POLITICAL commentator and former defence secretary Michael Portillo lets off steam in Swanage this week. He will appear on television – against the backdrop of Swanage’s historic steam railway – as part of the documentary Great British Railway Journeys
The premise of this blog being to report back on the best thing I have cooked or eaten in the last week, I have simply got to feature the completely fabulous meal we had at the Three Tuns, Bransgore, last weekend. Immediately upon entering
NEW Forest National Park residents are being urged to comment on plans to preserve the character of the area in which they live. A draft action plan has been created which outlines a range of projects to help conserve the character and appearance of
CRAWLEY Town boss Steve Evans has, in the past few minutes, confirmed Cherries had two bids for striker Matt Tubbs rejected yesterday. Evans revealed the Seward Stadium outfit yesterday made a verbal offer for the Verwood-raised frontman
IT’S been vandalised, smashed, burnt and wrecked but finally the future looks brighter for the former Homefield School in Winkton. Plans to transform the ex-independent private school, which closed unexpectedly in 2005 nearly £1million in debt
A YOUNG woman is jetting off to work with orphans in Malawi – with the help of a grant made in memory of travel industry legend Peter Bath. Emma Norris, 18, formerly a student at St Peter’s School, will work with nursery school children, many
A FORMER radiographer who lived in the Netherlands and Africa before moving to Dorset 38 years ago celebrated her 100th birthday with her family and friends. Joyce van der Graaf was born in Herfordshire and trained and worked in London before
COWABUNGA! News that children’s TV channel Nickelodeon is to screen a new series of late 1980s favourite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles later this year could cast fresh gloom over wildlife experts. For a Poole reptile equipment shop and education centre
LORD of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, who spent his retirement in Poole, was written off as second rate by the Nobel prize jury, it has emerged. Tolkien was a regular visitor to the Miramar Hotel in Bournemouth, for much of his life and lived in Lakeside
A SENIOR Conservative councillor has been ordered to undergo equality and diversity training after displaying inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee. Cllr Robert Lawton, a cabinet member and chair of Bournemouth East Conservative
“THIS is a step too far and will put people off coming to Wimborne.” That’s one trader’s views of the four-month improvement works that started in the Square on Monday. Wimborne Interiors owner Vicky Spooner, who will see the paved area outside her
MOVES to protect Poole’s Whitecliff and Baiter recreation grounds could be given a Royal seal of approval under plans being considered by the council. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, headed by the Duke of Cambridge and operated by Fields in
The good weather last weekend brought out the visitors as well as the birds that they had come to see. The wardens report that it was really nice to have a winter event like this on the reserve and great to see so many people enjoying it so a big
AN inaugural Purbeck walk to raise funds in memory of a very special little boy, has benefited a children’s cancer charity by £900. Friends and family of Poole lad Samuel Oldridge, who died aged eight in April 2009, turned out in force to walk
THE largest teachers’ union is calling for urgent talks with the Government on the future of teachers’ pensions. Following a meeting of the National Union of Teachers’ Executive on Monday the union has agreed to continue to pursue further changes to
Our wardens have managed to record some of the varied wildlife at Radipole in the act of catching their food. After setting up the video camera they expected to view the otters or cormorants but instead they found footage of a kingfisher which
ROYAL Bournemouth Hospital bosses have defended their infection control policy after cases of Norovirus were confirmed on two wards. Poole Hospital suspended visiting on December 29 as a precaution after an increase in cases of the sickness
A DORSET MP will meet David Cameron on Wednesday over the plans to axe the county’s search and rescue helicopter. South Dorset MP Richard Drax is especially concerned that the change could cause delay in getting divers by helicopter to Poole’s decompression
A PENSIONER brutally robbed in her own home during broad daylight is recovering following the terrifying ordeal. Myrtle Bryant was left bleeding and hurt following the robbery at her house in Highcliffe. The 76-year-old had returned
IMAGINE three amazingly talented 60s icons who have enjoyed phenomenal success throughout their musical careers, getting together to perform as a supergroup. The result is the fantastic All Star 60s Show at the Regent Theatre, Christchurch on February
IT’S a whale of a task – but someone’s got to do it. From the smallest Malawi cichlids and neon tetras to the giant green sea turtles, aquarists at Bournemouth’s Oceanarium are spending January counting all the creatures for the annual stock
