A CHRISTENING service is a milestone in the life of any child. But for the family of a little boy from St Leonards suffering from a chronic skin condition, the ceremony at the parish’s All Saints church on Sunday took on an added significance. Nineteen-month-old
HAMWORTHY Recreation boss Gareth Daniel admitted losing their unbeaten record was the spur they needed to clinch their first Dorset Premier League title since 2005. Rec made it over the finish line with a game to spare after beating Westland Sports 1
SWANAGE Town and Herston boss Jason Phillips is relieved he kept faith with Aaron Corby after the midfielder bagged a hat-trick to win Swans the Dorset Premier League Cup. The Days Park outfit defeated Westland Sports 3-0 at Dorchester Town’s Avenue
Two missing teenage boys have been found safe and well in Blackpool, say police. Concerns were raised after friends Liam Olive, 14, and Ryan Woolcock, 15, disappeared from their homes within two days of each other.
The Haven Hotel at Sandbanks, Poole, has named Leukaemia charity Leaf as its charity of the year. New manager Mark Dicks confirmed it will again be the venue for the Leaf annual Christmas Ball.
COUNTY Hall officers have been sent back to the drawing board over plans for a travellers’ site for the Great Dorset Steam Fair. A recent meeting at Dorset County Council ended with pledges to set up a special panel to consider the location
SEAN Walbridge was delighted with Glyn Treagus’s bowling contribution after Lymington’s all-rounder bagged four victims in Dorset’s comfortable seven-wicket win over Bedfordshire. Walbridge, the south coast outfit’s manager, saw his side return to play
THREE Bournemouth players ran in tries as Dorset & Wilts began their County Championship Shield campaign with a runaway 31-6 triumph over Buckingham-shire. Lions trio Alan Manning, Tom Dunkerley and Scott Chislett dived over, with Salisbury’s Sean Barwick
“OUR future is in their hands.” The Christchurch League of Friends is anxious for news about the next step for the town’s hospital, as it could decide the group’s own future. At the organisation’s annual general meeting, more concerns were
A 17th century pub famously mentioned in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles has closed. Brewery Hall and Woodhouse are clearing up the Fleur de Lys, in Wimborne Street, in Cranborne after tenant landlord Stewart Tipping left in April.
‘Hello, it’s Rihanna. I’d like you to produce my new album, oh, and Jay Z and Pharrell Williams are going to come to London to help as well. Is that okay?” That’s the phone call that Will Kennard – one half of DJ duo Chase and Status – received
RIGHT O. We're off. The new album tour has offically started and I am already behind on the whole blogging thing. In my defence, it's been a bit stop/start this week and I will probably do better with my blogging once I'm on the road full time.
I SUSPECT I must have been the only one settling down to watch Riverdance with a line from Friends echoing round my head. “Their legs flail around as if unconnected to their bodies” was Chandler’s explanation as to why the worldwide dance phenomenon
MR Kyps might have forged its reputation as a top-notch live music venue, but the first of its new season of monthly comedy nights proved it can deliver the laughs too. Opener Joseph Wilson certainly came armed with some original and often funny material
We have invited first-time voter, a 20-year-old student, to share her view on the main parties General Elections campaigns. These are solely the views of the blogger and not the Daily Echo. Two days to go now and I think I know where to put
PIRATES, Roundheads and Cavaliers put aside their differences on Saturday... for wedding celebrations with a difference. Members of the English Civil War Society and the Pirates of Poole were guests of honour at the wedding of local couple Steve Mizen
AIRSPACE restrictions have been lifted on flights to and from Ireland and Northern Ireland after volcanic ash grounded planes earlier today. Flights to Dublin from Bournemouth Airport were suspended until 1pm today. A Ryanair flight
THE Boscombe Spa Village project has another two awards to add to its bulging trophy cabinet. While residents have mixed views of the multi-million-pound seafront scheme, it has been consistently praised by industry experts and has won a clutch
Seasonal restrictions are now in place on the seafront; let's hope that people are abiding by these rules. In some places there is a total ban and in others leads must be used; of course, I'm not talking about cycling restrictions, those don't come into
TWO of the fittest men in the country came together to compare notes on their incredible adventures. Poole ironman Bernie Shrosbree welcomed pal James Cracknell to Sandbanks’ Haven Hotel to help him launch his new performance centre. Bernie, 51, has
