Although the recent rainfall has been very meagre, my gravel garden is looking beautiful. I have the most delicate shade of pale pink peony in flower, bearded irises, astrantia, foxgloves, geums, roses, centranthus, ruber and alba and a couple of geraniums
PHIL Park made light of some good-natured banter from his Cranborne team-mates to lead them to a 29-run triumph over Division One rivals St Georges. The wily campaigner, who readily admits his military medium bowling is slowing with age, has
WIMBORNE has become a Business Improvement District. Ninety six businesses returned a ‘yes’ ballot paper in the vote, making Wimborne the second town in Dorset to seek BID status to improve its fortunes, attracting more customers and competing with other
World famous author of The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien is going to be remembered through the Pride in Bournemouth lions project, as artist Elanor McBay brings his epic adventure novels to life through a life size statue of a lion. The
Encrusted in diamonds and crystals and standing out in its pearlised coat, the Pride in Bournemouth’s head lion, Temba, is being created thanks to Poole Audi and Bump! Smart repairs. The Pride in Bournemouth project, an imaginative public arts project
WELL known sandwich chain, Subway is sponsoring a life size statue of a lion, which will be designed by their customers in the ‘Sublime Sublion’ competition. Sublime Sublion, part of a pride of lion statues, is crying out for colour and personality
HE started with a few blooms and a roll of cellophane at the age of 14. But David Denyer soon blossomed into an award-winning florist. Now he hopes to take the art of flower arranging to another level with his latest creation for the Chelsea Flower Show
A TRADESMAN who helped restore Windsor Castle after the royal residence was severely damaged by fire has been jailed for three years for drug running. Bournemouth Crown Court heard how joiner Peter Summers, 62, had been caught with £25,000 worth of cocaine
SHE’S 80 years old and her owners want to find out more about her life. This Armstrong Siddeley 15HP was bought from Bournemouth’s Chine Motors in Old Christchurch Road and delivered to an R Dover on May 16, 1931. Its current owners,
THE man accused of murdering Heather Barnett told “lie upon lie” about what he did on the morning she died, Winchester Crown Court heard today. Danilo Restivo, 39, of Chatsworth Road, Charminster, told police he left home at 8.10am or 8.20am
A local artist has been helping Poole Accident Repair to get into the spirit of the Pride in Bournemouth public arts project by transforming a lion sculpture with an Egyptian inspired painting. The lion, sponsored by Poole Accident Repair, arrived
TWENTY thousand homes in Bournemouth will be ready to receive superfast broadband by the end of the year, says the team who have taken over the Fibre City project. Boss Greg Mesch said Bournemouth would have the “fastest, most secure high speed network
TALKING Scarlet bring Kenneth Grahame’s delightful children’s story The Wind in the Willows to Poole next week. When Mole plucks up the courage to explore the riverbank with his friend Ratty, nothing can prepare him for the adventure that awaits. Along
A WHOLE Lotta Led is in store for Zeppelin fans in Bournemouth. The Led Zeppelin tribute band, which celebrated its 1,000th performance two years ago, is staging a gig at the Old Fire Station on June 3 as it keeps alive the music of the seventies rock
In the early part of last century it was not unusual for our coastal resorts to boast additional entertainment by way of Beach Theatres and, in elegant Bournemouth, prior to WWII, locals and visitors were offered at least two. At the height of
YOU gotta roll with it, Liam. Here’s rock legend Liam Gallagher enjoying his new favourite oasis at Sandbanks, Poole, on a family holiday. The 38-year-old left wife Nicole Appleton and the kids behind for a quiet cycle ride across Studland by himself
A POOLE man who was part of a criminal gang that imported drugs and cigarettes through docks in Essex has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. Mark Howie, 51, of Milton Road, Poole, was found guilty of importing 36.7kgs of cocaine and conspiracy
Matti Nicholls has a thing for monkeys – in fact primates are the main theme for his latest exhibition, which is currently hanging at Metropolis Art in Westbourne. “They’re fun,” says the Bristolian, in his West Country accent. “I talk to them while
TWO cats narrowly escaped death after they were subjected to separate horrific catapult attacks. Black cat Ozzy was discovered cowering underneath a van covered in blood and with a terrible eye injury. As vets removed Ozzy’s eye, they
