IPSWICH Town chiefs can now really start preparing for a bright future with the news that Marcus Evans' takeover of the club is finally set to go ahead.

IPSWICH Town chiefs can now really start preparing for a bright future with the news that Marcus Evans' takeover of the club is finally set to go ahead.

The £44 million deal which will see Mr Evans take over the club's debts and invest a further £12 million into the coffers at Portman Road should be great news for every Town fan.

Saturday's goalless draw with Barnsley was a huge disappointment - especially for the 18,000 Town fans in the crowd - but the fact is the club is sitting very handily placed in the Championship table.

And having lost the 100 per cent home record that the club was very happy with, the club now has an instant chance to lose the record it doesn't want tomorrow night.

Victory at Ashton Gate against a Bristol City side Town beat 6-0 in November would be the first away win of the season.

Ipswich Town is now placed just outside the play-off zone, but with the new investment and the opportunity to bring in new players during January it is very well placed for a concerted promotion push in the new year.

Also in the new year the fans can look forward to the high-flying Tractor Boys taking on an in-form Premier League side when Portsmouth visit in the third round of the FA Cup.

This will be a repeat of the match two years ago which was a 1-0 disappointment for Town - but at that time both sides were struggling in their respective leagues and this time around both have developed a reputation for exciting football.

The 0-0 draw on Saturday may have left Town fans feeling deflated on Saturday night, but in truth this weekend has been very good for the future of the club.

WHATEVER persuaded Sarah Adams to accept the alcoholic drinks offered to her at a function in London when she knew she would have to drive home from Ipswich station is impossible to say.

But that acceptance has now brought shame on the 45-year-old school governor who is now preparing to serve a long ban after being convicted of driving with well over three times the legal limit of alcohol in her breath.

She is the first person to be highlighted in The Evening Star's Name and Shame campaign over the 2007 Christmas and New Year period, but sadly she will not be the last.

What is worst? The fine? The driving ban? Or all your friends, colleagues and neighbours knowing you are convicted criminal who was prepared to put your own life, and that of others, at risk by getting behind the wheel of a car while drunk?

Mrs Adams will now have a long time to reflect on that question.

IT is great news to be able to report today that one of the hidden jewels of Ipswich, the old Arlington Ballroom in Museum Street, is to have a new lease of life as an up-market restaurant.

The man behind the venture, Ken Ambler, knows the restaurant business in Ipswich well having previously run the hugely successful Mortimer's before it moved from the Waterfront to its current home in Duke Street.

By bringing back to life such an important building in Museum Street, Mr Ambler will really be extending the scope of the town centre and everyone will wish him well in this exciting venture.