Reporter Gabrielle Nash blogs about the hardest race in the sailing calendar: the Vendee Globe.  

It’s a world apart for the British skippers here in Les Sables d’Olonne.  All seven of them have been overwhelmed by the popularity of the race; the Vendee Globe, the sport in general and more precisely their popularity. 

Dee Caffari was shocked when a fan walked up to her and just gave her a bottle of champagne, wishing her luck for the race.  As for Brian Thompson, well he’s most popular with the older ladies! He’s always very obliging to sign a few autographs and have a few photos taken though, but he had to tear himself away eventually for our interview, but that was to the dismay of an awaiting lady fan who simply shouted in an austere French accent ‘Naughty boy!’.

Mike Golding is a bit more used to the French passion for the Vendee, this is his third. While interviewing him I couldn’t quite pin him down on whether this would be his last go at it, but if his last declaration of ‘perhaps not’ is anything to go by, Mike won’t give up until he’s won.  However Mike is the hot favourite, certainly amongst the Brits to win, or at least gain the best British result.

The story of the Vendee is definitely Dorset sailor Steve White, having re-mortgaged his house a couple times to get here, it was touch and go whether he’d actually be on the start line, but here he is in great spirits and with the financial backing that is so important to this expensive sport. 

Another contender for the Vendee crown is Alex Thomson. His once incredibly competitive boat had to have emergency repairs after a fishing boat crashed into the side of it. At one point it was unlikely they’d even be on the start, but thanks to some great French enthusiasm (a French company here cleared out their entire warehouse for the boat to be fixed) and a great team, the boat is fixed and looks no different. However the crash wasn’t so much unlucky as lucky.  Alex showed me where the boat hit and where he was sleeping at the time. Had the boat hit just a few inches further along it wouldn’t have hit a bulkhead and instead would have hit Alex. A very lucky chap indeed.

Jonny Malbon is the last of the boys, perhaps the odds are against him winning but he’s still keen, enthusiastic and with a big, powerful boat to get him round the treacherous waters if the Southern Ocean.

And representing not only the British girls but also the girls in the whole competition are Sam Davies and Dee Caffari. The two blondes are eager to get started, for both of them it’s their first Vendee Globe, for Dee, who’s still relatively new to the sport having only learnt to sail 10 years ago, it’s an exciting prospect at completing her second round the world journey aboard Aviva, this time going the right way and not against the prevailing winds which takes double the time.

In all the Brits are in great spirits and they’re all getting keen to get on their boats and go as the race gets underway.

For more on the Vendee Glode including special interviews with the sailors click here.

In a world first ITV Local will be bringing you all the action from the FA Cup early rounds LIVE!

In the first game of the world renowned competition Oxfordshire’s Wantage Town will be battling it out with Isle of Wight’s Brading Town. Kick off is at 6.20pm tonight and you can catch the full match live right here on ITV Local’s dedicated FA Cup channel. The cup itself will be there so make sure you visit www.itvlocal.com/meridian/facup to catch a glimpse of sporting history!

Well, as players and fans gear up for tonight’s big match the team’s leaders couldn’t be more elated to have their teams play apart in the FA Cup. 

Here’s what Phil Morre, Director of Football at Brading Town F.C. had to say about tonight’s game:

‘Everybody at Brading Town Football Club is tremendously excited about our first ever venture into The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON. Not only were we delighted to be accepted into the competition, but to be chosen by E.ON and ITV Local as the team to kick off the 2008/09 FA Cup competition is amazing ! Brading Town’s FA Cup match against Wantage is the most exciting day in the club’s 150-year history.

Does anyone else get that frenzied rush of excitement whenever a big sporting tournament is about to start? From the European Championships in Austria/Switzerland (which proved to be great even though England weren’t competing) to the first knock-up at Wimbledon, it’s all wonderful stuff – but they don’t come any bigger than this.

Although the build up to this Olympics has been massively controversial, with arguments set to rage indefinately over its legitimacy, let us forget those for a moment - and focus on some of the regions finest athletes taking part in the games.

From Berkshire’s 28-year-old Claire Wright hoping to bounce her way to a medal with Olympic trampolining, to Commonwealth Games champion Kelly Sotherton – the region has got plenty of top athletes competing. So let’s cheer them to gold medal success, and watch as Meridian competitors form the backbone of the Great British team.

England cricket is reeling after Michael Vaughn’s surprising decision to chuck in his captaincy, so could this be the moment for Hampshire batsman Kevin Pietersen to step up to the mantle. The bookies certainly think so, and after a series of scintillating performances over recent times – the charismatic batter could be the answer. We’re interested to know what Meridian’s cricket fans think. ITV Local have launched a poll over on the site to garner popular opinion, so click to cast your vote, or post a comment why below.

Dopaisekatamasha certainly thinks that KP can handle it, and can only really see one outcome as far as the leadership battle goes: “Kevin Pietersen is probably the right choice at the moment, he can be a good leader, can handle pressure and moreover he plays his own game according to the situation and I really doubt if Captaincy will have an impact on his batting and I personally would like to see him as England’s next captain.”

