Winchester News Online
UoW Futsal 2nds claim their first ever win over their senior Winchester rivals
The Winchester futsal 2nds came out victors on derby day against the Winchester 1sts, securing their first points of this league campaign and making history in the process.
Coming into the fixture, the Winchester 1st team had claimed their first three points of the season with a win over the Bristol 2s.
Meanwhile, the Winchester 2nd team were yet to pick up any points after facing the Southampton 1sts both home and away, losing both fixtures.
With tensions high, the 2s kicked off the game and immediately looked to get on the front foot.
And within just nine seconds of play, their quick start was rewarded, as Sash Jayasinghe slotted home the first goal of the afternoon.
The 2nd team kept their foot on the gas after taking the very early lead, and continued to mount the pressure on the 1sts.
The hard work of 2s once again paid off, as Jayasinghe was able turn his man and power a shot past backup 1s ‘keeper Harry Scanlan.
And Jayasinghe continued his strong showing by netting his third and securing his hat-trick only five minutes into the game.
This was shortly followed by 2s vice-captain, Sam Friday, chipping the ball past Scanlan, to put the 2nd team in cruise control a quarter of the way in.
After falling four goals behind, the 1sts took a timeout to reconvene and strategize their way back into the game.
And the team talk seemed to have worked, as Corey McDowell finished off a beautiful solo run calmly, and James Lowcock smashed home from close range to reduce the deficit to two goals.
However, Tom Briggs would peg the 1s back just before the break, as he fired in a half-volley from a tight angle; the score at half time was 5-2 to the 2s.
The second half started with the 1s restoring their two goal deficit, as a back heel from Matt Pollard set up a chance that snuck past Sean Thompson in net.
The game then became increasingly tense, as challenges from both sides flew in all over the pitch, including Jayasinghe putting in a late challenge on 1sts defender Sam Cunningham, resulting in the 2s striker receiving a yellow card.
And seconds later, he would put in a late challenge on McDowall, and while avoiding a red card, he gave away a 10m penalty to the 1sts for the 2s 6th team foul.
Cunningham stepped up to take, but saw his effort saved, but the rebound was leathered home by Toby Thompson to put the 1s just a goal behind.
However, with the 1st team focused on getting back level, the 2s took advantage of their lack of defensive awareness and bagged three goals in quick succession to secure their first points of the season and make history by beating the 1st team for the first time ever in the league.
News
Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal 2025 launches in Winchester
Communities are encouraged to buy a poppy as this year’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal is launched in the lead-up to Remembrance Day.

The annual fundraising campaign supports members of the Armed Forces community, including veterans, personnel and their families.
The Poppy Appeal remains the Legion’s biggest annual fundraiser.
Last year, more than 32 million poppies were distributed across the UK, and about £51.4 million was raised in donations.
Chris Hayward is managing the Poppy Appeal in North Hampshire & Winchester and said: “Wearing a poppy during Remembrance time shows that you care.”
“It’s a national symbol, and it shows the armed forces community that you appreciate everything that they do.”
She added: “For those who want to get involved, you can wear your poppy, donate to the Royal British Legion, Poppy Appeal, and also participate in the collections and volunteer as a collector.”
Winchester will be recognising remembrance itself, with a service at the Cathedral on Sunday, 9th November, in addition to a service at Winchester Guildhall at 11 am on Armistice Day.
The service will begin at 9:20 am and will include a procession from The Broadway to Winchester Cathedral, as well as wreath laying too.
Donations from the campaign go towards services including mental health support, housing assistance and employment advice for veterans transitioning to civilian life.
For more information on how to donate, volunteer or order poppies online, visit: britishlegion.org.uk/poppyappeal.
Winchester News Online
How the NHS can recommend gardening to improve metal health

A panel of gardening experts answered the burning questions of Winchester gardeners at a Question Time style Q&A held at St Swithun’s School.
Questions ranged from what soil to use this time of year to why some types of plants aren’t flourishing in Winchester but, as the gardening event fell on World Mental Health Day, this posed another question: whether the two are connected?
Gardening is an example of a “nature-related activity”, which can be recommended by the NHS to improve mental wellbeing under a term called social prescribing.
The panel’s Charles Carr, head of Wholesale Nurseries at Hilliers, shared how he thinks gardening is beneficial to your mental health.
Charles described it as “relaxation” and “contacting with nature”.
He believes it is a very good way of “de-stressing and putting yourself into the moment”.
Attendees of the event also shared why they enjoy their hobby.
Neil Budd, a parent from the school and regular BBC Gardener’s Question Time listener, got into gardening as a young boy but now enjoys the “peace and quiet” that it provides from his children.
He wasn’t surprised to learn that nature-related activities like gardening can be recommended by the NHS, as he says it helps you relax as well as being a break away from work.
Former social worker, Roberta Brockman is an ex St Swithuns pupil who returned to the school for the Gardeners Q&A.
She emphasised how the hobby encourages people to join gardening clubs and enter shows, which can create new friendships for people later in life.
According to NHS England, more than 8,500 people were referred to a green social prescribing activity between April 2021 and March 2023 and findings showed improvements in mental health.
Winchester News Online
Turning the page: Can young people fall Back in love with reading?
When is the last time you picked up a book for the sake of your own enjoyment?
Once a beloved childhood pastime, reading books is now becoming more rare among young people.
An annual report by the National Literacy Trust found that reading rates among younger generations are plummeting every year.
The study found that the amount of young people aged eight to 18 who read for their own enjoyment has dropped to just 1 in 3.
This has resulted in a 36% decrease from when the study began taking place 20 years ago.
Professionals are growing concerned about young peoples comprehension skills, empathy levels, and their creativity, all attributes which are strongly connected to reading.
In an age of scrolling, streaming, and gaming, the appeal of a paperback no longer seems to compete with screens.
But in Winchester, community efforts are helping to spark that interest again.
Local children’s bookseller Jo works with schools to run author events and workshops to get stories back into young hands.
“Authors go in to schools and talk to the kids directly about their books and get them really engaged and I see that have such a great effect.”
As reading habits evolve, experts advise the goal isn’t to fight technology, it’s to find new ways to make stories matter again.
For reading to thrive like before, families, schools, and publishers will need to work together to make stories feel relevant and remind young people that reading is educational in more ways than one.
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