Archive

BOURNEMOUTH town centre and Lower Pleasure Gardens will provide the setting for a packed programme of free entertainment this summer season. The latest fashion trends will be showcased on a catwalk in The Square on June 11 and 12, the first

DAVEY Watt was forced to bow out early from Pirates’ bumper 55-37 home win over Belle Vue with concussion after taking a nasty fall in his opening ride tonight. The Australian ace took a heavy tumble after Jason Doyle skidded into him on the

FOR the next three weeks Pip Hare and Phil Stubbs will sleep for just two hours a day, dine on freeze-dried food and battle the elements as they sail around Britain and Ireland in a gruelling and often unpredictable race. The pair of die-hard yachters

THE family of a teenager who died after his car hit a tree in Christchurch has paid tribute to him, describing the 19-year-old as “our son, our brother”. Steven Anthony Parsons, a ferry ticket sales operator from New Milton, was driving a grey

FAMILIES are being invited to a Multicultural Arts Festival to be held at Kings Park on June 13. Bournemouth and Poole Mela has been organised by the Asian Women’s Association and is part of celebrations across the borough for the Bournemouth

PLANNERS have launched the second stage of a consultation that could shape the future of house building across Purbeck. Last autumn, after Purbeck District Council asked for local opinion, nearly 2,000 people responded to a housing survey. According

A WAR hero who sacrificed his life to save others was remembered at a New Forest airfield over the weekend. After an appeal for funds earlier in the year, the Friends of New Forest Airfields raised enough cash for the public memorial to Captain

WOULD Bournemouth be better off with a Boris Johnson-style elected mayor presiding over the town? Residents are being asked how the borough council should be run under a consultation that runs until August 31. A new government act requires the council

Twelve people are dead after a taxi driver went on the rampage with a shotgun then killed himself. Divorced father-of-two Derrick Bird, 52, murdered a colleague in the middle of Whitehaven and drove through the Lake District blasting at other

A LAST-minute entry into a Pro66 Tour event proved to be the perfect remedy for cash-strapped Challenge Tour star Lee James who earned £1,000 for finishing runner-up at this week’s tournament held in Dorset. The 37-year-old six-time European winner set

THE national bullion reserves may be depleted but Christchurch and New Milton Seagulls’ coffers runneth over after the club amassed 117 medals in open meets at Millfield and Littledown. At Millfield, six Seagulls collected 32 medals between them in the

Introducing the show, the Priests promised a “sermon, raffle and collection-free zone”, much to the audience’s amusement. Instead the three Fathers, who shot to fame in 2008 when they signed to Sony BMG, promised an evening of entertainment and they

Dorset Rock Online launched less than a year ago as the online home of Dorset's growing rock music scene, covering Acoustic to Metal and everything in between. The website today draws daily hits well into the hundreds and this momentum is on the increase

TOUCHING tributes have been paid to a former Bournemouth mayor who died suddenly at her Westbourne home on Tuesday (June 1). Jeanne Curtis, 85, devoted more than a quarter of a century to serving the town and was made an honorary alderman after

MATT Palmer’s Millennium Eagle Jazz Band will be parading its talents for Bournemouth Trad Jazz Club at the Durley Dean Hotel on June 7. After the John Maddocks/Amy Roberts session all but sold out at the Club’s last meeting, this Crescent

IN a nod to English Wine Week, we’ve picked out our favourite white wines (plus an award-winner that we couldn’t get our hands on) from across the country… including a couple of local drops from the Purbeck Vineyard and Setley Ridge. Kimmeridge Mist

A memorial service for two firefighters who lost their lives in a blaze in April will be held at Winchester Cathedral on Wednesday July 14. James Shears from Poole and Alan Bannon from Southampton died as they tackled a fire at Shirley Towers

A little local knowledge can be a powerful thing. So when bosses at Co-operative Funeralcare asked staff how their new Ringwood shop could best show its support for the community, pedal cars soon sprang to mind of staff member, Heidi Lund

PURBECK residents have been warned to close bin lids properly or their rubbish will not be collected by the council. The stark warning comes in the wake of an accident that killed a bin man in Gloucestershire. Council built environment

The bank holiday weekend was wall to wall gardening. Saturday was a trip to Chettle House craft and garden fair. The weather wasn’t very favourable, but it didn’t stop my parents, my friend Jo and I from having a lovely time. Two of my favourite

COUNCIL leaders are waiting to assess public reaction to a new boulevard of palm trees before deciding whether to extend the scheme. A dozen palm trees have been planted along the St Paul’s end of Holdenhurst Road in a bid to spruce up the

Gizzi Erskine’s Sausage and Lentil Casserole - Gizzi's nutritional breakdown: One serving of a sausage and lentil casserole has 576 kcals and 10.9g of fat. Serves 4 • 1tbsp olive oil • 8 venison sausages • 4 slices of smoked bacon

“IT’S good to be back at the seaside,” said Kelly Jones as his band neared the end of this triumphant return and judging by the regularity of their visits, it’s a surprise the boys don’t have their own beach hut. But on the evidence of this

