Ten years ago: A surfer pulled a man to safety after he was thrown from his motorboat.
Kyle Abram, who was 23 at the time, was at the Sundial Cafe, belonging to his mother, Kathryn, on the seafront at Sandown Bay, when he saw a boat come to a stop and a man in the water, who appeared to be in trouble.
Kyle said: "Luckily I had my wet suit on and I grabbed my surfboard from my car and waded in.
"I put him on my board and brought him to shore. It was instinct really."


Well-to-do Islanders were urged not to eat potatoes so that maximum supply would be available for poorer people.
An appeal from Lord Davenport said the stock of potatoes in the county was unusually short and no further supplies would be obtained for the coming three months.
Lord Davenport said: "Many patriots and considerate persons are already abstaining from the use of potatoes.
"I confidently appeal to all who can do likewise so that such supplies as remain will be available for those who need them most."

In an effort to increase agricultural output, The War Office were offering draught horses and drivers for loan to farmers on the Island.
Horses and mules were offered only with their military drivers and only when they were excess to military requirements.
Horses or mules were offered at 4s a day and their soldier drivers also at 4s a day, but only 2s 6d if board and lodging could be provided for the soldier.


75 YEARS AGO — March 28, 1942
A Shanklin woman received good news when she was told her husband, who was reported missing three weeks earlier from Penang, Malaya, where he had been stationed for three years, was alive and well.
Mrs A R Cook was told that her husband was fit and well in Bombay.

The Ministry of Supply was calling on the district council to enlist more volunteer salvage stewards in order to increase household recycling to aid the war effort.
War developments meant that the need for salvage was becoming more urgent.
The leaders of street fire-watching groups were invited to a meeting at Northwood House to help the council find volunteers.
Salvage stewards primarily had to canvas their own street and see that everyone was making the maximum effort to save.


50 YEARS AGO — March 25, 1967
A 300 year old County Council building that was due for demolition in Newport caught fire.
The three storey Hazards House was evacuated in 1961 when it was in danger of partial collapse.
A former butcher's shop two doors down from the burning building was at the time used to store council equipment, including new school furniture, and as a precaution, staff removed the stored items and put them in the street.

A new hovercraft service between Cowes and Portsmouth was opened by British Rail Seaspeed.
At the time, Seaspeed was already providing a 20 minute hovercraft service between Cowes and Southampton and Hovertravel was providing a service from Ryde to Gosport and Ryde to Southsea.
The opening of the Cowes to Portsmouth service marked the end of a remarkable year for British Rail Seaspeed.
In four months the company had recruited staff, built terminals and had carried more than 60,000 passengers between Cowes and Southampton.
The same week saw the re-opening of the Island railway service between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin after an 11-week closure while the service moved from steam to electric.


25 YEARS AGO — March 27, 1992
Red saucers were set to be suspended from power lines to stop swans flying to their deaths.
A West Wight resident who found two cygnets dead beneath power lines welcomed the news that Southern Electricity was set to make sections of overhead lines more visible to birds.
Southern Electric sponsored an Oxford professor to come up with a solution to the problem of swans flying into overhead wires.
The answer was red saucer-shaped bird flight diverters.

With two weeks left before the 1992 general election, campaigning on the Island was in full swing.
Labour Candidate Kenn Pearson hit out against the Liberal Democrat candidate Peter Brand, who claimed in his first election leaflet that he was the only real challenger to the sitting Tory MP Barry Field.
Mr Pearson said: "This will be a three-horse race, not a two-horse one."


TEN YEARS AGO — March 23, 2007
The Rolling Stones were announced as headliners for the IW Festival.
This came after months of speculation and was announced in a special web-cast on the Stone's own website.
Mick Jagger said: "Festivals have changed a lot over the years, I don't know about the IW Festival or what to expect."