas. She has two prosthetic eyes and was climbing trees, jumping in icy puddles, she loved it.”

The completed trail will be launched this Easter and will be available for everyone to enjoy throughout the festival.

Further workshops will be taking place on Wednesday 22 February at 9.30 and 1.30, at Itchen Valley Country Park.

For more information contact gjenya@salsiburyfestival.co.uk

An Eastleigh man decided that it was time to nail his colours to the mast and take a stand over the increased annual charge for his allotment. In the time honoured tradition of this country, Alex Mullins, Chairman of Eastleigh and District Allotments Association, challenged Eastleigh Borough Council through the courts over the dramatic 60% price increase, from £25 to £40 a year.

During the course of the hearing a submission was given that the Council had not considered the views of Allotment plot holders and relied on ‘discussions’ with other Councils and how they accessed charges for their allotments. No evidence was offered by the Council team as to the rent increases and charges for other services such as tennis clubs or bowling, beside the increase for allotments.  Indeed, there was clearly a lack of knowledge from the council team on any of these facilities, for no explanation by the Council was offered in an attempt to explain the so-called ‘necessary’ increases

With the representatives from Eastleigh Council unable to explain, it fell to Mr Mullins to provide the answers required by the court. Mr Mullins had clearly researched this matter thoroughly and told The Eastleigh News that he even gave the court a potted history of allotment charges over past times that demonstrated the charges over the past 20 years, had gone up some 400%.

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Inside the Berry Theatre. Photo: Arup Ltd http://www.arup.com

Hedge End Town Council is currently giving away Theatre tickets.

The Berry Theatre will be celebrating its first birthday soon, and Hedge End Town Council is sponsoring that anniversary. The full programme of events can be seen in the online brochure

Announced by Cllr Louise Bloom at the Community & Culture meeting of 14th February, as part of the anniversary celebrations  Hedge End Town Council have 100 tickets to give away for the performance of Great Expectations on Friday 23rd March. After the performance, there will be an opportunity to discuss Charles Dickens masterpiece and Hotbuckle Productions interpretation of it with the performers themselves.

There is a limit of four tickets per household, which can only be sent to a verifiable address with a Hedge End postcode. To get your tickets, please apply directly to the Town Council Offices.

The author of this article, Ray Turner, will be standing as an Independent candidate in the Hedge End, Shamblehurst, by election.

Published by Eastleigh News, 7 Northlands Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9AW
Promoted by Ray Turner, 20 New Cliffe Gdns, Hedge End, SO30 4AH

Police are appealing for information to help locate a mountain bike which was stolen from Bishopstoke between 4 & 5pm on Wednesday 15 February.

The Scott Aspect mountain bike was stolen from a driveway on Haig Road.

The bike has 24 gears, is data tagged and white & black in colour.  The owner, a 16 year old boy had just finished cleaning it. It has blue bolts in places & a ripped sticker on the top bar and rips on both sides of the saddle.

Please contact Eastleigh Police if you have any information

Reference: 44120064353

Jugglers at the 2010 Music Festival & Mela

Hedge End residents are contributing twice towards the Eastleigh Festival of Music & Mela, an annual event that draws large crowds into the Town Centre.

At the Community & Culture committee meeting of 14th February, Hedge End Town Council was asked to contribute £500 to the Asian Welfare & Cultural Association, which would be put towards the cost of staging the Eastleigh Music Festival and Mela.

The grant was requested under section 137 of  the Local Government & Housing Act, 1972 which allows local authorities to spend a limited amount on activities they were not otherwise empowered to do, but which they considered to be in the interests of their area or its inhabitants, and which would produce a benefit commensurate with the expenditure involved.

During the discussion, Cllr Dan Clarke commented;

Hedge End residents have already contributed via the Borough’s contribution to this event. It is unfair on Hedge End to have to double-up.

Cllr Garton was supportive of the idea, saying;

Its a great event and the food is wonderful.

The chair of the meeting Cllr Louise Bloom summed-up by saying;

I’m not keen on double taxation, but there are exceptions.

Despite the Councillors reservations, the grant was approved on the condition that other Parish Councils should be approached for a similar contribution in future, so that it is not just Hedge End that has to pay twice.

Cllr Stan Sthankiya was not present during the discussion of this item due to his connections with the Asian Welfare & Cultural Association.

Other grants that were awarded were;

1. £187.20 to St Johns Ambulance in Hedge End, to fund some new signs for the front of their building.
2. £300 to Hedge End New Music Makers, for hire of a Hall and a professional Pianist.