CAMPAIGNERS for fairer funding for Dorset's schools are holding their breath for an announcement from the coalition government's new education department. Members of the Dorset branch of the F40 pressure group say it's too soon to tell whether new education

RADIO 2 Breakfast Show DJ Chris Evans is due to play volleyball with the national team at Boscombe beach today. UK Beach Volleyball members have been invited to play against the radio and TV star as part of a series of sports challenges on

Now that our local libraries have become fully automated with the customers doing most of the work, what reductions have been made in the number of librarians employed or their hours worked? Graham Cribb, Branksome Wood Road, Bournemouth

So now it seems as if the Hampshire libraries are struggling, (Talking Over Library Cuts, Daily Echo May 31), and are planning staffing cuts to reduce their proposed overspend. As secretary of the Friends 4 Upton Library, despite author talks and proposed

What a fantastic bank holiday weekend – it was just some cyclists and pedestrians who ruined some of it! Can we have some consideration please? I’m not asking much, just some common courtesy. We went out in the car and were held up by a group of what

THE man branded a ‘grass’ by the most obvious graffiti in Dorset has said – ‘it’s a load of rubbish’. The accusation against Micky White has repeatedly been painted on a footbridge over the A338 Spur Road. The latest message even gives

Please note this story was filed in June 2010 before the sad death of Poole council leader Brian Leverett. COUNCIL jobs and services could be in the firing line as finance chiefs prepare for government funding cuts worth tens of millions of pounds

So yet another cannabis farm has been found (Daily Echo, May 31). However I cannot sympathise with the shock that landlords express on these matters. What happened to periodic inspections by the landlords or their agents? Growing

The latest atrocity carried out by the rogue state of Israel illustrates that country’s contempt not only for the rule of law but for the opinions of civilised nations throughout the world. For a so-called democracy to attack a convoy on the high seas

FANCY turning your humble, dented car into a vehicle worthy of James Bond? You have the chance this Wednesday when the DVLA auctions off a set of new registration plates, including ‘0007 BND’. The 1,500 special plates are up for sale in Northamptonshire

THE celebrities may have attracted the attention, but for three middle-aged sports nuts, a Sport Relief fitness challenge was all that mattered. Daily Echo editor-in-chief Neal Butterworth joined forces with Peter Elviss, chief executive of the West

Latin American dance specialist James Jordan speaks to Lorelei Reddin about his marriage to fellow professional dancer Ola Jordan, working on TV show Strictly Come Dancing and new show Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals that comes to the BIC Bournemouth

STUDENTS at a Poole school forced to sit two taxing papers back-to-back are calling for special consideration from an exam board. AS Level pupils at Poole Grammar School were given just minutes to recover between the two 90-minute exams last month.

STREET wardens are on patrol in Poole High Street – tackling everything from lost children to theft and antisocial behaviour. The uniformed security guards were hired by Poole Town Centre Management for a trial period, which began at Easter

A TINY Jack Russell dog is lucky to be alive after being mauled by a rottweiler and a huge bull mastiff on Studland Beach. Helpless Benji, a five-month-old family pet, was left needing emergency treatment in an oxygen tent after suffering a punctured

IT USED to be you’d need a couple of boys in blue as a deterrent to potential trouble-makers, but things ain’t what they used to be with comes to bobbies on the beat. But Poole Town Centre Management isn’t letting staffing issues get in the way of ensuring

Another link with our local heritage is to be lost as Bournemouth’s sole remaining purpose-built post office is to be transmogrified into a Pizza Express (Daily Echo, June 1). Does anyone know what happened to the First World War memorial to the 23

Why, now the general election is over, are we all sitting back accepting all the politicians say, and are now starting to do, to impose cutbacks and tax increases on everyone in the country? It is so unjust that many ordinary workers will lose their

IT’S a warm, sunny morning in May and I’m standing on a beach in Poole clutching what looks like a pair of ski poles. But there’s no sign of any snow and I’m not wearing any skis. No wonder I’m getting some rather puzzled looks from passers-by. I’m

DORSET chief Sean Walbridge admitted he was gutted their Twenty20 clash against a star-studded Hampshire side at Dean Park was rained-off yesterday. But he was quick to confirm the Royals are keen to return to Bournemouth next year and fulfil the same

POOLE Town boss Tom Killick is celebrating after making a crucial signing. Killick has retained the services of his first-team coach Steve Cuss by persuading him to remain at Tatnam. Cuss, whose day job is as head of community with AFC Bournemouth,

SOUTHERN League new boys Wimborne Town have bolstered their defence by making their first signing of the summer. Boss Alex Browne has swooped to bring in centre-half Darren Curtis from Romsey Town. Central defence was a problem position for Magpies

LEAGUE One hotshot Jo Kuffour believes Cherries have the firepower to succeed in the third tier. The former Dean Court frontman has netted 25 league goals since leaving Dorset for Bristol Rovers in an £80,000 move two years ago. Contracted to the Pirates

BJARNE Pedersen believes being in a winning Pirates team is more important than becoming Poole’s second all-time top points scorer. The Dane goes into their home clash against Belle Vue tonight (7.30pm) aiming for his seventh double figure score in eight