A BRAVE little girl from Christchurch who has resolutely fought off leukaemia has been made one of Cancer Research UK’s Little Stars. Georgia Phillpot was born with Down’s Syndrome. A year later she began suffering infantile spasms, a form of epilepsy
SAM Hayward slammed in a first-half hat-trick against his former colleagues and another ex-player Luke McArdle added two more when Bournemouth Sports toppled relegation-threatened Suttoners Civil 5-0 in the Premier Division. Reigning champions Electric
A NEW planning application for the £35 million redevelopment of St Ann’s Hospital in Poole has been made, health chiefs have confirmed. Architects went back to the drawing board when Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust’s original scheme
MOVES to require planning permission before small houses can be converted to take tenants could drive up rents and slash property prices, a landlords’ group has warned. Currently, property owners are allowed to turn a single unit to a small house in
A PURPOSE-built centre in Bournemouth that cares for adults with mild to moderate learning disabilities is to close, just two years after being opened by Paralympic cyclist Darren Kenny. The Finigan Centre – which is part of a complex in Alumhurst Road
A FORMER Wimbledon veteran tennis champion turned children’s author is hoping for big screen success. Jasper Cooper invented the Kingdom of Gems as a bedtime story to entertain his two young children Rebecca and Joseph. When the youngsters began asking
CHILDREN’S birthdays are always special occasions – but for little William Broadbank turning four is a remarkable milestone. Born with a number of serious congenital heart defects this brave boy has been in and out of hospital most of his life and undergone
HALF-term will soon be here, but there’s no reason for Christchurch kids to feel at a loose end. Council play rangers Kerrie Wheal and Rebekah Lake have organised a series of free sessions of activities and team games funded by the Big Lottery and Communities
AN increase in the number of thefts from vehicles meant the crime rate in Highcliffe doubled during January to 16 incidents from the previous month. In January, Highcliffe and Walkford Safer Neighbourhood officers dealt with two burglaries and one attempted
THE man who has kept Christchurch’s historic town centre litter-free for the past 42years is set to retire. Burton resident Michael Gearing will be parking his barrow for the last time and hanging up his litter picker on Tuesday before heading
HUNDREDS of protesters took to the streets this weekend to fight for the future of Dorset’s public services. Around 400 marchers banged drums and blew whistles as they marched through Dorchester chanting “you say cut back, we say fight back
POOLE Town have been drawn at home to Torpoint Athletic in the quarter-finals of the FA Vase. Tom Killick's side booked their place in the last eight with a dramatic 3-2 win over tournament favourites Spennymoor on Saturday. • More on this story
LIBRARY campaigners are pressing for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole to merge their library service managers, saving up to £250,000 and sparing 20 rural libraries threatened with closure. On Thursday Dorset County Council will consider library closure
STUDENTS have to rack up a huge debt and count on making money in the future – and Bournemouth University has done the same. The university’s long term debt has hit £23 million, an increase of 130 per cent since it began a massive investment plan. The
RADICAL plans that will decide the future of Christchurch Hospital will be debated by the borough council’s scrutiny committee on Tuesday before being referred to the council meeting on March 1. Council leader John Lofts is now urging residents to become
Heading into the third week and I have to admit that the weekend was a bit tricky for me. A takeaway and meal out tested my resolve greatly but I think I did OK in the end. Chicken Jabajaba curry (tomato sauce) and a Seafood Salad… could
CHART-topping rapper, Tinie Tempah, could become the latest high-profile figure to take up residence in Poole’s exclusive Sandbanks district. The London-born artist, who spent his early years in the city’s tough Walworth area, said Sandbanks
Dis’ Amore 20 ml Disaronno 20 ml sherry 20ml Spanish brandy 15 ml fresh lemon juice 2 raspberries 10 ml sugar syrup Star Anise for garnish Rose petals for garnish Pour the Disaronno into a shaker followed by the sherry, brandy and fresh lemon
PRAISE the Lord. Hollywood actress Whoopi Goldberg is taking the hit musical comedy Sister Act on tour. The show, which played to over a million people at the London Palladium during its West End run, will arrive at The Mayflower Southampton from
ARRIVING with a bundle of red roses in time for Valentine’s Day was enough to win this froggy prince a special kiss. The little stowaway, newly named Valentino, gave staff at Lauraflora in Charminster Road, Bournemouth, a big surprise with
