TREAT your ears to music, poetry and comedy on Sunday at Sundown’s Outdoor Pour Favour outside the Alex pub, in Alexandra Street, Southend. The event, from 7.30pm to 10.30pm, is organised by Sundown, a collection of poets, DJs, comics and musicians.
ONE of Essex’s longest running rock, rhythm and blues bands play Southend’s Papillon tomorrow night. The Receeders, who formed in Southend in 1987 and have played more than 2,000 gigs, bring a selection of covers and self-penned tunes to the venue, in
The Horse and Groom pub, in Southend Road, Rochford, hosts an open-air jazz and blues weekend, which kicks off on Friday with a group led by jazz saxophonist Kenny Baxter. Seven-piece band the Zoltans take to the stage on Saturday evening and the festival
AFTER seven surreal years in the music industry, Southend’s favourite theatrical rock band are throwing in the towel. 4ft Pimp, known for their peculiar performances, which in the past have included a meat raffle in the middle of their set,
CELEBRATE the music of Freddie Mercury and Queen at the Cliffs Pavilion tonight. Garry Mullen is set to rock audiences as he brings his tribute act One Night of Queen to the Westcliff venue. Accompanied by his band the Works, Gary has been touring the
IT’S not often these days you claim to have made a real find on the food front. Pubs in particular have fallen victim to gastro-fication, with huge chains sweeping in and turning once pleasant retreats into a pastiche of their former glory, complete
WHEN you think of the coastguard, your first thought might be of helicopters and daring sea rescues. But in a shack at the end of a Canvey jetty, a group of committed volunteers play a less glamorous but equally important role, in keeping the Essex coast
A SECOND half brace from Ipswich Town midfielder Liam Trotter ended Southend United's run of warm up wins at Roots Hall tonight. The Shrimpers went into the clash on the back of four successive victories over non league sides. But they
CHARITY music festival ThingamaGig is back and organisers say it’s going to be greater and on until later than last year’s event. The second annual all-day musical feast, which takes place at the New White Hart, in Billericay High Street, on Saturday
RISING rockers Attack! Attack! will launch into an aural assault at Chinnery’s, in Marine Parade, Southend, tonight. The four-piece, from Caerphilly, in south Wales, will storm the venue with their fast-paced power punk. Attack! Attack! formed in 2006
Hashim Amla treated the Grace Road crowd to a display of superb batting as he recorded his second century in three County Championship matches for Essex against Leicestershire, scoring 118 as the visitors closed the day on 294-4. The South African Test
A CANVEY cabbie who was badly burnt when a gas cylinder exploded has told of his horrifying ordeal. David Hodges, 40, was left with second-degree burns from the knuckle of his right hand to the elbow, as well as superficial burns to his face and chest
A YOUNG father may never get to see his child after a violent gang attack left him in a coma. Michael Ogbuhei, 20, missed the birth of his daughter after he was beaten on a train travelling between Southend and Benfleet. A group of up to 15 youths punched
A BOY was left with neck and back injuries after diving from a jetty into shallow water. The 15-year-old boy, thought to be from Billericay, dived off a four-foot jetty near Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Shoebury. The ambulance service attended and the boy was
YOUNG entrepreneurs donated more than £250 to a charity set up in memory of England’s World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore. As part of the Young Enterprise Challenge at the Appleton School, in Benfleet, a group of Year 10 pupils sold signed photos of
WORRIED residents have raised concerns about the impact on their lives of a proposed new nightspot opening on Canvey. A licensing application has been submitted to Castle Point Council to turn two shops opposite the Admiral Jellicoe pub, in the High
THREE people have been rescued by Southend Lifeboats after their motorboat got into difficulties off Leigh. The 37ft Cathrina became snared while trying to moor in blustery winds and turbulent water in Hadleigh Creek. The RNLI lifeboat Atlantic was
HORNDON on the Hill are bottom of the Premier League table following their first defeat of the season. The club have only played two matches so far and lost by 95 runs at home to Ardleigh Green. The visitors collected 18 points to Horndon’s two after
THE company at Shoeburyness and Thorpe Bay Baptist Church, the ninth South East Essex, were in fine form at the national badminton competition run by the Boys Brigade. The team comprising of Richard Churton, Matthew Payne, Tom Sibthorpe, Edan Cohen
