I have recently returned to Bournemouth with my husband and our three sons. The boys have grown up wild, hiking in the rain forest of Trinidad. Bournemouth is a big change! I still scan the ceiling for tarantulas when I wake up in the morning.
A DRIVER was cut free from a car following a two-vehicle collision at Sandford north of Wareham on Tuesday afternoon. The collision involving a silver Toyota Rav 4 estate registered to a Wareham man and a silver Citroen Saxo saloon registered
AMAZINGLY, it’s 32 years since the last series of prison-based comedy Porridge was first shown on our screens. But the laughs are as fresh as ever, as quite probably the best sitcom ever made is brought back to hilarious life for the stage. With the
PLANS to transform part of a Bournemouth shopping centre into an American-style restaurant have been put on hold after civic leaders voiced fears that the “eatery” could ultimately become another bar. Chicago Rib is hoping to open five restaurants
A new theory on the origins of the Cerne Giant has knocked centuries off his age. The giant, whose outline is marked in chalk on a hillside in the village of Cerne Abbas, has long been considered the work of Celtic or Roman settlers. But new research
BLANDFORD’S economy could receive a boost after permission was granted to build nearly 30 light industrial units on the eastern edge of the town. District councillors have given the green light to proposals for 29 units in six new buildings on land
A WIDOW is backing the Alzheimer’s Society’s calls for improvements to the care of dementia sufferers who have to be admitted to hospital. A report from the charity says people with dementia occupy a quarter of all hospital beds, but often spend far
THERE were just 16 episodes of the Victoria Wood-penned comedy series that ran on BBC 1 from 1998 to 2000. But, nearly 10 years on, with the star absent from the list of performers, David Graham’s skilful stage adaptation is a resounding success, mainly
CABBIES. Where would we be without them? Still standing on the street corner, probably. In my experience they mainly fall into two categories. There’s the “Sit down, tell me where you want to go, shut up and then pay me the fare” type. And then there
A 19-YEAR-old motorcyclist was fighting for his life in hospital following a collision on the A354 south of Blandford on Tuesday afternoon. The collision occurred at around 4.18pm near the hamlet of Thornicombe, Charlton Marshall, and caused
LIONS continued their National Three South West form with a hard-earned 5-5 draw at Oxford Harlequins. Tim Knapp put the hosts in front after just nine minutes, but Mike Pope’s try eight minutes before the break restored parity. And with neither side
ACTING coach Will Croker described Oakmeadians’ 30-14 home defeat to Wallingford as “embarrassing”. Oaks’ South West One East promotion hopes suffered a massive blow with Croker’s charges slumping to their fourth defeat in five league contests. The
LANDLORD Dave Wells has vowed to build the controversial development in Barrack Road, Christchurch despite an appeal setback last week. The proposed development for 34 flats at 217-225 Barrack Road in Christchurch were rejected by the planning inspector
ONCE upon a time shorthand was THE prerequisite for getting a decent secretarial or personal assistant’s job. The ability to produce those lines and squiggles at breakneck speed – or at least 120 words per minute – was a highly valued one. But not any
X Factor starlet Lucie Jones talks to our sister paper the Worcester News about life after the show...