1 large ciabatta loaf 1 tin of tomatoes 2 shallots 1 garlic clove 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp smoked paprika 8 slices smoked pancetta 250g mozzarella, sliced 20g watercress
DAVE Stradwick’s famous Sussex Jazz Kings bring their exciting brand of Crescent City-style sounds to Bournemouth Trad Jazz Club at the Durley Dean Hotel on Monday. The six piece have been at the forefront of British jazz for many years and can be
NOW in its 11th year, the Christchurch Food and Wine Festival has forged a reputation as being one of the best gastronomic festivals in the UK. Starting this Friday, the 10-day event galvanizes the small town of Christchurch, bringing its inhabitants
A FURIOUS businessman says he will never let police use his CCTV footage again after they dropped an investigation when he was allegedly hit by a car. Philip Meek said he routinely gives the police evidence from his cameras including footage
ON THE face of it, both Bournemouth constituencies – East and West – should be bankers for the Conservatives, especially in an election they expect to win overall. But the Liberal Democrats have fought a hard campaign, particularly in Bournemouth
A BOURNEMOUTH motorist believes hundreds of parking fines should be refunded after he won an argument over inadequate signs. An official adjudicator ruled the council’s signs at the entrance to a new resident parking zone were not sufficient to warn
So you’ve splashed out £1,799 on a new 3D television and you’re ready for a revolutionary new viewing experience – it’s just a shame nobody else is. Although one of the first 3D televisions – a 40-inch Samsung – went on sale at Christchurch
AN ambulance was involved in a road crash in the Charminster area of Bournemouth last night (Mon). Emergency services were scrambled at 8.45 pm following a collision at the junction of Charminster Road and Firbank Road. Two women trapped
WITH just days until the General Election, a second Bournemouth councillor has defected from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats. Winton East councillor Paul Hughes’s decision comes just a week after Michael Griffiths, 26, joined the
As election candidates continue to ratchet up their pledges to UK voters, I’d like to remind them of the global responsibilities we all share to create a more fair and just world. Just a few months ago hundreds of people from Bournemouth and Poole joined
If an envelope bearing the Christian Aid logo is popped through your door in the next day or so, take a careful look at the photo on the back. It shows a child in Kenya sitting and eating by a sewer. Imagine how you would feel if it was your child,
All of us here at Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics want to thank the many people in Bournemouth who got behind our in-store campaign against fox hunting. Over 250 postcards voicing concern over the enforcement of fox hunting came from our Bournemouth store
Since Draper House care home was closed following a 62 per cent rent increase from Bournemouth council the property has stood empty, but has 24-hour security. How much is this costing the local taxpayer and how long will the security be in place?
REPLACING the Imax, I see another white elephant on the horizon (Revealed: what you want to replace the Imax, Daily Echo, April 21). Water shoots climbing into the sky? They’ll look great. Tropical gardens? What a fantastic children’s wet weather attraction
I totally agree with Mr Roots’ letter regarding dog charities (Have Your say, April 30). I too am a rescue dog owner and I feel the same way, but this sort of problem is happening on a much larger scale. Who is not moved to tears seeing the disasters
It has been reported that more people have been applying to work in the new Wimborne Waitrose store than there are vacancies available. I trust that those involved in the recruitment process, and those interviewing candidates, are making it quite clear
AMID the hype of the General Election, other crucial events continue to receive minimal media interest. For example, Kettering Hospital in Northamptonshire has started identifying newborn babies by bar codes rather than traditional hand-written tags
It’s great to see the Hengistbury Head Outdoor Centre open again. Now the buses should come back – early morning, late evening and Sunday services were taken off in 2007. I hope this will happen. Name and address supplied
A JUDGE has called for a review of the licensing laws in a bid to halt the rising tide of drunken violence on the streets of Bournemouth. Judge Christopher Harvey Clark QC said: “Speaking as someone who has to deal with such violence, almost on a daily
AFTER transporting day-trippers and holidaymakers along the coast for more than four decades, Bournemouth’s famous open-top bus service is set to make a welcome return. On May 22 Discover Dorset will launch a new coastal service from Bournemouth
