BISHOP Tim Thornton led a team of committed walkers on a one day 50 mile route in aid of a new church for Crossways. Together with the Archdeacon of Sherborne Paul Taylor they made a pilgrimage from Sherborne Abbey to St Aldhelm's Chapel. Plans for
The Friends of Victoria Gardens on Portland are looking for volunteers to take part in a clean-up on Friday from 10am-noon. Parks Department staff will be at the gardens to help and will be supplying the necessary equipment for litter picking and cleaning
Much talk, from our manager and others, of the Magpies bouncing straight back. But, to quote the great football philosopher, Anthony Hill: "Oh, how easy the words, how hard the deeds". Tony Hill Crossways
DORSET today welcomed £300,000 worth of Government cash to help it plan for Olympic safety and security risks but said more money would be needed. The award was announced by fire services minister Parmjit Dhanda who said the money for Dorset Fire Authority
A GRAND reunion of Dorset's Territorial Army will be held later this month. It is being staged by The Rifles as part of TA centenary celebrations - called TA 100. Former members of all ranks will descend on Dorchester's TA centre in the first get-together
A TREE surgeon who got stuck up a tree when he injured his shoulder was rescued by the emergency services today. The man had been working up a tree at premises in St George's Estate Road, Portland when he slipped and dislocated his shoulder. Fire crews
I'm sorry Lorna Low is so negative about West Dorset District Council's decision to spend £10,000 on a review of Arts provision in Dorchester (Echo, May 8). In the context of the proposed £7 million arts centre in the former brewery maltings, a modest
Langton Herring THE ANNUAL Langton Herring Village Club coffee morning is to be held on Saturday,May 17 from 10.30 am - noon. Proceeds this year will be shared between the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust and club funds. As usual there will be bring and buy
As Police section commander for Weymouth and Portland I would like to clarify the police response to cycling on the Esplanade. The police and the council work in close partnership with each other on a broad range of issues that affect Weymouth and Portland
WEYMOUTH teenager Seb Green will be interviewed for the Today programme on Radio 4 tomorrow (Thursday) about his journey walking round the coast of Britain. Seb, 18, restarted his charity walk in Scotland this week after finishing his Army training at
WEYMOUTH is alternately seedy and sedate' and plays second fiddle to Bournemouth' according to a travel book. Rough Guide, which publishes books popular with backpackers and holidaymakers, reviewed the region in the latest edition of their Rough Guide
Affpuddle AT THE suggestion of a number of residents, the village shop committee is organising a photographic competition within the villages of the parish with the intention of using the winning entries to produce postcards and a calendar for sale in
CLOWNING and Christianity were combined at a Pentecost Party in West Bay. The Rev Roly Bain, also known as Roly the clown, topped the bill during Sunday's family fun afternoon organised by Churches Together in Bridport and District. Mr Custard was also
BRIDPORT'S upbeat image should not hide the fact that life is tough for many residents, says its council leader. Areas of the town are among the most deprived in Dorset, Charles Wild told the annual town meeting. He said it had been a particularly busy
A BAND from Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester have won a chance to play at the open air festival in Lulworth. The rock band Epic Journey fought off tough competition from the 15 other bands in a Battle of the Bands competition that took place at the
Puddletown PUDDLETOWN First School is linked with the Seventh Day Adventists Primary School in Kwahu-Tafo, Ghana. Humphrey Barclay, who started the charity Friends of Tafo in this country six years ago, came along to visit the First School to film
As a friend and former colleague I wish to pay tribute to Stuart Blair, whose recent and untimely death has shocked all those who knew him. I first met Stuart in 1992 when he was appointed as head of department at Weymouth College. During the period
UP TO 70 social housing tenants could be forced out of their homes and on to the streets of Weymouth following a row over housing benefits, a landlord has claimed. Ralph Ricardo, who offers affordable housing in eight properties across the town, says
A BOULDER weighing between 200 and 300 pounds fell off a lorry on Portland. Police said the 'enormous lump of stone' fell on to a pavement in Chiswell yesterday morning. It is the second such incident on the island in a week - last Friday a two-ton
DORSET forester Harold Gillen can rely on never being forgotten after retiring with 43 years' service. During his time in the Forestry Commission, Mr Gillen, 60, planted more than a million trees, managed thousands of hectares of land and even discovered
A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy from Wareham has been praised for saving his mother's life by calling for help when she fell into a diabetic coma. Max checked his mother over, dialled 999 and went to get help from a neighbour after his mother collapsed at home.