THE varied weather conditions certainly seemed to suit the float fishermen at Doggetts this week. Edward Peters had a great few hours when he spent an evening float fishing in the back pool for tench with bread and corn hook baits. Peters landed 15
A SHOPWORKER was smashed round the head with a wine bottle after he tried to stop a gang of thieves. A group of six hooded youths burst into Nick’s News, in Westborough Road, Westcliff, and snatched four bottles of wine. They were chased
BILLERICAY-based Rollcentre Racing driver Dan Brown celebrated his 18th birthday in style at Snetterton. The youngster, set the best time in qualifying for the ninth round of the Avon Tyres British GAT Championship. Brown hustled his Mono Moslem around
FRAZZLED parents looking to entertain kids over the summer holidays have been given a hand by Basildon Council. The council has organised a number of fun-filled events across the district and listed them in an easy-to-use booklet. The
A rotary club has presented illustrated dictionaries to 17 schools. The initiative by Grays Thurrock Rotary is part of Rotary’s national literacy campaign. Grays Thurrock Rotary club presented the books as part of the Dictionary 4 Life programme.
FIREFIGHTERS were called to a tackle a fire at an Indian restaurant after its manager had a go at putting it out himself. Fire crews spent just under an hour tackling the blaze at the Akash Tandoori, in Laindon Shopping Centre. The blaze is thought
BELHUS Cricket Club captain Richard Day has hailed some of the club’s up and coming youngsters. Teenagers Connor Day and Billy Winter have been playing in the first team this season and have not looked out of place alongside their more experienced team-mates
A HOMELESS charity has sought to reassure people over plans to expand its Westcliff base. Scores of people have complained about the scheme on the Echo’s website, www.echo-news.co.uk Harp has been given permission to demolish its current day centre,
BOSS had plenty of other success at the Regional Championships. Katarina Blanco swam in the girls’ 12 years age group and qualified for six finals, setting personal bests throughout her programme. Her finest success came in the 1,500m freestyle where
THE Borough of Southend squad had a fantastic set of results at this year’s East Regional Championships, finishing as the highest ranked Essex club and bringing home a hatful of medals. Held over three weekends in the Olympic sized pool at the University
AN iron-willed personal trainer is set to tackle the ultimate endurance challenge to raise money for charity. Perry Agass, 31, of the Rundels, Benfleet, is set to take part in the UK Ironman triathlon, which includes an energy sapping 2.4-mile swim,
ANGRY council bosses have said Southend has no land to accommodate 15 traveller pitches, which have been demanded under a Government plan. Whitehall has announced Southend, Rochford and Castle Point will have to take 15 pitches each to meet targets
TRAVELLER landlords are cashing in on illegal development at Crays Hill through state handouts. A Basildon Council probe has identified a number of traveller landlords are being paid housing benefits to cover ground rent for poorer families
CYCLISTS are invited to take part in a bike ride which is returning after an absence of three years. The ride around Foulness Island was halted when the Ministry of Defence and defence technology company Qinetiq put in place health and safety restrictions
SOUTHEND Rugby Club have already made eight new signings this summer. The Seasiders are determined to push for promotion after being relegated from National Two last season. And they have subsequently opted to bring in a number of new faces. Back
THE Borough of Southend Squad were a hit at the Youth Championships where Sean Tomlin made seven finals and Jonathan Sayer five. Tomlin continued his impressive season with a great performance in the 200 backstroke, moving up two place in the final to
GIRL Guides appeared live in front of millions of viewers on the BBC’s One Show. Tayler Cronly-Dillon, 14, from the 2nd Chantry Guides, Billericay, looked the consummate professional as she chatted with hosts Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley
A SCHOOLBOY has launched a petition to save mature trees facing the chop under plans for a new bus lane. Christopher Page, 14, from Belfairs High School, in Leigh, got more than 200 people to sign his petition opposing Essex County Council’s proposals
FIREFIGHTERS at a station due to close have said their town will lose vital cover as a result. Rayleigh fire station, which has a retained part-time crew, is earmarked to close in October when a new £4.5million station opens at Rayleigh Weir, replacing
BLACKBURN Rovers striker Maceo Rigters will play on trial for Southend United against Ipswich Town tonight. Rigters, 25, is a former Holland under 21 international and has made six appearances for the Premier League outfit's first team.
