Archive

  • Safer journey for Colehill pupils thanks to cycleway

    A secure woodland cycleway has opened in Colehill to keep schoolchildren safe. Dorset County Council created the shortcut to St Michael’s CE Middle School after concerns about congestion. The route passes through common land between Park Homer Road

  • Christmas is coming!

    WE have just had the hottest day of the year. Wimbledon isn’t even over, for goodness sake. But already, the festive season has reared its tinsel-draped head. Top toy shop Hamleys has this week revealed just what toys it most expects our kids

  • Poole Town targets car boot sale site for new ground

    Just six months after their proposals for Branksome Rec were thrown out by the council, Poole Town have confirmed plans for a new ground at Canford Magna. After years of ground-hopping, the football club hopes its dreams of a permanent home will finally

  • Sparkling effort by cancer fight team from Dorset

    A TEAM of breast cancer survivors has flown the flag for Dorset by coming 34th at the International Dragon Boat Festival in Canada. The Daily Echo-backed Pink Champagne dragon boat team competed against 75 teams from across the world in the

  • The Tempest, Highcliffe Castle

    Those fancying themselves as having a touch of courtly class will be delighted. The sun against the backdrop of the castle, the minimal set and effective all-male cast transported us to a time when the rich would enjoy an evening of amusement from a

  • David Copperfield, Tivoli Wimborne

    TRANSPLANTING a Charles Dickens novel to the stage is not a task for the faint-hearted, but one these talented young actors pulled off with style and ease. At its simplest it’s a tale of good triumphing over evil, following our protagonist from birth

  • Sweet memories of childhood...

    BACK when smoking was deemed acceptable, I remember pretending to puff away on sweet cigarettes. These fag-shaped look-a-likes were marketed to children as confectionery and were playground favourites. They had no carcinogenic ingredients of course,

  • Round Britain rowers set to come ashore

    AN army doctor from Bovington and another from Tidworth were due to land at Lymington at 2.30pm today after rowing 2,100 miles around the coast of Britain non-stop in 50 days. Capt Hamish Reid, 28, from Tidworth and Capt Nick Dennison, 28

  • Bournemouth's palm trees can pull in the cash

    A DOZEN palm trees have woven their magic on a neglected part of Bournemouth with potential investors queuing up to cash in on Holdenhurst Road’s new Continental-style makeover. The palms were planted along the St Paul’s end of the road in

  • Tombstoning warning after teenager jumps from Durdle Door

    BEACHGOERS watched in horror as a teenage boy scaled Durdle Door rock and leapt into the sea on Wednesday (June 30). Portland Coastguard’s rescue helicopter was srambled but while it was on its way, the teenager, thought to be about 18, jumped

  • Gaslight Anthem to play Southampton Guildhall

    NEW Jersey boys and Bruce Springsteen’s favourite local band, The Gaslight Anthem, are to tour the UK in support of new album, American Slang. The band, who were touched by the hand of The Boss at London Calling and Glastonbury last summer,

  • Cabbage and Radish Slaw

    Cabbage and Radish Slaw Serves 4 Cooking time: No cooking required Half a green cabbage, shredded 4 radishes, thinly sliced 3tbsp cider vinegar 3tbsp rapeseed oil Salt and freshly milled black pepper

  • Days in the life of Swanage prove internet sensation

    AN astonishing photo-blog charting a year in the life of a Swanage family has proved a big hit on the internet. The blog, by photographer Nikki Harman, was launched last May as part of that year’s Purbeck Art Week initiative. Hundreds

  • Brave Amelia-Grace, eight, loses cancer fight

    A BRAVE girl from Bournemouth who has been battling a rare form of cancer has lost her fight for life just weeks after being given a bravery award. Amelia-Grace Cooper, eight, was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that usually

  • Cherries: Igoe joins Hawks

    EX-Cherries midfielder Sammy Igoe has joined Havant and Waterlooville, the Conference South club has confirmed. Igoe has signed a one-year deal, with an option of a further season, after being released by Eddie Howe this summer. The experienced playmaker

  • Cherries cherries cherries...

