GIVEN the uncertain nature of football management, Steve Riley realised he could have just jinxed himself. Born and bred in Newcastle, the Bashley boss does not need to look far from home to see how quickly things can change. Chris Hughton, rightly
STURMINSTER Newton manager Gary Head says the Cherries are too big to drop into the Dorset Senior League. Newton were rock-bottom of the Magna Dorset Premier League and without a point after 13 games this term. But Head’s men have turned
SNOW, freezing rain and ice are still causing traffic chaos across Dorset with fears it could get worse as wet roads freeze. Dorset Police are warning people not to travel but stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. In Bournemouth,
EAST Overcliff Drive in Bournemouth does not lack visual inspiration. Blessed with spectacular views of the town’s golden beaches, few who visit the cliff top thoroughfare would spare a thought for a nondescript bench located there.
THE hugely costly and controversial regional fire control project has been scrapped by government. Dorset Fire and Rescue Service had been set to hand over to a regional centre in Taunton – one of nine planned to replace the 46 fire control
WONDERING if you'll get to see friends and family this Christmas? Here's the latest forecasts... Forecast round up BBC weather forecasts rain for the rest of the day, with cloud tomorrow, some more snow tomorrow evening and the possibility
A CENTENARY special is planned for the Daily Echo-backed Macmillan Dorset Bike Ride 2011. The organiser, Peter Smith- Nicholls, announced a series of challenges to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Macmillan Cancer Support
“WHO will be next? Your pet, your child, you?” That’s the message from a distressed Ferndown man whose black cat was shot through the spleen with an airgun in broad daylight. Anthony and Debby Thompson came home from a shopping trip
RESIDENTS fed up with living near an eyesore of a derelict hotel are supporting two new planning applications designed to improve the situation. The St George’s Hotel on Bournemouth’s West Cliff has been derelict for around eight years and is currently
A COMEDIAN failed to see the funny side when Bournemouth council refused to take responsibility for one of its bins colliding with his car. Robert Taylor, of Malmesbury Park Road, Bournemouth, was left with a bill of between £500 and £800 when
A RAFT of changes will come into place at a failing Bournemouth school, according to the chairman of governors. As reported in the Daily Echo, Winton Arts and Media College has been placed in special measures after Ofsted inspectors branded
ON the evening of December 14th I was invited to the Parkstone Grammar School Senior Citizens’ Christmas party. I would like to thank Mrs Beardsley and Mr Barber (Musical Conductor) and all the young students involved, for giving us a thoroughly enjoyable
What is that noise? I live in the Newtown area of Ringwood Road, and all day every day there is this loud whining humming noise going on. It’s been going on all year now, and I am wondering if anyone else in the area can hear it?
Poole bus station is a dingy poorly lit cave. For some strange reason a lot of grey and green paint has recently been put on most of its ceiling. I would like to know how, whoever at the council paid the huge bill out of public money for this, would
WE have been collecting milk bottle tops for several years now for various charities. Alas, the last one has ceased collecting. Do any of your readers know of any charity locally still collecting or any other local organisation? We have several bags
I am writing on behalf of The Friends of Canford Heath Group Practice to once again thank all those who have supported our fund raising events in 2010, especially those who bought raffle tickets for our Christmas Draw. A list of the prizewinners has
There should be no need to remind the government of the Gurkhas’ loyal and gallant service to our country for, as the Echo reports, nearly two centuries yet we read of the disgraceful treatment still meted out to their ex-servicemen in the form of
As 2010 draws to a close, I must thank everybody who has helped make Bournemouth’s 200th birthday such a tremendous success. Almost 250 Bicentenary events have taken place, involving thousands of people. The enthusiasm, imagination and dedication of organisers
Many people in Upper Parkstone have asked why there are again no Christmas lights in Ashley Road. This is, I think myself, deeply regrettable and all the more so when you consider Ashley Road is Poole’s second largest retail area. A considerable effort
RESIDENTS’ fears over controversial tree felling at St Catherine’s Hill in Christchurch have been vindicated in a new report. Homeowners on the hill have expressed concern over the large tree felling operation at the important wildlife site
THE LION’S share of precious millions in government funding to develop Poole schools has gone to just two – leaving others kicked ‘into the long grass’. Poole council is accused of being ‘totally and utterly unfair’ in the manner in which it
“ENJOY yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.” Spend an evening jiving around with Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, and it’s very easy to lose track of time. Saying they’re a talented bunch of 20 would
Knockabout family fun, a classic rags to riches story, a hero who finds the girl of his dreams and a baddie who gets his just desserts amid a hail of boos and hisses. What more could you ask for at panto time?Wimborne’s Tivoli Theatre offers all this
WOULD you willingly clean your local public toilets? Pay for a litterbin outside your home AND empty the thing? Would you weed Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens? Because the council doesn’t have to, you know. They don’t have to provide a wasp-killing
I SKIDDED yesterday. I was doing about 10mph up the incline of a slippery side road and suddenly found myself staring at a parked van as my car slid towards it. Out of control. It was hairy even at that speed and made me think of the people whose job
Have yourself a wassailing and merry Yuletide SOME would argue that, for years, Christmas has been swept along on a wave of technology and commercialism. But the tide could be turning, as it would appear that more traditional aspects of the season
BOURNEMOUTH council has been left reeling by a financial settlement that is “far beyond even the worst case scenario imagined.” That’s the claim by Conservative council leader Peter Charon, who believes the council will have its funding slashed
FLIGHTS from Bournemouth Airport will go ahead as planned today despite the snow (MON 20). The Thomson flight to Las Palmas is set to leave Bournemouth at 10.15am, while the Easy Jet flight to Geneva remains on course for a 12.05pm take off
MORE than a quarter of adults in Poole are dangerously overweight, according to new figures. Adult obesity is at a shocking 26.53 per cent in the borough - worse even than the national average of 24.5 per cent. Bournemouth is lower at 24.3 per cent
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell is keen to prevent Eddie Howe hopping on the managerial merry-go-round as speculation intensifies concerning Cherries’ highly-rated boss. Howe is expected to be a target for Championship high-fliers Doncaster Rovers should former
DAVEY Watt would not have ridden in the British Elite League next year if he hadn’t been snapped up by Pirates again. The Aussie ace, named as Poole Castle Cover’s captain for a second season running, said: “Signing for Pirates is exactly what I wanted
BOSS Eddie Howe is keen to avoid a fixture pile-up following Cherries’ fourth postponement in the space of 21 days. Cherries’ scheduled trip to Rochdale on Saturday was called off as early as Friday morning due to a frozen pitch at Spotland. It followed
EDDIE Howe will urge his men to hold their tongues as several members of his squad enter the festive period walking a disciplinary tightrope. No fewer than eight first-team players are precariously close to picking up a one-match suspension ahead of
MATT Ford believes Pirates’ attempted capture of Russian rider Renat Gafurov won’t descend into the same farce that marked their signature of Sergey Darkin. Darkin was snapped up to ride as a second string for Poole Castle Cover in 2007. But because
