Latest news with #Solent
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Female clarinettist in Coldstream Guards groped six colleagues at parties including after King's Coronation
A FEMALE clarinettist in the Coldstream Guards groped six colleagues at parties after the King's Coronation and other state ceremonies. Lance Corporal Caitlyn Hawkins squeezed a male soldier's privates while staggering back from a pub, a court heard. 2 Lance Corporal Caitlyn Hawkins groped six colleagues at parties after the King's Coronation and other state ceremonies Credit: Solent And she told a female: 'It's annoying that you are straight and this attractive — do you not want to try it?', before putting her hands on her victim's breasts. Col Jim Carmichael, prosecuting, told Bulford military court that all the victims were in Army bands with Hawkins, 26, who once appeared on TV playing songs for The court heard that while heavily intoxicated from drinking at a London pub, she groped a colleague's privates and touched his buttocks. She then grabbed another soldier without consent. read more on uk news On that same night, she undid a female colleague's bra over her clothing after trying to touch her breasts. The court martial heard of other incidents involving three females. Chris Cannon, mitigating, said Hawkins had now sought mental health help and cut down her drinking. She admitted seven sexual assaults and two disgraceful conduct charges. Most read in The Sun She got an 18-month suspended sentence, with 240 hours of unpaid work, and was dismissed from the Army. Judge John Atwill said: 'You probably would have had a very successful career as an Army musician. Woman in her 30s sexually assaulted outside Tube station during early hours sparking urgent manhunt "You have thrown all of that away.' 2 Hawkins admitted seven sexual assaults and two disgraceful conduct charges Credit: Solent
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
‘Rip off' balloon festival slammed for having just TWO inflated, ‘disgusting' food and ‘pub karaoke' live music
One guest said the Lewis Capaldi and Ariana Grande tribute acts were like 'pub karaoke' LET-DOWN 'Rip off' balloon festival slammed for having just TWO inflated, 'disgusting' food and 'pub karaoke' live music Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CUSTOMERS hit out at a 'rip-off' balloon festival - with only two inflated. A 'spectacular hot air balloon display' was promised but locals said they saw none take off despite sunny weather. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 A 'spectacular hot air balloon display' was promised, but locals said they saw none take off despite sunny weather. Credit: Solent 3 Some visitors complained that the food was 'foul' and 'cost the earth' - while the only bar was left with warm £8 cans of whisky and Coke Credit: Solent Some paid £50 for a family ticket to Balloons and Tunes in Romsey, Hants, which also featured live music. But one guest said the Lewis Capaldi and Ariana Grande tribute acts were like 'pub karaoke'. Carole Rabbetts, 75, said her grandchildren were left 'upset' as there were only two inflated when her family went. She also complained that the food was 'foul' and 'cost the earth'. Other festivalgoers also expressed disappointment about the event on its Facebook page. Jim Franklin told festivalgoers not to waste their time or money on the 'awful event'. He said: "There was one bar tent with a 100 metre queue. "When you finally got to the front there were no drinks at all apart from warm tins of Jack Daniels and coke that had been sitting on a table all day, for £8-a-can. Ema Hutchings said: 'There's a huge feeling of being ripped off here.' Balloons and Tunes did not comment. 3 Visitors hit out at a 'rip-off' balloon festival - with some claiming only two were inflated at the Balloons and Tunes event in Romsey, Hants Credit: Solent
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘Rip off' balloon festival slammed for having just TWO inflated, ‘disgusting' food and ‘pub karaoke' live music
CUSTOMERS hit out at a 'rip-off' balloon festival - with only two inflated. A 'spectacular hot air balloon display' was promised but locals said they saw none take off despite sunny weather. 3 A 'spectacular hot air balloon display' was promised, but locals said they saw none take off despite sunny weather. Credit: Solent 3 Some visitors complained that the food was 'foul' and 'cost the earth' - while the only bar was left with warm £8 cans of whisky and Coke Credit: Solent Some paid £50 for a family ticket to Balloons and Tunes in Romsey, Hants, which also featured live music. But one guest said the Carole Rabbetts, 75, said her grandchildren were left 'upset' as there were only two inflated when her family went. She also complained that the food was 'foul' and 'cost the earth'. READ MORE UK NEWS Other festivalgoers also expressed disappointment about the event on its Facebook page. Jim Franklin told festivalgoers not to waste their time or money on the 'awful event'. He said: "There was one bar tent with a 100 metre queue. "When you finally got to the front there were no drinks at all apart from warm tins of Jack Daniels and coke that had been sitting on a table all day, for £8-a-can. Most read in The Sun Ema Hutchings said: 'There's a huge feeling of being Balloons and Tunes did not comment. 3 Visitors hit out at a 'rip-off' balloon festival - with some claiming only two were inflated at the Balloons and Tunes event in Romsey, Hants Credit: Solent Hot air balloons take to the skies for annual fiesta above Bristol
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'Race against time' to save Mary Rose video archive
Students at the University of Portsmouth are digitising more than 600 tapes containing video footage of Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, which sank in the Solent. Underwater footage captures the moments when historical items such as canons were discovered and filmed for the first time when the ship was salvaged in 40-year-old tapes have been deteriorating and there were fears that the video archive could be lost. Some of the footage may not have been viewed since it was recorded. Charlie Watts, works in the university's School of Film, Media, and Creative Technologies, described it as "a race against time". "They have a very robust outer casing but inside the tape is very vulnerable. The oxide on the tape is dissolving as we speak," said Mr Watts. "We have to do this now, otherwise it's gone completely." Student Oliver Wibew, who is also working on the project, said: "I'm only 18 so I've never used this kind of technology before. "You have to put them into a player then it goes into the computer then you've got special software that can capture it and put it