    Did you know there's a farm at Blandford that's the biggest cherry orchard in the South West? I didn;t, but i stumbled across while reading about Cherry Day, which is coming up, as part of a campaign called CherryAid. NINETY-FIVE percent of

  • Prime-site Bournemouth beach huts up for grabs

    IF you do like to be beside the seaside, Sunday is your opportunity to stake a claim on a patch of Bournemouth seafront. From 10am leases on new beach huts at the foot of Alum Chine will be up for grabs. Twenty-five year leases on the New England-style

  • School cleaner back in prison for 1988 rape

    A FORMER school cleaner and chip shop boss is back behind bars after being convicted for a second time of raping a teenage girl. Christopher White was initially jailed for eight years in May 2008 after a jury found him guilty of attacking the

  • 360 News: "Critics" bargains this week not to be missed

    Quick heads up that the XBLA Deal of the Week has got some of the best rated games for the 360 on special reduction. Personally, I went for PD Winterbottom (400MSP) and Darwinia (800MSP) but all of the titles listed are really good. I'd also

  • Did you see student robbed at knifepoint?

    DETECTIVES are appealing for witnesses after a foreign student was robbed at knifepoint in the Charminster area of Bournemouth. The victim, a 19-year-old Spanish man, was walking along Bennett Road with a female friend when he was approached

  • ‘That guy’s got a snake around his ankle...'

    YOU could have forgiven him for going hisssterical. Mark Saunders, 39, of Seabourne Road, Southbourne, popped out to buy cigarettes and ended up with a snake wrapped around his ankle. A group of passing revellers wearing sombreros noticed

  • Bid to raise £24,000 for Verwood mum with rare cancer

    A VERWOOD mum suffering from a rare cancer needs £24,000 for a special treatment to buy her more time. Dorset Primary Care Trust haven’t yet agreed to fund the ground-breaking new radiotherapy to target Juli Spendley’s spreading tumours, so

  • Amelia-Grace Cooper - an inspirational little girl

    Amelia-Grace Cooper has featured in this newspaper a number of times, though not in the happiest of circumstances. In January last year, the eight-year-old was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She underwent a major operation and

  • Harry Redknapp - an English manager for the England team

    The mooting of Harry Redknapp as the next England manager sounds like a brilliant idea. We need an Englishman doing the job. Englishmen have an unsurpassable pride in their country which others, despite the hefty pay packets and supposed

  • Multiple criminal records checks are a waste of time and money

    I was interested to read the letter from Matthew Bell regarding Criminal Records Bureau checks (Have Your Say, June 28). My daughter has recently contacted four local schools to apply for supply work. Each school has asked for a CRB check and my daughter

  • Aviation polluting the skies

    Politicians rightly continue to preach the vital need to look after our planet. However, my picture taken at Sandbanks on Sunday morning clearly shows the daily pollution and global dimming caused by aircraft contrails over Dorset.

  • Hoping for a safe and clean summer on Poole beaches

    WE spent Sunday on the beach and of course being so busy there were some close misses with regard to children and cyclists. We just hope that from today when the restrictions come in, cyclists remember to walk along the seafront – especially between

  • Why are non-footie channels off side?

