STBO

It's good to see the operators of the ferries that ply the Solent take safety seriously, even at the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious (although if the ferry took on a list the warning might become inaccurate).

By the way, Douglas Adams' excellent Meaning of Liff offers a rather sweet definition of 'insolent': 'Fallen off the Isle of Wight Ferry'.

And on the subject of my beloved island, this very morning Mrs A spotted a car sticker proclaiming the driver as Wight trash. Fair enough; we are, after all, living in the Deep South!

News from the island: 3

It's all happening on South Island – witness these gobsmackers from the local rag which, as usual, takes an obsessive interest in the doings of the boys in the brass helmets:

Smoke alarm
Firefighers were called to an address in Binstead after a resident smelled smoke in her property last Saturday night. Three fire engines were sent to Hillrise Avenue at 11.41pm. The cause of the smoke was burnt food in a neighbouring property.

Woman freed in lift drama
Firefighters were called to free a woman stuck in a lift last Saturday morning. The woman, in her 20s and a member of staff at the Eden House residential home in Totland, raised the alarm at 8.45am after the lift developed a fault. She was freed about 20 minutes later.

Car reported stuck in water
Firefighters were called to free a car stuck in water in Spring Lane, Carisbrooke on Tuesday afternoon. When the crews arrived, the car had gone.

Restaurant escapes
Firefighters were called to the Village Taverna in Albert Street, Sandown at 9am last Saturday after a resident spotted a burst water main. The crew prevented a possible flood into the restaurant by turning off the stopcock.

Esplanade bins replaced
Defective* litter bins installed along the Esplanade and near St Agnes's Church, Freshwater Bay last year have been replaced by new ones.

* No, I don't have any idea what would make a bin 'defective'.

News from the island: 2

The Middle East, the credit crunch... there's no shortage of bad news. Fortunately the news from the Isle of Wight is rather more comforting:

Town councillors have given the green light to demolish Yarmouth's public toilets at Bridge Road and replace them with new ones.

Fire crews put out a small fire in the bedroom of a Ryde flat on Sunday. Two pumps, police and ambulance crews went to the property. Nobody was injured.

News from the island: 1

Fed up with being bombarded with big stories? In the first of an occasional series, here's a news brief from the local paper that serves my adopted home, the Isle of Wight:

A child became stuck in a trolley at Sainsbury's, Newport on Thursday morning last week. She had been freed by the time the fire brigade arrived.

Well, it made me smile.