OTTERS have returned to Radipole Lake in Weymouth – and secret cameras reveal they may be breeding. Wildlife guardians at the RSPB’s Weymouth Wetlands nature reserve are celebrating another significant milestone after signs that otters are
YOU can’t escape it. Christmas is coming. The twinkling lights adorn the high streets. Aggressive shoppers are out in force. And you can’t remove yourself from your armchair quick enough during that Coronation Street ad-break to get away
THREE men have been found guilty of murdering Bournemouth University student Luke Campbell - known to his friends as Luka. Delaine Gordon Brown, Larbi Mohamed, and Saeed Alkadir were convicted by a jury at Winchester Crown Court this afternoon
The newest recruit to our blogging team, Nan Sheppard, hits back at slow-cooker critics with two delicious sounding recipes... Slow-Cooked Roast Beef Drop one frozen beef clod roast in crockpot. It makes a satisfying CLUNK when you do
HAMWORTHY United boss Simon Browne was the toast of one of his former clubs - and the scourge of one of his old team-mates following their 1-1 draw at Bemerton Heath Harlequins last night. Carl Mutch's late header cancelled out Joe Sanger's
DESCRIPTIONS have been issued of two men who conned an elderly woman out of £1,000. The men posed as bailiffs working for the district council when they called at the woman’s home in a village near Blandford at 12.45pm on Friday. One man in his mid-
The Rifles Regiment, whose soldiers have been fighting and dying in Afghanistan, are in line to be honoured with the Freedom of the Borough of Poole. They will join the Royal Marines and RNLI in a select group to be granted the highest accolade
DORSET County Council have published the offical alternative route to avoid the A338 roadworks. On a section of the dorsetforyou website set up to give information about the Spur Road roadworks, it says: "Dorset County Council has adopted the alternative
THE woman who died when her car was involved in a collision with a petrol tanker in East Dorset has been named as 70-year-old teacher Wendy Rumbold. The collision between a silver coloured Vauxhall Corsa and a white Scania petrol tanker happened at Mill
A Polish man injured in a collision on the A31 at Ferndown has been moved from Southampton Hospital’s neurological unit to Poole Hospital. His condition was described yesterday as still critical and he is in intensive care. The 45-year-old was on a
PARISH councillors in Pimperne are fighting to keep a public phone in the village. Civic leaders have been invited by BT to “adopt” the red box opposite The Farquharson Arms, near the A354 – effectively decommissioning the working phone. Cllr John
The coroner is appealing for help to find the next of kin of a man who died in Bournemouth and who is believed to have family in Belfast. Ian Wallace McCleave, who was 65, was found dead at his home on Haviland Mews, Boscombe, on Sunday in non-suspicious
Sometimes in this universe things happen and it makes you stop and think about “life”. Well, in this case last night it was about what didn’t happen as opposed to what did. Our electricity failed us in the middle of entertaining dinner guests
OUSEHOLDERS counting the cost of the weekend storms have been warned to be on their guard against rogue doorstep traders. Those who suffered damage to their homes and cars could end up even worse off if they are not careful about who does the repair
THIS show has enjoyed worldwide success since 2001, and I have been meaning to catch it for a while, so was looking forward to an evening of… I wasn’t sure what, really. What I, and the rest of the women in the audience (there were about 10 men in total
THE night sky could well be worth a look tonight (Tuesday Nov 17) as the annual Leonids meteor shower should be at its most spectacular. The tiny high-speed particles come from the tail of Comet 55 P/Tempel-Tuttle, which was last in the vicinity
TEN people have been arrested after more than 40 police swooped on a series of addresses in Swanage and one in Poole to remove suspected drug dealers. Eight addresses were searched yesterday. Six men, aged between 22 and 39, all from Swanage, one 23
A long-lost dewpond at Langton Matravers has been brought back to life after lying hidden for years. The pond was discovered when the Langton area came under the spotlight during investigations for the Purbeck Important Ponds Project. Purbeck ponds
PAM Donnellan has a personal interest in seeing Boscombe get better. The £125,000-a-year chief executive of Bournemouth council lives in the area seen as the drugs capital of Dorset. “I like an urban environment. I like the edge you
MAY I, through your letters page, thank the Co-op at Parsonage Barn Lane, Ringwood. Jenny the manageress very kindly donated £50 vouchers to the Ringwood Prize Bingo. This is held at Greyfriars Activity Hall every Saturday at 7pm. The vouchers will
I WISH to express my disgust at the fine issued to a person who had parked for a few moments to pay his respects to those who had given their lives in the defence of our country. It is a great pity he was not joined with those who should have set an