    Our TV channels are monopolised once again for football, with repeats and unscheduled substitutes the only alternative. Your correspondent on June 29 reckons a quarter of people actually watch the football. Dare I suggest that the remainder of us, allow

  • An Audience with Michael Portillo, Lighthouse, Poole

    THE former future Prime Minister, who always has a signed photo of himself to hand, delivered a polished account of his life and times. Anecdotes about working closely with That-cher and witnessing quips by the Queen were mixed with ponderings

  • Eight in court after New Forest drugs raids

    EIGHT people appeared in court yesterday accused of drugs offences following early morning raids mounted by police in the New Forest earlier this week. The defendants, brought up individually before Southampton magistrates, were remanded in

  • Grand Blues Party, Lighthouse, Poole

    ON a steamy night down by the harbour, we could almost have been in Mississippi. Instead, here in downtown Dorset, Paul Jones and the Blues Band were celebrating 30-plus years together by treating a relatively small but enthusiastic audience to a selection

  • Going off Hancocked

    A BOURNEMOUTH theatre company is entering the hallowed territory of Hancock’s Half Hour to present two of the great comedian’s best known radio plays as stage plays. Burnt Toast Theatre will perform The Missing Page and The Bowmans at Bournemouth’s Winchester

  • Cheer up, take in some live music at Mr Kyps

    AFTER football singularly failed to lift the spirits of the nation, Mr Kyps is hoping a weekend of free live music will do the job for locals! “In times like this the great British tradition of raising the mood with a good ol’ knees up holds much importance

  • Dozens of schools bid to become academies

    DOZENS of schools have registered an interest in becoming academies under new Department of Education proposals. The new government hopes hundreds more schools will convert to academy status, effectively having more control over their own budgets, curriculum

  • Must house be demolished for school growth in Bournemouth?

    ANGRY residents are questioning the need to demolish a Victorian villa and cut down 29 trees in the heart of a conservation area – to make way for extra classrooms that they believe are not required. Last week’s planning board voted by five

  • Ward lives up to 'wonderkid' tag

    DARCY Ward lived up to his 'wonderkid' billing by producing a scintillating Pirates’ best 15 paid 17 point performance in their crushing 58-35 home triumph over Coventry last night. Then he proclaimed his explosive racing partnership with Chris

  • Cherries: Warren vows to win back place

    WARREN Cummings says he is determined to reclaim his crown as Cherries’ first-choice left-back – otherwise he would have quit Dean Court. Cummings will today return for the start of pre-season training with the rest of Eddie Howe’s squad

  • Pirates: Off-colour Bees put to Pirates' sword

    NEW-look Coventry arrived in Dorset touted by Matt Ford as serious challengers to Pirates’ title hopes. They had made Poole Castle Cover’s chief slightly nervous after strengthening up with new signings Krzysztof Kasprzak, Lewis Bridger and

  • Cherries: Sky to screen Brighton clash

    CHERRIES are in line for an unexpected cash windfall after their League One showdown with Brighton was selected to be televised live by Sky Sports. The clash at the Withdean Stadium, which takes place on Saturday, October 9, will swell the

  • The Royal Exeter Hotel's 1812 restaurant

    ALTHOUGH it’s one of Bournemouth’s most historic landmarks, the 1812 restaurant at The Royal Exeter Hotel has not been slow to move with the times. Head chef Francis Baumer describes it as “fine dining brasserie-style” and says they try to

  • It wouldn't be July without...

    Meals ‘n’ wheels - July 17: Mat Follas, Master Chef of 2009, will be opening the fifth Food Festival & Classic Car Show at the Village Hall, Leigh, nr Sherborne. Everyone is catered for here, as this show features some of the best food from

  • Cycling in Portugal’s beguiling Alentejo region

    ONLY mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun – and Englishwomen on bicycles in Portugal’s beguiling Alentejo region. Anyone who has not seriously cycled for years might approach an activity holiday with some apprehension. Will the legs handle

  • Lilliput home just a short walk from Poole Harbour

    “IT’S the little things that make me so happy, all I wanna do is live by the sea,” sings Noel Gallagher on the Oasis b-side, (It’s Good) To Be Free. He’s not the only one either, which is why this property in Lilliput is expected to attract a lot of

  • Salad ways - great recipes for summer

    In many fridges, "salad" used to mean flavourless iceberg lettuce and a tomato or two, but a quick scan of the supermarket shelves will now reveal as many as 25 different bagged salads on offer for the discerning leaf-lover. The main UK