Contributed by Matthew Hartwell on 20/07/09 The mirror appeared the same day the girl’s parents explained to her why it wasn’t her fault they couldn’t live together anymore. She, like so many others in the city, was delighted with the new art installation
HAVING walked up Burlington Chine many times, in the main rubbish left by tourists (our lifeblood) has been left relatively tidily. Imagine my dismay this morning to see bags left, no doubt ripped open by foxes, and rubbish everywhere – Welcome to Swanage
This year a relation of mine died of Alzheimer’s, but not before the council extracted money from his meagre savings towards care home fees. He and his wife worked throughout their lives paying their dues. They did not own property, but rented privately
AT the very least I wanted a great-great-great uncle who was a genius, so ahead of his time that he was locked in an asylum. Or a great-great aunt who was a serving girl taken advantage of by the devilish young master and forced on to the streets. Then
It is now the middle of July. The long-term weather projection early in the year forecast a ‘record hot summer’! Global warming promises to rapidly turn up temperatures worldwide for ever, not the one week we enjoyed recently. Why is it then that
BOSCOMBE traders need not worry about the bridge closure as I’m sure shoppers will clog up other routes to Boscombe. Being a resident of North Road I am delighted, as it will mean drivers looking to take the short-cut from Christchurch Road to Ashley
I have two children under four and we used to enjoy feeding the squirrels in Fisherman’s Walk. We are no longer able to do this because every time we go there inconsiderate dog walkers allow their dogs to chase them away. Even when they see children
THANK you to Gary Ellson of Bournemouth Helicopters for the aerial shot of the Hinton Admiral crop pattern, and to the Daily Echo for putting this photo on your front page. One of my favourite formations appeared around July 14, the design of which seems
THE Jurassic Coast’s long- established Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve is in line to be protected as the most diverse area in a very special seabed. Dorset’s underwater reefs have been highly rated by Natural England, whose report proposes new inshore
FOLLOWING their recent head-turning festival performances, cult DJ duo Chase & Status will embark on their debut live tour this autumn and have announced a date at Bournemouth’s Old Firestation on October 8. After touring the world as DJs, William Kennard
WHAT do a troll, a dwarf, clowns, assassins and a werewolf have in com- mon? No this is not the start of a joke, they are all characters in this stage adaptation of Sir Terry Pratchett’s Men At Arms. You did not have to be familiar with the book to
VISITORS to Bournemouth seafront were grabbing their coats and brollies on Tuesday, rather than their swimming costumes and sunscreen lotion, as the school holidays got off to a gloomy start. Tourists and locals alike were determined to enjoy
AN authorised gypsies and travellers site for the Great Dorset Steam Fair has been granted planning permission for the next three years despite objections from sections of the community. Dorset County Council’s planning committee approved the council
COMPROMISE could have saved Bournemouth Council from delays that helped rack up a bill of at least £69,000, said Christchurch MP Chris Chope. Mr Chope opposed the council’s private parliamentary bill to ban street pedlars from the town centre and the
EVEN though he talks to dead people, the mood at Joe Power’s evening of clairvoyance was surprisingly light. “People think I’m nuts!” he laughed. “And if anything paranormal happens – leg it!” The psychic investigator, who has worked on the Madeleine
PANIC over swine flu may be costing the Bournemouth economy dear as language students cancel planned visits or decide not to book in the first place. Brian Brownlee, director of the Anglo European School of English, said: “Inevitably business has been
A RESIDENT who lives on a busy narrow road says it is just a matter of time until someone is killed there due to speeding drivers. Gordon Pierce, who lives along Burley Road, just past The Lamb Inn at Winkton has already expressed severe concerns about