I’m sat in Strouden Library and have just been helped by one of the librarians here – the results are excellent. Yet I hear continually on the radio that library services in this country are failing and leave a lot to be desired. Well, all I can say
When I was a kid, we tried skating on Coy Pond when it was frozen. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an open ice rink around? pete woodley, Lydford Gardens, Bournemouth
With regard to the ongoing road works on the spur road, part of which involves the clearing of lizards, smooth snakes and other species. It would be interesting if numbers found and moved could be obtained and published. I would hazard a guess that
WHEN you’re in a hole, stop digging – Poole council are trying to defend the indefensible, vast sums of money being spent on new gates and over 20 stone pillars, fancy gates and iron railings with lights at Alexandra Park. We can all see it is money
“I FEEL like somebody has ripped my soul out.” These were haulage boss Andrew Trotter’s words as he prepared to take delivery of rental vehicles to keep his business going yesterday following a £1 million arson which saw six lorries and five
IT IS a sad fact that we are witnessing a creeping militarism of the kind that has led to war in days gone by. In ‘Threat greater than that of Nazis’ (Have Your Say, November 12) your correspondent is urging an “all-out confrontation between ourselves
CALLS by retailers for the Spur Road roadworks to be put back until after Christmas look set to be rejected – because of laws protecting Dorset’s reptiles. And if you think the traffic hold-ups are bad now, things are set to get worse next
GRIEVING friends of Rifleman Philip Allen laid flowers on the car carrying his coffin through Wootton Bassett. They made the two-hour journey to the Wiltshire town yesterday as his body was flown into nearby RAF Lyneham. Fifteen to twenty
IF you were “in it to win it” then doubtless you had another disappointing weekend and started the new week yesterday just like all the others. At work. I like to pretend that I don’t take part in the National Lottery, though this is based on being somewhat
CHRISTIAN Aid, Oxfam and other aid agencies are once again tapping into public disquiet over the existence of plenty in the midst of hunger and asking you to make a Christmas gift of a farmed animal to an impoverished person in Africa or in another of
THE strong skunk bud that is smoked by 12-16-year-olds is going to cause some of them cannabis psychosis. Anyone that has suffered this terrible condition due to smoking dope knows how harmful it is. I was in a paranoid psychosis for
PART of Poole Quay is sealed off this morning as police and maritime agencies deal with a boat that sunk in the harbour last night. The Channel Chiefton IV foundered around 9pm on Monday evening near to the RNLI station at town quay in Poole Harbour.
IF you thought the Spur Road traffic jams were bad now – take a look at what’s coming next year. Six months of major roadworks along 6.5 miles of the A338 are set to bring much of Dorset to a standstill from 2010. Highways chiefs are
CONFUSION surrounds the future of an award-winning Purbeck farm shop. Goldy’s, given the Royal seal of approval with a visit from the Queen only five months ago, is rumoured to have closed over the weekend. It came as a shock to staff
There were just 16 episodes of the Victoria Wood-penned comedy series that ran on BBC 1 from 1998-2000. But ten years on, with the comedienne absent from the cast, David Graham’s skilful stage adaptation is a resounding success thanks to her sparkling
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell is targeting talks with the Football League after Cherries’ long-standing tax slate was yesterday wiped clean. HM Revenue & Customs’ winding-up petition against the club was dismissed at Liverpool Combined Court
TOM Killick could be without a number of key men as Poole Town prepare for some hard miles in the FA Vase. Dolphins must travel to Brislington tonight (7.45pm) after Saturday’s original second-round tie fell foul of the weather. But a 3pm departure
A SHOCKED mother has warned of the dangers of social networking sites after she discovered a man asking for explicit pictures of her 13-year-old daughter. The woman came across a message on her computer from a man asking her daughter to send
Electronic locking gates are being considered as a temporary solution to the dangerous use of the level crossing at Wareham Station. Dorset County Council has agreed to explore all possible solutions to the pedestrian crossing, where it has
CHERRIES star Steve Fletcher has welcomed the club’s new-found off-field stability and also says Eddie Howe’s men have a crucial role to play in securing future prosperity. His comments come as the winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue & Customs
5 years ago: Showaddywaddy + John Leyton + Craig Douglas – Pavilion Theatre, Bournemouth (16.11.04). Micky Moody + The Recliners – Mr Kyps, Poole (17.11.04: Former Whitesnake axeman is supported by local blues rockers. The Yardbirds