SHADOW transport secretary Theresa Villiers steamed into Wareham to discuss the town’s controversial level crossing. Mrs Villiers visited Nick King, Conservative candidate for Mid-Dorset and North Poole, to look at options for what is branded one of
THERE was a good turnout to hear what the Bournemouth West candidates had to say at a debate held at Bournemouth University. The discussion was almost exclusively on national issues and three of the main topics were Afghanistan, student fees and the
THE streets of Blandford were jam-packed with visitors to the town’s 18th Georgian Fayre on Bank Holiday Monday. The fair featured everything from farm animals and birds of prey to traditional stalls, children’s entertainers and music bands
POLITICAL candidates have dismissed the notion that the election would be a good one to lose because of the severity of the cuts needed. Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, has warned of the tough times ahead for the UK and said they could
More than 80 Poole shops have been entered in the fifth annual competition to find the best in the borough. The pressure is being cranked up for the prestigious Top of the Shops Awards as mystery shoppers pay their visits and take soundings. Mandy Payne
HISTORY will be made when the country heads to the polls this week. But it was Britain’s turbulent past that was revisited at Lulworth Castle over the Bank Holiday weekend. The deafening crash of guns and artillery filled the air as
THIS stunning carpet of colour lured scores of families to bluebell woods at Pamphill near Wimborne on Monday. After one of the coldest winters on record and the third driest April in a century, the spectacular floral display was later than
IN the Bournemouth hotel where Tony Hancock spent much of his childhood, the men who wrote 166 Hancock Half Hours are recalling the great comedian. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson were a vital part of Hancock’s success, providing the scripts for his BBC
SOME members of staff at the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals have been told they have to pay back hundreds of pounds because of alleged mistakes in the way their wages were calculated. The trust contracted out its payroll operation to a
WORK isn’t supposed to be this much fun. But after an hour negotiating Ringwood’s Market Place in a well-engineered pedal car, it’s not only my legs that ache – my cheeks hurt too from 60 minutes of almost constant grinning. It’s been two years since
THE massive rebuild of the A338 Spur Road will now miss its September start date and the future of the whole project has been left in limbo. Dorset County Council missed out on £23.4 million in government funding in March and has just said
OPERA superstar Russell Watson is to headline a special charity concert at Beaulieu this summer in aid of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. That Glorious Noise will be hosted by actor, writer and former Dr Who Colin Baker, with musical accompaniment from
SINGER-songwriters Julie Staines and Esther Frake continue to dish out the Chicken Soup Choir at Centre Stage, Westbourne every Tuesday. With their second event last November at Centre Stage for Little Orphan Boy’s show, Rebirth Of Cool, the Chicken
WHILE congregations at many other Bournemouth churches are dwindling, the Salvation Army is continuing to attract around 1,500 worshippers to its Sunday services. Phil Carey, 88, from Southbourne has been a Salvationist for eight decades. He
SOMEONE once said that if a Stuff ’Em All Party existed it would pull a lot of votes. And six months ago, with so much anger surrounding politics, few would have argued. But democracy is far too precious to risk by dwelling on the thorns
MORE children in one of Bournemouth’s most deprived areas could end up in care if funding cuts force a charity to close its doors. That’s the warning from campaigners who are appealing for financial help to ensure that Fernheath playground
SEASONED manager Micky Adams believes hot prospect Eddie Howe is certain to be linked with a host of Championship clubs in the summer. Adams tipped his opposite number for a bright future after watching Cherries put a huge dent into Port Vale
BOSS Eddie Howe watched his charges bring down the curtain at Dean Court with a rousing finale and then hailed Cherries’ home form as “excellent”. Cherries’ 4-0 win over League Two play-off hopefuls Port Vale on Saturday was the club’s biggest victory
5 years ago: Ezio + Ten To Never – Mr Kyps, Poole (5.5.05). Eugene Hideaway Bridges – Mr Kyps, Poole (7.5.05). Tattooed Love Gods – The Central, Ashley Cross (7.5.05). 10 years ago: Shirley Bassey – BIC (4.5.00): Shirl was made
CHRIS Holder dug deep to notch double figures as he rode through the pain barrier of a suspected broken finger in his throttle hand as Pirates swept Belle Vue aside in front of Sky’s cameras last night. The Australian ace sustained the injury