One idea that was put forward during the discussion, that the Twinning Association could apply for a section 137 grant, was quickly dismissed by Cllr Bloom on the grounds that the Section 137 funds are to be allocated to the wider community of Hedge End, not something that its Councillors are connected with…

The author of this article, Ray Turner, will be standing as an Independent candidate in the Hedge End, Shamblehurst, by election.

Published by Eastleigh News, 7 Northlands Road, Eastleigh, SO50 9AW
Promoted by Ray Turner, 20 New Cliffe Gdns, Hedge End, SO30 4AH

Asbestos fibres. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. http://www.usgs.gov

New statistics show that Eastleigh has a death rate for an asbestos related cancer which is above the national average.

Figures reported by the not-for-profit campaign group the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) show that from 2006 to the end of 2010, mesothelioma, a terminal cancer of the lung wall, was recorded as the underlying cause of 34 deaths in the area,  the equivalent to 3.8 deaths in 100,000 people.

The average for England and Wales during the same period was 2.5.

APIL president David Bott said:

“More people die of mesothelioma in Eastleigh per head of the population than in most other parts of the country.”

“This is bad enough, but the number of men dying from this disease is expected to peak during the next five years and what many people don’t realise is that hundreds of sufferers  across the UK cannot get the compensation they need to help them through the last days of their life.”

“What is needed is for the Government to bring forward proposals for a fund of last resort which would act as a safety net for injured workers who are otherwise unable to pursue the justice they deserve.”

APIL are concerned that many workers who have developed mesothelioma are sometimes unable to pursue a claim for damages because they can no longer trace the employer who exposed them to asbestos, or the employer’s insurance company.

They state that this is because the onset of symptoms often comes decades after a worker has inhaled asbestos fibres, during which time employers go out of business and insurance documents can be lost or destroyed.

Mr Bott added;

“The Government proposed to set up a fund of last resort shortly before the general election, but 18 months has now passed and nothing has been heard about it since,”

“In the meantime, sick and dying workers who are prevented from bringing valid cases are left effectively subsidising insurance companies.

“This unacceptable situation simply cannot go on. Something must be done before more dying victims of mesothelioma go uncompensated.”

“A similar fund exists for victims injured by uninsured drivers. The Government must do the right thing and introduce one for injured workers.”

Asbestos was widely used in the railway and shipbuilding industries, to lag pipes and boilers.  Eastleigh is thought to have an above average rate of asbestos-related illness because those industries were previously big employers in Southern Hampshire, including the Railway works at Eastleigh.

The Hampshire Asbestos Support and Awareness Group was formed in 2006 following the death of an Eastleigh Railway Worker, Dave Salisbury, from an asbestos-related illness in 2005. They offer a completely free and confidential service to victims of asbestos related diseases and their families across the south of England.

The Eastleigh Borough Council website also has a page about asbestos. Besides being used in heavy industry, the material has also been used in buildings. Their advice is;

There is only a risk from asbestos when damaged or if drilled or sawed etc.  It is at this point when fibres are released into the air.  The general rule is that if you have asbestos and it is not damaged, it is safest to leave it in place.  The risk to health from undamaged asbestos is very low.

Only one of the recycling sites in the Borough of Eastleigh, at Grange Road in Netley,  is able to accept asbestos products from domestic properties. Fuller details can be found on the Eastleigh Borough website.

If you think you have asbestos in your property, there are a number of business locally who will deal with it for you.

A brace from Bradley Bubb from the penalty spot secured Eastleigh a share of the points

Ian Baird’s Spitfires take on second from bottom placed Hampton & Richmond Borough in the Blue Square Bet South at The Beveree Stadium (3PM kick off).

Eastleigh made the trip to Staines Town on Valentine’s day at Wheatsheaf Park and The Spitfires didn’t get of to the best of starts, David Wheeler put the home side in front and things went from bad to worse when former Spitfire loanee Mark Nwokeji doubled The Swans lead in the second half.

Second half substitutes Jamie Brown and Graeme Montgomery made way for Jamie Slabber and Michael Green and Eastleigh went three at the back, Damien Scannell got pulled down in the box and earned The Spitfires a penalty and Bradley Bubb scored his fifth goal in five appearances for The Spitfires.

However the on loan Aldershot Town striker wasn’t finished there, Damien Scannell went down yet again and earned his side another penalty, Bubb stepped up to the mark and salvaged Eastleigh a point in a game where The Spitfires were lucky to escape with a share of the points.