SOLO sailor Steve White is heading into the north Atlantic bound for Boston, on a 2,800-mile race to the USA. It follows two weeks of hectic preparation which saw him just make the start line for the Artemis Transat race, starting in Plymouth. His entry
BOWLS players are extending an invitation to supporters of the gentle sport - come and join us. Gerald Cornick, secretary of the Gardens Bowling Club, said new members were being welcomed following major refurbishment of the facilities at Dorchester's
PORTLAND'S new mayor will be sporting a whole new look to go along with her mayoral robes. Super slimming councillor Sandy West, who begins her term in office as Mayor of Portland tonight, has been given a complete new wardrobe by her bosses at Asda
STYLIST Kirsty Jackson from Milton Abbas is a cut above the rest, thanks to her hairdressing apprenticeship with Paragon Skills for Industry. Kirsty, 22, recently completed her Advanced Apprenticeship in Hairdressing while working at Changes Hair Design
With the FTSE 100 index recovering 15 per cent from the March 17 low point, and showing no signs of slowing to date, investors who follow the 'sell in May' theory must be more than a little nervous. In practice I suspect very few investors sell up their
THE annual Open4Business extravaganza was launched at a business breakfast in Weymouth. This year's festival, in September and October, will have the Olympic theme of maximising business opportunities from the 2012 games. And Open4Business project group
ARTHUR Miller's allegorical tale of witchery and persecution, The Crucible, is being retold this month. Patchwork Theatre Company, which is made up of final year students on Weymouth College's performance practice course, are performing the iconic play
DAN Belt is hopeful he will be fit for the Dorset Premier League showdown between Dorchester and Weymouth this Saturday, claiming he will do "anything to play" despite picking up a thigh strain last week. The all-rounder missed Dorchester's 21-run defeat
CHILDREN are being invited to pick their nose and break wind during the latest show to hit Lighthouse in Poole. Fungus the Bogeyman is based on Raymond Briggs's book of the same name about a working class bogeyman who lives underground and earns his
MIDFIELDER James Coutts is hoping an agreement will be struck in the next 48 hours that will see him remain at Weymouth next season. The 21-year-old's career at the Wessex Stadium looked in doubt earlier this year but he finished the campaign in fine
WEYMOUTH SECONDS 270-8 (9) lost to SHERBORNE 271-8 (19) by 2wkts JONNIE Armfield struck his maiden century for Weymouth Seconds but it was still not enough to see off Sherborne, who put on an amazing ninth-wicket stand of 117 to snatch the points at
THE Black Dog lifted the Shaun Taylor Memorial Trophy for the seventh time at the Domino's Weymouth Sunday League's annual six-a-side competition at the Marsh. The St Mary's Street outfit, playing together for the final time before Rob Pavey brings together
A STUDENT from Thomas Hardye School has been missing for nearly two weeks, police say. Jodie Jeffery, 16, was last seen at the Dorchester school on the morning of Thursday, May 1. She has not been spotted since and now police are appealing for help
DAVE Ralph is back in the Dorset fold and set to make his 50th Middleton Cup appearance for the county. The Greenhill and county skip called a halt to his bowls career at the end of the 2005 season to take a break from the sport and spend more time pursing
A MAN who tried to use an out of date child's bus pass attacked the driver who confiscated it from him. The attack happened at a First bus stop in Weston Road on Portland. PC Rob Adams said seven or eight people had been waiting at the bus stop, with
YOUNG children have been offered sweets and lifts home in a number of suspicious incidents in North Dorset, police say. The incidents took place in Gillingham, Howell and Stalbridge and at least two involved a small red vehicle - possibly a Peugeot.
Dorchester blood donors are helping a national study into deadly diseases. A research team from the Department of Clinical Pharmacology of Oxford University is at St Peter's Church Hall, Dorchester, today for a second day. Experts are asking those whose