onto a drive."Another student, James Watts, has been watching the footage. "Seeing the Mary Rose from a diver's perspective, possibly for the first time in 40 years, that's something that not a lot of people get to experience," said Mr Watts. The digitised footage will help to tell the the salvage story at the Mary Rose Museum. "We have the incredible Tudor story of all the artefacts that were found underwater," said collections manager Alastair Miles. "But then there's this modern story of the salvage, recovery and excavation and all of the people that were involved in that process."These tapes will allow us to add to that story with extra layers of information that we just didn't have access to before."The Mary Rose Museum's chief executive, Dominic Jones, said more than 500 divers were involved in the salvage. "What's fantastic is that we've now got 18-year-old students who are bringing that story to life," he said."It's not lost on us that they're the same age as the crew of the Mary Rose when the ship sank." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
New York Times
21-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Chasing catamarans at 40mph (and feeling queasy) at SailGP's Portsmouth Grand Prix
It was impossible to miss the dejected French team sitting on a wall — still in their wetsuits and life jackets — just before boarding a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) ahead of the third and fourth races of Saturday's Portsmouth SailGP Grand Prix. The France SailGP team, whose investors include Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe and had secured back-to-back podiums in the previous two grands prix in San Francisco and New York, did not even make it to the starting line due to damage to their 24-metre wing sail. Advertisement SailGP, a close-to-shore sailing championship, is a new sport in its fifth season, and with that comes teething problems. There are no spare catamarans, so there have been several occasions this season in which a team has been unable to compete because of various issues — France had to sit out the first two events of the season in Dubai and Auckland while their new F50 racing boat was still being built. But at the start of the day, who could have anticipated The Athletic would have a more successful afternoon on the English Channel than the French in chase of the 11 other teams which had made it to the start line? After completing a safety briefing, the French team (and dry land) were soon in the rearview mirror, with the RIB leaving Camber Quay for the Solent, a narrow straight between mainland Britain and the Isle of Wight. It is a stretch of water with history, as this was where Queen Victoria would often watch yachting races and regattas. The Portsmouth Grand Prix is the seventh of 12 events on this season's calendar, which will culminate in November in Abu Dhabi, and is the start of the European leg of the championship. Though F50s can reach speeds of over 50 knots (57.5mph; 92.6 kilometres an hour), our journey began at a relatively low speed; ferries taking passengers to the island just off the south coast needed to be avoided, as did dozens of privately owned boats that had lined the edge of the course. But then we entered the exclusion zone, a mass of water encompassing the course, and even in light wind conditions, the next 20 minutes were not for the faint of heart. The third race of the day — a grand prix that consists of two days of racing of multiple heats before a winner-takes-all showdown on a Sunday between the three top-ranked teams — was won by New Zealand and was already under way by the time The Athletic made it into the exclusion zone. Immediately, it was clear how quickly the foiling catamarans were travelling once they were above the water. Advertisement A whistling noise, generated by the vibrating foils, pierced the wind as the Brazil team made a turn and headed back downwind to finish the race. Providing expert analysis throughout on this sport — which has been likened to Formula One on water — was Hattie Rogers, a 25-year-old who is one of the world's best foiling sailors and hopes to one day compete in SailGP. After the third race had ended — each race lasts a maximum of 16 minutes — The Athletic's boat made its way to where most of the F50s had gathered. Each team was quickly joined by their support boat ahead of the fourth and final race of the afternoon. Circling above were two helicopters, capturing the action for the TV coverage. A boat that was able to keep pace with the F50s was filming the race, too. It was at this moment that Rogers informed everyone on board that we were going to chase the boats from the start to the first mark on the course — a message that could be translated to 'Hold on!'. Launching out of a timed start, the fleet can accelerate at speeds close to 100kmh as they converge on Mark 1; getting there first gives a team a huge advantage before they head downwind for two laps of the course. As the 10,000-strong crowd counted down from 10, we quickly found ourselves trying to keep pace with the F50s — but even reaching speeds of 35 knots (40mph) wasn't enough to stay with the 11 teams. The wind pounded against my face as I attempted to look straight ahead, turning me temporarily into a Wallace and Gromit character. To shield myself, I moved my head to the left and right for split seconds at a time. One person on board was left feeling somewhat queasy as the RIB ripped through the water. To watch the athletes on board dart from one side of the F50 to the other at speed brought home the physicality of this sport. They had already completed three 12-minute races in relatively quick succession, but still had the energy to sprint nearly 10 metres across a moving boat. The Australian team, now owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman and led by Tom Slingsby, an Olympic and America's Cup champion, had built up a solid lead. But there was an incredibly close call with the Great Britain team, which even caused Rogers to wince. Rogers was quick to explain that any penalty would have to be taken on the water and that Britain would be asked to slow down if one was given. Advertisement Britain weren't penalised and managed to hold off the Italian team to finish second, capping off a good day's work on home waters. They won the first race in front of a roaring crowd, and followed that up with two second-place finishes and a third-place finish. As the Flying Roos celebrated their win, the RIB made its way back to Camber Quay, where we, along with several other boats, were instructed by the harbourmaster to wait until a ferry had docked before proceeding forward. After the thrill of chasing the F50s, it was a reminder that the Isle of Wight ferry waits for no one.