A NEW £500-a-day job is up for grabs at Bournemouth and Poole councils. The two authorities are advertising for an independent chair of the Bournemouth and Poole Safeguarding Adults Board. The successful applicant will receive £15,000 per year for only
CUTE they may be, but bunnies are nibbling their way through precious New Forest grass that commoners consider would be better eaten by their ponies and cows. And if the grass is not being eaten by herbivores of various types it is subject to an invasion
A BRICK lorry driver was lucky to escape uninjured after his HGV jack-knifed on the busy A31 earlier today. Police say the trucker braked hard to avoid another vehicle pulling in front of him, sending tonnes of bricks forward into the truck
KNYVETON Gardens avenged their early season Section One defeat at Boscombe Cliff by rolling over the champions 12-2. Richard Garrett’s posse of Reg Davis, Ken Budd and Russell Foote (21-14) put the boot in, collecting seven shots on the 15th end to set
ANDY Loader and Dan Adlem smashed big tons as Cranborne crushed Christchurch – but narrowly missed out on a Dorset Sunday Division One record. Loader (147) and Adlem (131) shared an opening stand of 260 to set Cranborne on their way to a huge 412 for
DORSET-based Josh Brookes was at the centre of another controversial crash during round seven of ViSK British Superbike Championship action at Mallory Park on Sunday. The Australian – who rides for HM Plant Honda – had climbed to fourth in race one when
LYMINGTON look odds-on favourites for the A Division title after a 4-2 success at New Milton where Jenny Lawford, Ngaio Mapes, Janice Smith and Jean Stopp (26-14) surpassed New Milton’s winning skip June Boughton (21-16). West Moors skip Janet Price
READING in the Daily Echo (June 20) that the leisure operators are being urged to come up with ideas for the ex-Winter Gardens site, may I make a suggestion? Re-build the Winter Gardens as it was with the second widest stage in Europe and excellent acoustics
SWIMMING sensation Amelia Maughan stormed to an 100m freestyle gold medal at the European Youth Olympics in Finland this afternoon. The 13-year-old Bournemouth Dolphins star claimed her second medal of the competition after she helped TeamGB’s girls
YOUNG Enterprise, the national enterprise education provider is expanding in Dorset, delivering a wide range of programmes to young people aged between 4 – 24 to raise their aspirations and understanding of the workplace. One such programme
An authorised caravan site to accommodate gypsies and travellers for the Great Dorset Steam Fair has been granted planning permission for the next three years. Dorset County Council’s planning committee approved the council’s own plan for the
AN ASPIRING Formula One driver, who had his first race in Hampshire at the age of eight, has died in a tragic accident. Henry Surtees, the 18-year-old son of the Formula One champion, John Surtees, was hit on the head by a flying rear wheel, from a car
On day 5 I slept in and had a leisurely morning, enjoying a breakfast of bagels and donuts (my calorific intake has happily gone off the scale this week...). I then biked 45 miles into increasingly mountainous terrain to a picturesque town
AMAZING couple of days. Made it from 'Golden' through 'Lake Louise' to 'Banff' through classic Rocky Mountain scenery. Highway winding through towering mountains, steep forests and turquoise lakes under a deep blue sky. Did two 11-hour biking
Huge day today, some of the most amazing riding I've ever done... Managed 8-hours on the bike, nearly 100-miles in all. Negotiated 'Roger's Pass', the highest point on the Tran-Canada Highway (1330m) and loved the scenery all day. Towering
Day 4 consisted of 60-miles along the Trans Canada Highway via the endearingly-named 'Salmon Arm' to the pretty, lake-side town of 'Sicamous'. With tired legs I stopped mid-afternoon and camped next to the river in Alpiner Motel. Thanks to
On day 3 I rode 90 miles from a town called 'Merritt' to a little place called 'Chase'. I took the 'Old Highway' and enjoyed a wind-assisted morning along a road which hugged the shores of lakes and passed verdant farmland and forest.
