Is that Knight wearing a ship as a hat? Suffolk must be a magical place.
This week's winner: Daniel PuntTeam Name: Suffolk'n Good
THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE. Fantastic. My job is really quite easy when you give me some creative, punny names to select. Daniel probably has a ton of friends, because that is one sweet name (also, his team name is pretty fantastic too). Click to continue reading...

Longpier.com is teaming up with local fab food site Essex Gourmet to give you the chance to win tickets to a cracking event in London this December.
Essex Gourmet, your local guide to fabulous food and drink in Essex – tried and trusted - is giving away 3 pairs of wonderful ‘Taste of Christmas' tickets! Click to continue reading...

by CARL ELDRIDGE I've been to a good few Arsenal games over the past four decades but never have I had the pleasure to bump in to a Gunners fan quite as lovely as this buxom babe. More's the bleedin' pity!

So when this rather appealing snap landed at arsenalinsider we thought it only right and proper to share it with our growing army of visitors.

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The biggest live music competition in Essex returns to Southend seafront this Saturday (24th), as local bands battle it out to be crowned Battle of the Band champions 2009.
It's the second set of semi-finals this weekend with The Peppermint Apes, Vanity Clause, The Summer Regret and Lazarus Rose performing live on the Southend Radio SoundStage from 6-8pm. Click to continue reading...

Russell Brand was without doubt created to scare the life out of Americans A narcissistic former smackhead Essex boy, with a rude Victorian English mouth, whose hair has its own persona, passport and facebook page. He is without doubt the UK's Mr Marmite..you either love him or hate him. So someone told me to check out Mr [. Click to continue reading...

Although the summer's pretty much over, autumn provides an excellent opportunity to discover the coastline around Southend and surrounding areas.
You get some really crisp, but clear days especially in late October and that offers great views especially in places like Stambridge and Pagelsham. Click to continue reading...

Ladies, gentlemen, I return from Essex with news. We are mortal, my friends, and as liable to a deserved stuffing as the worst of them.If it wasn't for being in rollickingly good company, Tuesday's trip up the A12 would have been swiftly consigned to the bin marked "bad memories". We overcame dreadful traffic conditions to get to the Care In The Community Stadium on time. Click to continue reading...

One of south Essex's major events takes place this Saturday and Sunday (19th-20th) as Old Leigh welcomes locals and visitors to its annual Regatta.
The charity event organised by the three Scout and Venture Groups, that are based in Leigh Old Town, gets going from noon on Saturday with entertainment, competitions, side shows, craft stalls and water events. Click to continue reading...

A brilliant, innovative and genuinely exciting arts project has hit Southend.
The former water works building on North Road has been completely transformed into a huge space for emerging artists to work and display their talents.
CoExist Arts run by Emma Emmerton and Amy McKenny is a fairly new project, founded in 2008. Click to continue reading...

With Grays Athletics' Chief Executive Mick Woodward standing down from his role at the club after a 10 year stint, which has seen Woodward taking over as manger twice and splitting fan opinion of his general running of the club. A new regime has been promised to take over the reigns of the Essex side, but with Woodward still having an invested interest, more questions than answers remain at the club with the seemingly revolving door.

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Southend United slipped to their first league defeat of the season at the County Ground, and saw Jean Francois Christophe sent off in the first half for a second bookable offence.
Swindon took the lead through Scott Cuthbert on 20 minutes after the Blues failed to clear their lines following a free kick. Click to continue reading...

Southend United threw away the chance to return to Essex with all three points, after a late penalty denied the Shrimpers their first away win in the league.
Walsall took the lead on 13 minutes when Steve Jones headed past Steve Mildenhall.
But, like last week, Blues' opponents had a man sent off - Dwayne Mattis seeing red after a second bookable offence on 61. Click to continue reading...

The day before the day before the season and I am a bundle of nerves.
Everything kicks off in Essex against Chelmsford City on Saturday and although we really need a good start I have no idea how we are going to begin. The evidence is decidedly mixed.
Last year we struggled to score goals in the preseason and the regular season. Click to continue reading...

Southend's Rendezvous Casino is gearing up for its latest 'Face to Face' Poker Festival, which takes place this Wednesday 22nd - Sunday 26th July.
Members of the public are invited to take part in the no-limit Texas hold 'em event, or simply turn up to watch the action unfold, while offering their support to players. Click to continue reading...

Rather than hire a sexy beauty queen to show off your new kit (as Linfield did), West Ham Utd turned to celeb fan Ray Winstone (aka Ray, 52, from Essex) to show off its new Umbro home kit (that or...

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Had a conversation about Twitter with a Spurs mate tonight, in particular the possibility of the 'Wilson Palacios' that we were both 'following' being actually legitimate or not. Twitter does seem to be the 'in' form of social media for celebrities and sportsmen these days and there's every chance that the person behind this account is actually Sgt. Click to continue reading...

One of Southend's premier events takes place on Saturday (4th July) with more than 1,000 people taking to the streets of the borough for a half marathon walk.
The Moonlight Colourthon - now in its third year - encourages walkers to dress as brightly as possible, while raising money for their chosen charities. Click to continue reading...

This weeks little lovely lady is Carly Jee from Essex, a senior support worker and part time model. Carly is a bit of a minx in front of the camera, in fact the pictures she sent us were so hot we had to crop half of them out.

Age

23

Marital status

Single, woowhoo!

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So here we are, FA Cup semi-final day, and the butterflies can officially start fluttering like the dickens.

I'll be off to Wembley later for my first visit to the new old ground, and I can't wait. My own band of gooners will be converging on Wembley from London, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, four merry old souls with years of experience under our belts.

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The c2c line - doing very well compared to the National Express East Anglia line

LONGPIER EXCLUSIVE
How much are you paying for your ticket when travelling on the c2c or National Express lines in south and mid-Essex? At the turn of the year, train companies were heavily criticised for increasing fares way above inflation and at a time when the UK is trying to find a way out of recession. Click to continue reading...