Annie, Kate and I are home this week taking a week away from the water but still putting the delightful hours in at the gym and doing some admin work so we are all up to date. It is hard to believe but this is our last week off before going back
JOE Roach believes some Wessex League hard graft will do Tom Strong and Matt Vokes the world of good. The duo were last week sent to New Milton and Brockenhurst, respectively, to gain some senior football experience. Roach told the Echo: “The pair’s
CHRISTCHURCH Royals are breathing down the necks of Division One leaders Darby’s Corner after toppling them 4-0 with goals from David Bratt (2), Chris Burden and Lee Clark in the top-of-the-table clash. Darby’s Corner stay top on goal difference. Electric
BISTERNE United will meet Galleon in Thursday night’s M A Hart Page Croft Cup final at Hurn Bridge (kick off 7.30pm) after winning their semi-final with Richmond Park Con 6-5 on penalties. RPCC broke the deadlock in the second period of
BOURNEMOUTH Electric reserves are champions of Division One after Ben Hatch scored all six goals in their 6-6 draw with Verwood reserves. Dan Baguley played his part, setting up all six goals for Hatch, while Verwood replied with a Luke Homer hat-trick
HOSPITAL chiefs have responded to concerned calls from Christchurch councillors and arranged a further public meeting on the future of Christchurch Hospital. As part of Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital Trust’s consultation on their annual
FORTY firefighters tackled a property blaze near Bournemouth airport on Monday afternoon. The alarm was raised at about 3pm following reports of a fire in the first floor and roof of the unoccupied house in Mill Lane. Crews from Christchurch and
A VITAl road system feeding Poole’s Twin Sails Bridge will only operate one way, until sufficient funds have been raised for two-way traffic. When drivers come off the new harbour crossing in the town centre, they will only be able to turn left, with
Comedian, writer, broadcaster and all round top bloke Hardeep Singh Kholi is a bit of a whizz in the kitchen. He demonstrated this with great aplomb when he made it to the finals of the first series of Celebrity Master Chef. And though he didn’
Charlie Landsborough is that rare phenomenon - an authentically good country musician who is also an Englishman through and through. Listening to him and his excellent five piece band in action you just know he could hold his own in any Nashville honky
ONE of the biggest open secrets in Bournemouth has been confirmed – the new Kinson supermarket will be a Tesco. The saga has been running for more than 10 years and a planning application is expected after a public exhibition. The plan is to demolish
PEOPLE arriving at Pokesdown railway station in Bournemouth will soon be welcomed with a giant piece of platform artwork – with your help. The station wall will be transformed into a mural by “Soap”, the Pokesdown-based Polish graphic artist
A HUGE fire saw up to 25 fire fighters battle to save a home on Sunday evening. The blaze reported at around 5.35pm, destroyed the entire roof of the property in Breach Lane, Kington Magna near Gillingham despite the efforts of fire crews. A joint investigation
FROM happiness to exhaustion, pride to frustration – any mum will tell you it’s an emotional job. But perhaps the most common feeling, and yet often the most unnecessary, is guilt. A mother who has never felt guilty about giving her child chicken nuggets
ANGRY residents, fiercely opposed to a four-turbine wind farm in the Purbeck countryside, have gathered in a show of defiance. Around 60 people, including members of the Purbeck Campaign to Protect Rural England and Dorset Against Rural Turbines
GRAHAM Gouldman may be but 2.5cc of the original 10cc, but with band stalwarts Rick Fenn and Paul Burgess and multi-instrumentalists in Mike Stevens and the versatile Mick Wilson, we have 100 per cent of a great band. These gnarled veterans
BOURNEMOUTH council will have to slash around £10.5 million from budgets in the next two years, its figures show. The Conservative-run council will go into this year’s elections able to say that its residents have been spared the worst of the
ARMED Somalian pirates tried to hijack a £7million Sunseeker yacht from Poole en route to the Dubai International boat show. The pirates, firing bullets into the air, surrounded the 30-metre luxury yacht – described as Sunseeker’s “pride and joy” – as
I REFER to ‘Imagine if it had been a child’ (Daily Echo, March 2). How many more times do we need to hear that sort of remark before someone gets off their backside and do something about the control of dogs being walked off lead? It’s almost a weekly
I REFER to a letter last Saturday about rubbish and fly-tipping. If the the rules at Nuffield tip in Poole were eased somewhat, it would help to stop fly-tipping. If they would let more people in with goods that can be recycled that would help as well
I’M absolutely fed up with the publicity surrounding the story of the woman and her daughter who picked daffodils at Whitecliff, Poole. I’m a grandmother and also a great grandmother, so I’m not someone who doesn’t have kids or doesn’t understand
I AM writing this letter to make the public aware of the impending closure of Fourways Day Centre this summer. No doubt our councillors will say that the numbers have dwindled – I’m not surprised as the fees for day care have risen beyond the means
THERE are few people who have not been touched by the fearsome shadow of cancer. Whether it’s family, friends or even yourself battling to beat this disease, few of us do not dread its arrival on our doorstep. Hugh Gibaud is certainly one of the lucky
