Articles: Knife Cover Story

THE two surviving boys, currently being treated at St. Mary’s Hospital, Newport, who’s names cannot be released due to their age, were walking with a third boy back to their homes in Shanklin from Sandown Pier at around 6pm, last Friday. They were walking along the beaches up until the slipway, entering Small Hope Beach, when they were confronted by six youths who have been identified as Steven Haines, 19, and Ben Warding, 18, (both from Sandown), Michael Stock, 19, (from Newport), Kyle Reiss, 17, (from Shanklin), and Chris Ladening, 21, and Daryl Thomas, 18, (both from Ryde).

The six, dressed in tracksuits and foodies, surrounded the boys - shoving them and provoking them to give up their phones and wallets. The three boys retaliated by trying to work their way out of the group’s circle and push past to free themselves - one of the boys managed to duck past one of them and run, which startled the others as the two remaining boys broke free also, turning the situation into a game of cat and mouse on the shore. Michael Stock, 19, and Kyle Reiss, 17, admitted to focusing on one of the boysand managed to catch up to him, pinning him to the ground as the other two boys fled to draw attention and help. As Stock and Reiss pulled the remaining boy to his feet, he swung at Reiss with a large rock he had picked whilst being pinned now, striking him in the side of the head. As Reiss fell to the floor unconscious, Stock retaliated by pulling a switchblade from his jacket and stabbing the boy a total of five times in the chest and abdominal region.

When police and medics arrived at the scene, Stock was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital with minor head wounds, however the boy was tragically D.O.A. The six youths are awaiting sentencing, due in court this Wednesday.

Small Hope Beach is closed whilst police continue to investigate the scenes, though flowers have been left at the beach huts.

Articles: Police Target Text-Driving

After 2009 saw the Isle of Wight and the south in general, hold some of the highest rates in the country of police arrest for driving whilst using a mobile phone, Isle of Wight constabularies have vowed to put in place more drastic measures to cut down on the number of people offending – particularly in light of the three recent car accidents, (two in January of this year on Forest Road, Newport, and one along the military road near Calbourne in March).

Chief Constable Ricky Mayres spoke out yesterday sighting general lack of public knowledge about the dangers of mobile phone use while driving, as the main cause of the problem.
“We aim to start in schools. Educate young teens in the risks. They are very apparent and seemingly very real, as we tragically were able to see already this year.” He claims too much emphasis is put on drink-driving as the only real safety issue with young drivers, but in fact, statistics show that there have been more local arrests for driving whilst using a mobile phone lately than ever before. “Everyone knows about the hands-free sets most phones come with nowadays, particularly the more modern ones that seem to be most common with the teens,” said Chief Mayres, speaking from Newport police station. “But it’s texting too that’s actually causing a lot of the damage. It only takes one second for someone to take their eyes off the road and regret it. It has to stop before anybody else is allowed to be hurt.”

The Hampshire Police, (who already arrange talks to local schools) have spoken out declaring that it should not just be the children being educated in the risks and safety issues of driving whilst using a mobile phone – and according to their spokesperson, are in talks to look into tackling the situation of adult ignorance surrounding the problem.

Articles: Island Film Talent

ISLAND TALENT FOLLOWS IN MINGELLA’S FOOTSTEPS

AN aspiring home-grown scriptwriter, Joshua Turner, 23, originally of Shanklin on the Isle of Wight has recently received some fantastic news, as his newest creation has been bought by a new independent British film company. Acting as lifelong home to the late Anthony Mingella, the Isle of Wight has long been associated with cinematic prestige, and undoubtedly inspired by the Oscar-winning Director (who in fact attended the same school, Sandown High) – Turner, who studied Drama and English at A level, going on to graduate with a first class degree in Film Production and Scriptwriting from Reading University, said that he had known that he wanted to be involved in the film making industry since he was a child – yet it was the first viewing of Mingella’s The English Patient when he was 15 that culminated in him actually starting to make it happen.

“I already loved the film, and watched it many times when I was younger, but it wasn’t until I received a VCR copy for Christmas when I was about sixteen that I realized it was written by Anthony Mingella, and particularly that he had lived on the island! This changed everything for me. Suddenly I had new found hope for what had, up until then, been very much a pipe dream.”

When Turner received the news via phone call, he was in fact working in his father’s café, where he had been working since graduation, whilst developing scripts on the side. “It was an amazing moment,” Turner said, speaking from his house in Newport. “We get a lot of locals in of course who had known for the past two years what I’d been waiting for. Everyone cheered when I finally told them, it was such an exciting moment for me.”

Even more exciting news for the Island comes with the particular film company’s involvement too, however. They have in fact granted Turner full artistic license in location and involvement in the script’s casting, and he hopes to use this to showcase as much Island talent as possible. The plot, set in a small seaside village in the 1970s tells the story of a young fisherman living with his elderly, disabled father – and focuses on the ups and downs of such a relationship, and the interference of his falling in love and wanting to live independently whilst trying to cope with his current situation. Turner says that it is very important to him that he is allowed to choose the setting for the film. “Being surrounded by beaches, my childhood memories helped immensely in my creation of the story. It would seem wrong to take the film anywhere away from the Island, it definitely must be set here. It’s too perfect.” Though the film will take a few years in development and planning before it can be released commercially, it already seems set to be a hit, with the locals at least.

Radio Adverts

I have created two radio adverts for my newspaper using Garageband, a piece of music producing software by Apple. I recorded my own voice using my macbook, and added audio loops that came with Garageband.

I have created two different radio adverts, one featuring orchestral strings, and another more up to date/modern advert - which features a parody of a vintage radio advert.

Here are screenshots showing the process of creating my radio adverts.