THE way youths are portrayed on television and in the news is making many people afraid of them, a group of New Forest schoolchildren has warned. Students from Ringwood School told members of a House of Lords committee in Westminster that stereotyping
A NEW £500 a day job is up for grabs at Bournemouth and Poole councils. The two authorities are advertising for an independent chair of the Bournemouth and Poole Safeguarding Adults Board. The successful applicant will receive £15,000 per year for only
APOLLO 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin clambered safely back into their moonship Eagle today after leaving man’s first footprints on the surface of the moon. They sealed themselves into the upper stage of the spidery lunar module
DALEKS weaved among the crowds threatening to “exterminate, exterminate” people in Bournemouth town centre on Saturday. There was also a Dalek Driving Test modelled on Top Gear’s fastest lap time competition, where participants used a small radio controlled
THE More Bus Bournemouth Air Festival is getting ship shape thanks to the Air Cadets. The youngsters helped clean up a historic Sea Venom at De Haviland Aviation at Bournemouth Airport. The powerful jet will again be displayed on the
A NEW book claims Dorset-based lawyer Stephen Curtis may have been murdered. Mr Curtis and his pilot Max Radford died when their helicopter crashed on its approach to Bournemouth Airport on March 3, 2004. The owner of Pennsylvania Castle on Portland
HAVING seen their debut single, Beat Again, go straight into the charts at number one this weekend, Britain’s favourite new boy band JLS announced a full UK tour which will see them arrive at the BIC on February 10 next year. Tickets go on sale at
COULD the Hengistbury Head Centre be bought and turned into luxury beach huts? That’s the worst case scenario raised by Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood, who wants a firm guarantee that whomever takes over the centre will be required to provide
WHEN a toddler’s dummy was accidentally dropped into the water at Bournemouth’s Oceanarium, staff leapt into action to ensure the safety of two rare green sea turtles. But before they could remove the alien object from the display, one of the turtles
THEY’RE called “where were you when...?” moments, and today we remember probably the most momentous of all, the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s giant leap for mankind. Another landmark event is President Kennedy’s assassination, which
AMELIA Maughan has this morning closed in on her second European Youth Olympic Festival medal by qualifying for the 100m freestyle final. The Talbot Heath School pupil, who yesterday secured a relay bronze in the pool, boasts a strong medal
Set to pounding African drums and glorious township harmonies, this joyously exuberant dance show offers an intriguingly different take on end-of-the-pier summer entertainment. On the face of it, you couldn’t get much further removed from variety
WITH reference to your article ‘Fathers go further in kitchen drama!’ (July 11 issue), I think the new course outlined, arranged by the Christchurch Food Festival Education Trust and Somerford Children’s Centre, for author Ester Davies to tutor 20 dads
Is it not time for the absurdly inadequate and highly dangerous eastbound slip road at Richmond Hill to be controlled by traffic lights? (Echo, Wednesday, July 15). If, say, three or four cars are waiting to join the Wessex Way, then the lights would
I WAS rather dismayed to read the letter from reader J Lee (July 16), with complaints about our bin men. These gents do a filthy and thankless, and very heavy job, often in considerable danger from the current road user, without complaint. On the rare
I am writing to ask if someone from Poole council could look into and respond to a question I have about the dual rubbish/recycling bins down at Poole harbour. I was down there recently and watched the operatives empty both the recycling bin and the
Please can Bournemouth airport re-examine some issues before they drive people away... 1. Why are airlines (ie Thompsonfly) now flying into Bournemouth in the early hours? At 3am does this not a) create noise and b) leave passengers
I have lived on the edge of the New Forest for 25 years but would not know who to phone in the event of a collision with a pony, so what chance would strangers have? Maybe strategically placed information boards quoting a hot-line number might
A REFUSE collector was taken to hospital with serious head injuries yesterday after a large industrial bin fell on his head during the morning collection in Highcliffe. The 45-year-old man from Poole was taken to Poole Hospital after the bin knocked