Last week's blog was back to "normal", I made some comments about cycle lanes and there were lots of comments. Some of these were reasonable and rational and some were from the anti-cycling brigade who will always rant on with uninformed and
Mussels poached in a saffron-flavoured court bouillon with red peppers Serves 12 6kg mussels 3 red peppers 3 cloves of garlic 3 onions 3 lemons 1 bouquet garni 1 litre of dry white wine 2g saffron 3g peppercorns 1/2 litre of cream 1 bunch
I AM not a cyclist but I do empathise with those on bikes when idiots bluster about so-called road tax. I think it is important that all motorists understand what it is that they pay and why. It is vehicle excise duty, not ‘road tax’. I pay this because
I’VE read with interest the recent press stories and letters which have appeared about HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton considering asking wedding guests and well-wishers to donate to charities instead of giving them wedding gifts. This would mean
HOW right is your correspondent Mr Howard Davies (Saturday February 5, 2011). He hits the nail right on the head. Speculators! All on the world’s essentials and resources. It has been reported in the Times (Saturday, February 5) that the wealthiest
BECOMING a parent is a bit like having a flat pack to assemble – without instructions! From those early days and for the next 18 years you have to cope with the highs and the lows of raising your child. If you sailed through with your first don’t feel
WHEN Botticelli painted The Birth of Venus, he chose to make the Roman goddess a vision of beauty with flaming locks of crimson hair. It now appears Venus has been born again in celeb-land with the flame-haired craze showing no signs of burning out.
UP to 248 jobs could be axed in the next year by Dorset Police to compensate for a massive funding shortfall. Chief Constable Martin Baker will outline the scope of savings needed for the next four years in a report to be presented to the Dorset
SO, the powers that be will advocate the confiscation of iPods etc from offenders. Is this not a bit harsh on these poor mites? Perhaps it would be much kinder to make said offenders sit on the naughty step for, say, 45 minutes. Perhaps we could all
I FEEL I must reply to your headline letter from Abb Riley. I have no strong view about rabbits but feel their removal to another location would be a good solution. The people of Colehill and Stapehill are very lucky to have Janet Dover as their
I HAD to put finger to keyboard in response to LJ Serkapin’s letter in Thursday’s (Feb 10) Echo headlined Teacher over-reacted over pupils’ drugs. As someone somewhat younger than his/her 60 years, I would like to point out that I am troubled by a bit
IN response to Abb Riley’s letter of February 10, I felt I had to write to defend Janet Dover. My son, Joseph, started one of the petitions to try to get the rabbits on Canford Bottom Roundabout re-located and I contacted Janet to see if she would help
WHEN we heard about the Fish Fight campaign at Fishy Fishy, we were really keen to support it. Hugh, Gordon and Jamie are doing a fantastic job of getting the nation interested in fish and in calling everyone to support our fishermen, stop discard,
THERE’S an old joke about a fellow running up to you, urgently asking: “Have you seen a policeman?” And when you shake your head he says: “Then hand over your money.” Unless you’re a criminal, everyone wants to see more old-fashioned bobbies on the
CONTROVERSIAL plans to slash the number of coastguard stations around the UK – including Portland – will be discussed as a series of public meetings. The planned cuts, announced by the government in December, will cut search and rescue co-ordination
ELDERLY residents in a part of Poole say they feel “under curfew” from a lack of evening bus services. The Dale Valley area of Oakdale is effectively cut off once its only service to the town centre stops at around 7pm. There are no buses at all on
LEE Bradbury is adamant a harsh lesson in the timing of substitutions paid dividends as Cherries held on for victory at Walsall. Boss Bradbury made three second-half changes as Cherries successfully defended Michael Symes’s 52nd-minute goal to claim
WATCHING Michael Symes must be both a source of comfort and a heavy dose of nostalgia for Steve Fletcher. As club legend, big striker and general, all-round handful, Fletcher would have watched Symes at Bescot Stadium on Saturday and seen much of himself
CHERRIES goal hero Michael Symes put down his Walsall winner to being in the wrong place at the right time. Symes took his tally for the season to six when he applied a superb finish to a well-worked corner routine as Cherries registered a 1-0 win at
FEARS have been raised of another hike in parking charges after the icy blast last December sent a chill through the coffers of Poole’s parking income. Six days of snow and icy roads kept shoppers and visitors away from the borough’s car parks
POOLE Town captain Carl Poore fired a warning to his side’s FA Vase rivals ahead of today’s quarter-final draw: We’ll take on anyone. The skipper was speaking after Dolphins recovered from 2-0 down to stun competition favourites Spennymoor
