Ten years ago: An artistic collaboration between residents of The Foyer in Ryde and Brading Roman Villa resulted in an unusual collection of mosaics.
The Foyer, run by the Medina Housing Association, was opened in 2000 to support young homeless people.
One resident, 20-year-old Carey Callaway, had been at the hostel for six months and the art exhibition was the result of her own determination to improve her life and the lives of others around her.
She said: “Working at the villa and being close to the beautiful mosaics gave the original idea. I also felt it would be an excellent opportunity for some of the residents to be involved practically in a project that could possibly inspire or encourage them to do something else.”

100 Years Ago
August 18, 1917

THE first War Garden produce exhibition at Newport proved to be a grand success.
Held under the auspices of the War Savings and Food Economy Committee, 62 exhibitors demonstrated the finer points of gardening. The exhibition hoped to promote the development of allotments and increase food production during a time of great shortage.

75 Years Ago
August 15, 1945

An inquest was opened into the death of a soldier stationed at Totland Bay.
The soldier fell victim to an accidental discharge from a Tommy gun. He had been stationed at the entrance to the fort with another solider at 6pm.
At 6.15pm a shot was heard from the guard room and the soldier staggered in holding his stomach in his hands saying “He has shot me,” before collapsing.

50 Years Ago
August 19, 1967

A rogue antique dealer fell foul of his own scheme after his cheque bounced and he found himself in court.
The dealer, from London, was charged with obtaining a Persian rug and other articles of value of £218 (£3,631 in today’s money) under false pretences at a Fishbourne auction.
When the auctioneers attempted to cash the cheque, they were told Mr Lodge’s account had been closed for two years.

25 Years Ago
August 14, 1992

Police had no problem proving a valuable cockatoo recovered from a Cowes bedsit was stolen from an Island bird park.
The caged bird readily identified itself by saying ‘hello Brolly’ — using its name, which referred to the fact it was an umbrella cockatoo.
A bald patch on its wing also confirmed it was the same bird which had been stolen in an overnight burglary at the Birdhaven attraction in Wootton two months previously.
In court, a man admitted dishonestly receiving stolen goods — the cockatoo valued at £1,000.

10 Years Ago
August 17, 2007

A Ryde man was the first on the Island to convert his taxi to run on used cooking oil.
Former infantry soldier Mark Alston, 39, had been a taxi driver for six years when he decided to convert his car to run on vegetable oil and spent £1,200 rebuilding the engine with a new turbo.
“I wanted to do something for the environment and cut the fuel costs down by more than half,” he said.