DORSET’S James Lelliott is refusing to make any bold predictions at this week’s European Youth Olympic Festival in Tampere. Lelliott, who will be competing in the long jump heats today, is one of 62 British youngsters in Finland, as Team GB
THE worst thing that happened to me as a foreign student staying in Germany during the mid-Seventies was being forced to sit down with my host family and their friends and listen to an LP of West Germany’s defeat of England in the 1970 World Cup. It
AS Cherries’ new owners continue to work hard on satisfying Football League regulations, it appears the club’s ongoing |transfer embargo is causing |them to miss out on potential signings. Director of operations Neill Blake yesterday reiterated
PERFECTIONIST Ryan Garry plans to use tonight’s friendly to further enhance his skills in time for the new season. Garry turned in a fine performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday and, with Cherries set to welcome top-flight Fulham to Dean Court
A top music organisation has confirmed it has taken over the 114-year-old Opera House in Boscombe. The Academy Music Group (AMG) has taken over the lease for the Grade II listed building – which from September will be the 02 Academy Bournemouth
POLICE have stepped up patrols in Bournemouth after five foreign students were robbed within just two hours. Detectives believe the same gang is responsible for the terrifying attacks and are calling for help to find them. The three
ALTHOUGH Ludgershall Medical Store, known over the years variously as AMED, DMED or MSA, closed in 2005, biennial reunions for former military (regular, National Service or TA) and civilian staff continue to be held in the Andover area. Our next reunion
Forty-three per cent of south west workers are more pessimistic about job prospects. That is according to a survey of over 2,900 people by the Keep Britain Working campaign, which says that this is an improvement on last month’s figures. Nineteen per
POLICE in the New Forest are using shock tactics to force drivers to cut their speed following a sharp rise in animal accidents. Motorists flouting the 40mph speed limit are being shown horrific photographs of mutilated animals and damaged cars. The
What is the best way to protect myself and my family from getting flu? You can reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of catching or spreading swine flu by: Always covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
BEFORE it was heathland. A track, known as Sandy Lane, ran through it. And no-one imagined that one-day the acres of wild heather and gorse would be transformed into one of region’s finest gardens. Today Compton Acres is admired by visitors
I HOPE that you will print this letter. It is a letter from the heart, to express how grateful I am for my recent care by the NHS in Dorset. I have had a bad year health wise. January saw me spending time at Poole Hospital. Thank you everyone. You were
FOLLOWING the recent article ‘Alive and Well’ (Daily Echo, July 2) about our son Lennon’s amazing recovery since he was knocked down on the Southbourne overcliff, we felt there were a few more people we wanted to thank. Throughout this horrific
BJARNE Pedersen has admitted he doesn’t know how he managed to hold onto his ‘bucking bronco’ bike after he spectacularly fell during Pirates’ thrilling 45-45 draw at Lakeside last night. Poole Castle Cover’s captain also admonished himself
NEIL Middleditch paid tribute to Joe Screen’s unselfishness for turning down a heat 15 ride so Bjarne Pedersen could go out in the race as Pirates snatched a last-gasp draw at Lakeside last night. Trailing 44-40, Poole Castle Cover needed a
The antisocial behaviour of a small group of young people has resulted in a crackdown in Rossmore, Poole. Due to an increasing number of incidents of criminal damage, drunken and disorderly behaviour, littering, noise, abusive and intimidating
DORSET sensation Amelia Maughan tasted European Youth Olympic Festival glory on her international debut as she guided Team GB to relay bronze in the pool. The Talbot Heath School pupil – who at 13 is the youngest member of the Great Britain
Who played here in history 5 years ago: Bang Lassy – Thomas Tripp, Christchurch (21.7.04). Strange Days – The Villa, Bournemouth (23.7.04). The Takeover Crew + Scalpels – Bartonka, Bournemouth (24.7.04). Five Second
THE world watches on TV as Neil Armstrong walks down the ladder from the Eagle onto the surface of the moon. Everyone holds their breath as Armstrong steps off the ladder onto the moon. Armstrong: “That’s one small step for man. One