Bob Piper, Labour councillor for Sandwell has a different opinion over on his blog suggesting “we may risk our one world class batsman, Kevin Pietersen, losing form himself because of the responsibility of the captaincy, but now Vaughan has gone, I suspect the selectors will go with Pietersen. Personally, I would have given it to Ian Bell, who only averages one run less than KP in the series, and although he is only 26 he has been around for ever”

But it’s over to Davelee on Twitter for the final word – “Pieterson [sic] to captain England? Don’t be silly. He’s less reliable than my Acer.” Hmmmm

Journalist Joanna Martin blogs from Tanzania  

As a freelance video journalist I made an ‘off the media beaten track’ decision to spend three months filming a number of news reports in Tanzania. Kenya has featured in the news with reported conflict over the recent election, but little is known about its relatively laid-back and peaceful neighbour Tanzania.

Tanzania is jam-packed full of superlatives: It has Africa’s largest concentration of animals in the Serengeti safari park, and the continent’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro. The country also boasts the world’s largest intact crater, Ngorongoro which teems with wildlife. Tanzanians are a friendly bunch and incredibly hospitable. My aim was to put this gem of a country on the map.

On arrival I had a meeting with a local journalist in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. I wanted good stories with links to Britain. He told me where the Masaai who ran the Flora London Marathon live. I got in contact with London based adventure specialists, Greenforce who work closely with the Masaai, and they helped coordinate a filming day.

Armed with five kilos of sugar and six boxes of tea bags I travelled eight hundred kilometres by road to the northern town of Arusha and then a further forty five kilometres to the remote village of Elaui. My point of contact was Greenforce expedition leader, Jonathan Lloyd who has been working in a nearby Masaai village for three months. His hot tip of the day was, ‘If you are offered blood to drink, swallow it quickly as it can clot in your throat and be hard to wash down.’ I didn’t get the chance to partake in the Masaai ritual, and was secretly glad.

Access to clean drinking water is something we take for granted in the UK. However, in some rural areas in Tanzania it can be thin on the ground. Tribes like the Masaai are forced to walk up to three days in the dry season to locate it. In the long rainy season, which runs from February to April, the Masaai in Elaui have enough water to drink, drawn from a nearby lake. However, when this runs dry they are forced to search further afield.

Contaminated water is linked to extremely high child mortality rates among Masaai tribes; two thirds of children die before the age of five. With the help of Greenforce, six Masaai warriors from the village of Elaui in northern Tanzania ran the Flora London Marathon this year and raised over sixty thousand pounds. This means they will have a water pump installed, bringing clean drinking water directly to their village for the very first time. A location has been earmarked and the plan is to have a European company drill a single bore hole and install a water pump within the next couple of months.

The first thing that struck me about Elaui village was how harsh the environment is. Elaui is named after the indigenous tree grown in the area which is known for its medicinal qualities. I had the pleasure of interviewing Isaya, the group leader who spoke really good English along with his brother Nguvu. They showed me around their part of the village which consisted of two mud huts known as bomas and a cattle pen. Then it was off to meet the village chief. As I greeted him outside his boma I glanced up and saw a rather large church with a cross dominating the skyline.  On further questioning I found out that this formal place of worship, funded by a Christian charity is practically derelict. I remember thinking how indifferent but tolerant the Masaai are to western influences. Despite a modern world, fast developing around them, the tribe prefer a simplistic way of life, living in their bomas surrounded by a close- knit family and prized cattle.

I found the villagers to be really friendly and welcoming. My camera equipment was a source of amusement. The biggest challenge was keeping the villagers quiet in order to conduct interviews. Semi-naked children clung to my legs, laughing and poking fun at this strange foreign woman asking lots of questions in their village.  Adults touched the camera and messed with the mic out of curiosity. They chattered away endlessly about me with mild amusement.

The Masaai who ran the marathon told me they had felt very cold during their stay in the UK but drinking copious cups of tea at a B&B in Kent had kept them warm. Traditionally they use snuff but were not allowed to take it to England. They consequently gave snuff a try in the UK only to find it had a chemical taste that they disliked.

In the future the Masaai want to run more marathons to raise even more funds to build a hospital. Currently they have to travel long distances to get medical aid.

If you would like to find out more about my news reports in Tanzania you can contact me at joanna@pobox.com

Watch Joanna’s Masaai warrior Meridian report here.Watch more of Joanna’s Tales from Tanzania below. Click on the link to view the report:

Trade Aid helps Tanzanian locals set up small businesses through micro finance

Water Aid maps contaminated water vital for survival

More exciting new from down south! England footballer Peter Crouch has officially signed with Portsmouth FC.

Manager Harry Redknapp looked like the cat that got the cream at today’s press conference when the news was announced. Redknapp went on to say how valuable Crouch would be to his FA Cup winning side. Crouch himself said that he felt like he was coming home. The 27-year old first played for them in 2001 where he scored 19 times in 39 matches before being sold to Aston Villa for £5 million. The figure he went for today was undisclosed but one can only guess it was a massive amount. You can catch all the interviews here.

What do you think? Share all your thoughts and comments here on our blog.