OUTSPOKEN radio presenter Andy Kershaw is bringing his gruff observations and encyclopaedic musical knowledge to the Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne on March 5. Kershaw, 51, whose varied career as DJ and foreign correspondent has taken him to 97 countries
A TOP Dorset surgeon has reassured women over the safety of silicone breast implants following concerns over a French-manufactured brand that has been linked to cases of cancer. The high rupture rate for the Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) implants
BEALES bosses have announced a store and head office restructuring in a bid to tackle the tough financial climate predicted for 2012. Staff at Bournemouth and Poole’s Beales stores are now involved in a consultation, which chief executive Tony
A CHIROPODIST who worked as a locum at Bournemouth and Poole Community Health Service Trust has been struck off. Raymond Wisson, 43, from Worcestershire, made inappropriate sexual remarks to a colleague on his first day of work in Verwood, Dorset. Four
ONE of Bournemouth’s MPs is pressing the government over so-called legal highs. Conor Burns, MP for Bournemouth West, said new figures showed their use had risen dramatically over the past two years. The government is looking to tighten the current
A FATHER who threw a single punch at a scooter enthusiast, fracturing his left temple and causing him brain damage, has been jailed for two years. Taxi driver Philip Hancock woke up in hospital three weeks after he was floored by 46-year-old
I THOUGHT the article on Cyprus in the Echo magazine (January 7) by Gavin Haines was extremely biased. He obviously has never bothered to read the history of this beautiful island. If he bothered to look at past events he would plainly see that the
MARIE Curie Cancer Care provides nursing care at home for people with cancer and other terminal illnesses across Dorset. Last year we cared for more than 500 local people at the end of their lives. The service is completely free of charge to patients
I DO so agree with the suggestions Mr Vincent, of Lytchett Matravers, has put forward in his letter of January 4, particularly demolishing the Imax and replacing it with an Olympic swimming pool. I had a moment of deja vu when I read that, as
I AM not at all surprised to read in the Echo (January 7) that again we have problems with Christmas period bin collections in Poole. As said in the item, Poole council does not deliver a bin collection during Christmas week. That then will lead into
Dorset Through Time by Steve Wallis is a new title that examines how the county has evolved over the last hundred years. The changes are illustrated through a collection of photographs taken by the author of modern-day Dorset, including views
DRIVERS were caught in lengthy delays on the A31 this morning after a lorry breakdown. Police were called to an incident around Rufus Stone in the New Forest just after 8.20am after reports of a vehicle obstructing the carriageway. Traffic
MAY I please appeal to the animal lovers who mistakenly believe they are feeding foxes by throwing their cooked turkey and chicken carcasses into the wooded areas in our town. My area of concern is Strouden Woods, Bradpole Road Park. My rescued dog,
I WAS pleased to read the first part of Phil Eades’ letter ‘Call for hunting ban vote will be step backwards’ (Have Your Say, January 6). For me the very worst of hunting a fox with a pack of dogs is that human beings take pleasure in the terrorising
YOU can sit in front of your computer and order anything online these days from a bulldozer to an eardrum dryer. But you can’t buy is a sense of community. And that is why we should all be concerned by revelations of the challenges our local
AFC Bournemouth’s plan to build a training centre in a public park has been recommended for approval. The club wants to spend £600,000 in Kings Park creating two grass football pitches, two five-a-side pitches and a skills training area.
BOSS Lee Bradbury has revealed Jayden Stockley is keen to force his way into Cherries’ plans after returning from a productive loan spell. The young striker has spent the past two months gaining valuable first-team experience with Accrington Stanley.
LEE Bradbury believes the addition of assistant boss Russ Wilcox has provided a major boost during Cherries’ recent revival. The League One play-off hopefuls have collected 11 points in six matches – losing just once – since the experienced coach arrived
TOM Killick is hopeful new Yeovil boss Gary Johnson will embrace the League One club’s links with Poole Town. Johnson was yesterday confirmed as the Huish Park outfit’s new manager, with former boss Terry Skiverton becoming the Londoner’s new assistant
MATT Ford secured the most lucrative sponsorship package in Pirates’ history and then insisted: This deal can keep us on top. The reigning Elite League and Knockout Cup champions will now be officially known as the Poole Coastal Aluminium Pirates after