While The Spitfires were struggling to get a point away to Staines, The Beavers were away in the FA Trophy 3rd round where they crashed out of the competition to Evo-Stick Northern Premier out Northhich Victoria.

With a low cross allowing to reach to Northwich, Nathan Woolfe made the Beavers pay with a well taken finish from 15 yards out 15 minutes into the game.

Just over twenty minutes later Northwich doubled there lead with Woolfe again on the score sheet, once again  the former Bolton Wanderers striker latched on to a good pass to crash the ball past Beavers goalkeeper Craig Ross from 25 yards.

Seven minutes past the restart and The Beavers went 3-0 down, Northwich won a corner and the cross found midfielder Wayne Riley who swept the ball in to the net leaving the defence helpless.

Dave Tarpey got one back for the visitors with a deflected shot however Lewis Ferrell pulled back Woolfe in the penalty box and Kyle Armstrong converted Northwich’s fourth goal of the night and sent Hampton’s dreams of making the forth round of the FA Trophy crashing.

The last time The Spitfires and The Beavers met was this season at The Silverlake Stadium, Jamie Slabber broke the deadlock that day from a Graeme Montgomery free kick.

The former Aldershot Town winger swung a free kick into the box and former Tottneham Hotspur striker Slabber with his back to the goal used the back of his head to find the net with a good finish.

Six minutes from the restart, Nathan Coller equalised for the visitors with a fine individual effort in a game where Eastleigh were left wondering how they didn’t claim all three points.

The last time these two teams met at The Beveree Stadium was more than one year ago, The Spitfires went 1-0 down after 32 minutes.

A free kick  from twenty-five yards was swung in to the far post where central defender David Stevens who rose to head home his first goal for the club at the time.

The second half came and The Spitfires got an equaliser ten minutes after the restart, Ross Bottomley (now at AFC Totton) fought for the ball on the edge of the box and the ball finally broke free to Richard Graham (now at Dartford) allowing the winger to glide a left foot strike low past Joe Talbot.

Two minutes later Bottomley met Tony Taggart’s (now at Sutton United) corner to put the visitors in front however The Spitfires hard work was undone by second half substitute Lawrence Yaku.

James Simmonds collected the ball and lofted a pass over the heads of the Eastleigh into the path of the Yaku, the striker lifted the ball over Jason Matthews  (now at Bath City) and watched the ball bounce into the back of the net before setting off on a somersault run to celebrate the equaliser.

In other news the match between Eastleigh and Tonbridge Angels that got called off due to a frozen pitch last Saturday has been rearranged for Tuesday 20th March (7:45 PM kick off).

In injury news, Canadian midfielder Philip Appiah returned from injury on Tuesday and will be available for tomorrows match.

This is going  to be a great game to watch so male the journey up to The Beveree Stadium and roar on those Spitfires!

COME ON YOU SPITFIRES!!!

Photo by Graeme Horobin

For match tweets and info follow eastleighfc

Follow Kieran James for articles on Eastleigh FC Follow @KieranJames1995

Motorists in Chandlers Ford have had to find an alternative place to purchase fuel since the Shell garage on the Bournemouth Road near The Fryern Arcade closed down last summer.

A sign was put up on the front of the security fencing saying that the garage would reopen in January 2012. In early December the sign was replaced with another saying that the garage is now due to reopen in June 2012.

The overhead canopy was demolished prior to the concrete forecourt being dug up and removed. The diggers then went in to remove what can only be described as a huge amount of earth.

A spokesman for the company undertakeing the work said that the old fuel tanks had to be removed as well as a lot of disused equipment that was left over from a time when the garage actually did repair work. Before the new fuel tanks can be installed, excavations down to 5.5 metres or approximately 18 foot have to be undertaken.

The work involves preparing the ground to the satisfaction of the authorities responsible for Building Regulations and Environmental Regulations. The new double skinned tanks that replace the old single skin tanks cannot be installed before the preliminary work of pouring the concrete base and walls have been completed.

Once the concrete well has been finished, covers have to be put in place prior to inspection. The wait for the inspection means that not only can the tanks not be installed, but the finished surface of the forecourt cannot be undertaken along with the new canopy.

Who would have thought that refurbishing a garage would have taken so long?

Meanwhile residents will continue to travel either to Twyford Road or ASDA at the far end of town to purchase fuel locally.