QUESTION: How many wind farms equal one nuclear power station? Answer: It depends whether or not the wind is blowing! RAY ARROWSMITH, Newcombe Road, Bournemouth
THE Echo Opinion column (February 26, 2011) stated that the average increase in water bills for local households from next month is 40p a day. This is not correct. It is the total average household charge – including the increase – which is approximately
The Royal Mail is currently undertaking the task of delivering and processing the 2011 census to every household in the UK. If Vince Cable is so intent on selling the Royal Mail, why doesn’t he let one of the other amateur operators, who he obviously
I HAVE just had a stay in Poole Hospital where the cost of three days television, (35 programmes) radio, telephone (as many calls to land lines as you wish to make) and internet was only £10. I considered this very reasonable, the package is renewable
READING and hearing of the on-going problems of pot-holes in British roads, may I ask a simple question? Has any Council in our country ever asked which type of formula/mix is used in countries like Iceland, Finland, Switzerland, Canada etc? Surely this
TOMORROW, March 22, is UN World Water Day, a day to focus our attention on one of the world’s most precious resources. Yet a staggering 884million people across the globe have no choice but to drink dirty water from an unsafe source. As a volunteer
RESIDENTS were delighted when councillors paid for 20 traffic cones to stop football fans parking across their drives. But in a skit worthy of a comedy sketch, the cones were confiscated from Leeson Road the following week... by a “super-diligent
WE were beginning to wonder if filming of The Hobbit was ever going to start. So we were delighted to hear that production has finally kicked-off after the two-movie production suffered numerous problems, including studio funding issues, a
This week I am going back over old ground again, which I do try not to do, but in this case I think it's worth it. I am pondering the old question - What happens to people when they get behind the wheel of a car? There is a car insurance commercial
THE blazing sunshine at the weekend attracted thousands of people to Boscombe Pier and the second Sorted Surf Festival. The calm winds and temperatures of around 12C meant the surfing competition was cancelled, but the trade stalls were busy. “It’s
A SKIN cancer survivor today helps to launch the county’s first-ever awareness campaign aimed at men over 50. Hugh Gibaud was diagnosed with malignant melanoma nearly two years ago, at 53. The married father-of-two from Southbourne had noticed a bump
DORSET Police have confirmed that three arrests have been made in the county as part of one of the biggest inquiries ever mounted into paedophiles on the internet. A total of 121 people between the ages of 17 and 82 were picked up in Britain
Would Bach’s vade-mecum of choral music, his Mass in B minor, be among your desert island discs? I‘m sure it would feature in mine! Better still, of course, is a live performance; particularly when sung as it was here with such infectious inspiration
KITCHEN caffeine trips and excursions to the office biscuit stash are part of the day-to-day life in many offices. However, according to nutritionist Rachael Anne Hill, there are ways we can all increase our energy levels without resorting to custard
The first of our low-GI, high-energy recipes is a power breakfast: Scrambled Egg with Smoked Salmon GI Tip: Feel free to substitute salmon with kippers or mackerel. Serves 1 1 large free-range egg 50ml skimmed milk 1tbsp chopped fresh flat
IF YOU want to know why Libyan rebels support the UN no-fly zone, you could ask Hammad Elfallah about the day he was forced to watch the public execution of three friends. The 54-year-old businessman now lives in Poole, but when he took part
A MOTORCYCLIST was taken to hospital with chest injuries after an accident near the Bear Cross roundabout this morning. The 48-year-old male motorcyclist from Bournemouth was placed on a spinal board as a precaution before being taken to Poole
A MAN received serious injuries after a stabbing in Bournemouth town centre at 6.30am on Saturday. Police said a 28-year-old man was seriously assaulted and had multiple facial fractures and several stab wounds to his body. Officers
MATT Ford has confirmed Gary Havelock will share a doubling up berth with Jason Doyle in Pirates’ team. Doyle, who began the season without a team, scored four points from six rides on his Poole Castle Cover comeback during their 57-33 loss
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell insists funds are available to boost Cherries’ depleted squad if Lee Bradbury opts to strengthen ahead of this week’s loan deadline. Boss Bradbury revealed after Saturday’s defeat at Carlisle that he had been on the hunt for a
IT was the one hat-trick Lee Bradbury’s curriculum vitae could well have done without. Having experienced many highs and lows during an eventful 15-year playing career, Bradbury has gone through all the emotions of management in just nine weeks
CARLISLE boss Greg Abbott wants Cherries to keep defying the odds by continuing to fly the flag for the lesser lights in the League One promotion race. Abbott saw the Wembley-bound Cumbrians administer another hammer blow to Cherries when
COUNCILS that scrap lollipop wardens should get less government money, says MP Richard Drax. Speaking in a debate in Westminster Hall, Mr Drax for South Dorset, directly attacked Dorset County Council’s proposals to save £200,000 by pushing responsibility