POOLE Pirates came from four points down to snatch a 45-all Elite League draw in the final race at the Arena-Essex Raceway as Lakeside Hammers failed to capitalise on the absence of the missing Hans Andersen and were left rueing what might have been
CANVEY Island Football Club have announced a major summer signing for their forthcoming campaign. Striker James Rowe, 26, joins the club after appearing at the Brockwell Stadium during last Saturday’s 1-1 friendly draw with Blue Square South Braintree
RETTENDON marched on in their bid to secure promotion to Division Two with a convincing 105-run win over struggling Navestock. Batting first, it was not all plain sailing as Rettendon lost the top three batsmen with just 45 on the board. However it
It was entirely predictable the opponents of grammar schools should creep out of the woodwork once more when statistics were produced showing a greater number of students from outside Southend gain admittance, and as ever, privilege is claimed
With the recent demise of Essex FM the final nail has been virtually knocked in the proverbial coffin of local commercial radio with Heart FM broadcasting the same programmes across swathes of the south east and indeed much of the entire country
Mark Howard, (letters July 15), criticises me because, as an Independent MP, I am free of Party whips. I simply do what is right for people. Had Mark done what the people want, rather than follow his Tory whip, he may not have lost both his seats
In response to Mr Beckett, on (Letters July 20), the Echo carried an article about Southend’s bid for Kickstart funding. The article was based upon a press release which clearly stated there would be a bus covering the following roads: Leigh
My father was recently admitted as an emergency to Southend University Hospital and, having many medical problems, sadly died after six days. He was in Balmoral Ward. The dedication of the staff was the sort money couldn’t buy. All patients are
I am disgusted the price of a car park season ticket for Southend United has remained identical for the last three seasons and potentially omitting cup games due to availability. The price for the car park rose drastically when we achieved promotion
SOUTHEND High School for Girls athletics captain Georgia Atkins made a solid start in her bid to add to her considerable recent successes in Finland yesterday. Competing in the heats of the 100 metres hurdles at the European Youth Olympics Festival,
Who is reasonable for giving Premier the contact to install and operate the bedside TV and phone system at Southend Hospital? If you are unfortunate to have a loved one in hospital and wish to speak with them while they are lying in their hospital
ALAN McCormack cannot wait to take on Ipswich Town tonight. For not only is the Southend United relishing the opportunity of coming up against a Championship club. But he is also thrilled to be playing the team managed by his boyhood hero, Roy Keane
THE first day of Essex’s LV County Championship game against Leicestershire at Grace Road was abandoned at lunchtime without a ball being bowled. Heavy rain throughout the morning left umpires Steve Garratt and John Holder with little option but to call
BILLERICAY Town gave their best pre-season defensive performance yet in holding Blue Square South Braintree Town 1-1 at New Lodge last night. The hosts took an 80th minute lead through Micky Shinn's deflected free-kick, but Bradley Quinton grabbed a
DETECTIVES are appealing for information about a man and a woman who are believed to have tricked a 93-year-old woman out of thousands of pounds. Essex Police spokesman Roger Grimwade said they have been visiting the elderly woman at her home in Thorpe
CHILDREN learned about healthy eating when a national roadshow went to their school. Woodham Ley Primary School, in Rushbottom Lane, Benfleet, became one of only a handful of schools nationwide to receive a visit from the Flora Cooking with Schools team
CHILDREN were presented with goodie bags after completing courses encouraging them to walk safely to school. Mayor of Thurrock Maureen Pearce presented the young winners with fluorescent bags marked “It’s Good to walk” at the civic offices, in New Road
A TEAM of solicitors from Southend raised more than £1,000 for charity. The group of 16 from BTMK, based in Weston Road, took part in the London to Southend bike ride this weekend to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. They completed the 59
