Latest news with #Howards'Way
BBC News
04-05-2025
- BBC News
BBC reporter navigates River Hamble by paddleboard
As a reporter for BBC South I enjoy taking on a challenge, so being tasked with exploring a river from source to sea was one I embraced. I'm not going to lie, I was looking for a short one, so we settled on the River Hamble in the Covid lockdown I picked up paddleboarding for the first time, so I was keen to pick up a stand-up paddleboard, get exploring, and see the river in its full guide for the day is Karl Hobbs, an instructor with The Paddle Centre in Swanwick. Paddleboarding for me is a way to be active on my doorstep, enjoying the beautiful nature around us. Karl has been doing it for decades, and the Hamble feels like home to to Tom Peterken, a data scientist for Ordnance Survey, the source of the six-mile long (10km) river is the Sand Boils, or Boiling Sands, in Bishop's also tells me there are about 350 different places "where a stream of some sort begins, which eventually feeds the Hamble". But we join the water at Botley Mills, where the river becomes navigable. Tide times are key as we enter the shallow stretch of the to data from the Office for National Statistics, there are 19,000 people who live within 100m (328ft) of the Hamble system. As well as homes there are businesses on its banks too, including the not-so-secret Hidden Tap friendly face of Rob Sanderson peers over the wall on the riverbank to lower down a drinks order using a handy pulley system. He has seen traffic on the waterway, such as paddleboarders and canoeists, increase since the pandemic."Initially we were serving people by leaning over the wall," he explains."So it's a good job I'm as tall as I am, and my arms are as long as they are."As we journey south the softness of the birdsong and the breeze add an ease to the paddle motion. "Remember your old geography," Karl says at one point. "The river is deeper on the outside of the bend."With the sun's rays kissing the water's surface, the beauty of the river is striking, and the wind shows its presence before we feel can read the river as we meander through the countryside."Once we get round the corner we'll be able to see the lay of the land, and which way the wind is blowing," he advises."So if it's possible we'll try and stick to the left hand side and get a bit more shelter." We reach the River Hamble Country Park, where families cluster on the pontoon with their crabbing we venture beneath the bustling transport links of the south, and the river's personality begins to change. Glistening boats line the marina at Swanwick, and as well as the glamour of the gin palaces there is a glimmer of showbiz. The Jolly Sailor pub here played host to film crews in the 1980s for the BBC drama Howards' Way. Beyond the harbour master's black and white tower, the rise and fall of the water ramps up as we make progress towards the mouth of the river, and the wake of passing boats brings an additional balancing challenge. Passing the lifeboat deployment station, Southampton Water estuary beckons, and the coastal finish line our reward. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Daily Mail
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EastEnders composer SIMON MAY reveals how he clawed his way back from a tour that nearly broke him
Simon May not only penned the theme tune to EastEnders, but also composed the music for Howards' Way, Eldorado and Crossroads, as well as a string of hit singles, writes Dan Moore. The composer, 80, started his career, after graduating from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, as a modern languages and music teacher, before catching the eye of BBC producers with his co-written musical Smike. This led to EastEnders where he also penned the chart-topping Nick Berry single Every Loser Wins. A father of four, Simon lives with Rosie, his wife of 50 years, in Guildford, Surrey. He is currently considering new venues for his popular musical, Rick!, which is based on Washington Irving's classic story, Rip Van Winkle. What did your parents teach you about money? My father, Don, ran a furniture business. He was an altruist and philanthropist who was more concerned about his customers than making a profit. With this in mind, I'd say the best advice I got from my father and mother, Eileen, was that money is not the most important thing in the world. In a way, I wish they had felt more able to give me the experience of their lives, even when I was doing well. Advising me to save in the good years for the lean times would have been welcome, but they just didn't think like that. I've tried to make up for that with our children. Was money tight when you were growing up? My brother, Michael, and I had a reasonably comfortable upbringing. We weren't wealthy but we were not short of a roof over our heads, food or an education. As a child, my parents made sacrifices to send us both to public school in Wiltshire – Dauntsey's School. They prioritised our education and we benefited so much. What has been your biggest money mistake? It was a massive financial mistake on my part. I personally financed a concert tour for the Simon May Orchestra through my company. We booked Drury Lane Theatre and Fairfield Halls in Croydon, among others. The result was that we lost an eye-watering six-figure sum. Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? Yes, due to that tour, and to say Rosie and I were struggling would be an understatement. It was a very stressful 12 months. We had to sell our home, a beautiful thatched cottage, when our youngest was three and the oldest 13. It was a great life lesson and I became far more budget conscious. What was the best year of your financial life? Undoubtedly 1986 – EastEnders had been released and Howard's Way was massively popular. I also had a string of chart hits including Every Loser Wins, Marti Webb's version of the Howards' Way theme and Anita Dobson's EastEnders single Anyone Can Fall In Love. We had a few nice holidays off the back of our success, and we bought our home for a song – as in the songs paid for it! What was your best financial decision? To invest in our children's education. They went to state and independent schools, which gave them a balanced education. What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun? An original Wurlitzer jukebox, which has pride of place in our kitchen-lounge. I bought it in 1970 for the equivalent of £10,000 in today's money, just before I met Rosie. When she moved in, 90 per cent of the records on it were my hits and recordings. Just like my wardrobe was packed with my clothes. Over time, I found that all the records on the jukebox were Rosie's and all the wardrobe space was taken up with her clothes. Do you save or invest in the stock market? I am a reformed spender. Rosie has Premium Bonds, while I have recently opened a cash ISA into which I deposit money each month by direct debit. I taught for many years and had a teacher's pension, but I had to cash it in one year when all four of our children were in private education. Now my pension is my copyrights for EastEnders, Eldorado and so on. Do you own property? We have just moved into a lovely two-bed apartment which overlooks the centre of Guildford, with a tiny mortgage. When we moved from the nearby village of Bramley, I went through the ceremony of cutting up all my credit cards – apart from my American Express, which is handy when we go on holiday. What is the one little luxury you treat yourself to? Instead of three weeks in an average hotel, we prefer to spend one in a luxury hotel. If you were Chancellor, what's the first thing you would do? I would back off the National Insurance contributions hike and put a heavy tax on crypto dealers and investors' profits instead. Employers should not have to face a crippling NIC levy. I would also stop penalising our farmers, so we are less reliant on imported produce. The Government's policy on farming is the most ridiculous and spiteful policy, apart from putting VAT on private schools. This tax penalises parents who want the best for their children, who, in turn, will greatly benefit the economy in years to come. Starmer has done a sterling job on foreign affairs, but he needs to rethink these domestic matters. What is your number one financial priority? Now that we've moved and our lives are getting more settled, I'd like to get back to speaking publicly with NMP Live. I really enjoy entertaining, and it brings in welcome funds.