Strawberry Cheesecake 250g digestive biscuits 100g butter seeds of one vanilla pod 600g soft cheese 100g icing sugar 280ml double cream 400g strawberries, halved 20g icing sugar Butter and line a 9” loose-bottomed tin with baking parchment
ON Saturday, April 30, one of the elderly residents from Burstone Mead, got out of a taxi and fell. She fell down on her face and received many cuts and extensive bruising. The taxi driver, B J stayed with her, holding her hand and comforting her, for
A RECENT study by the Confederation of British Industry and Education Development International, covering 600 businesses with a total of almost two million employees, has shown that 40 per cent of employers were dissatisfied with the basic reading and
ON Saturday, May 14 my husband and I visited the plant sale at Kings Park. We were most impressed with not only the quality and prices of the plants but also the helpfulness of the staff and the organisation at the tills with such a large quantity of
WITH regard to the letter published on your pages on May 10 regarding the boat service between Bournemouth and Swanage, it is important that the facts regarding the boat services running from Bournemouth Pier are properly presented. In preparation for
I’M guessing vets get to see some very unpleasant things during their careers, but the sight of terrible eye injuries to separate cats clearly shocked two of them this week. I have always wondered why people would buy catapults if not to cause
WORK on the A338 Spur Road took drivers by surprise on Monday morning, with a lane closure causing delays to motorists during the morning rush hour. Drivers expecting a clear road through from Bournemouth to the Ashley Heath roundabout on the northbound
I REFER to the opinion by Ed Perkins in the Echo on Thursday. How right you are in your article on Councillor Borthwick – what disgraceful thing to do! My wife and I voted for the independents that night, because we think Cllr Ron Whittaker has been
IS YOUR correspondent Peter Woodley having a laugh? He urges the Poole People’s Party to “keep clear of politics and side with no one” (Letters, May 13). Their stunning successes in the recent elections were surely all about gaining entry into
THE Echo carries many reports of the ‘No Excuse’ campaign as an effective action against criminality on our local roads. We have also seen the recent introduction of £100 on-the-spot fines for motorists. In a UK population of 60 million (probably
COVERT police officers put Danilo Restivo under surveillance as he watched women in two secluded locations in Bournemouth and behaved strangely, the jury heard. This happened 18 months after the death of Heather Barnett. Michael Bowes
PROSECUTING in the Heather Barnett murder trial, Michael Bowes said there were “dramatic and striking similarities” in the murders of Heather Barnett and Elisa Claps. Schoolgirl Elisa was 16 when she went missing in her hometown of Potenza,
THE man accused of the murder of Heather Barnett hugged her children to comfort them – moments after they found her mutilated body, Winchester Crown Court heard yesterday. Danilo Restivo, 39, pulled up outside the murder scene in Capstone Road
AROUND 20 fire fighters battled a barn fire at Woodville, Stour Provost near Gillingham in the early hours of this morning. The fire started around 2.55am at a storage area containing hay, a tractor and 200 tyres. The crews from Sturminster
WHEN he pictures the Millennium Stadium scene, Stephen Purches needs no reminding of the painful disparity between play-off success and failure. As the goalscoring hero basked in the glory of Cherries’ triumph, the anguish of defeated Lincoln City was
EDDIE Mitchell has defended the club’s marketing of tickets but admits the attendance for Cherries’ League One play-off semi-final was a “big disappointment”. A crowd of 9,043 – which included 1,283 visiting supporters – saw Cherries and
SHWAN Jalal has admitted he would be hoping for a change in fortunes should Cherries’ play-off fate need to be decided by penalties. Goalkeeper Jalal made two crucial saves to help ensure honours would finish even in the first leg of their
DORSET captain Giles Legg has named a 14-strong squad for next month’s South West Week at Saunton. Legg, who began his two-year reign in charge of the county in February, is hoping to hand back the matchplay shield wooden spoon. The
DEADEYE Donal McDermott was the toast of the Dean Court dressing room after handing Cherries a play-off lifeline. The Manchester City loan star earned rich praise from his team-mates after his 60th-minute scorcher gave Cherries a 1-1 draw against Huddersfield
CALLERS could still be paying over the odds to contact NHS services from Dorset, a campaigner has claimed. A dozen GP practices in the county and the out of hours service run by South Western Ambulance Service Trust are still using numbers beginning
