Puddletown I WAS privileged to go along and share the moment when the children of St Mary’s Middle School choir joined in the Big Sing challenge. At precisely 2.45pm on Thursday, November 27, the school choir hooked up live with
I REFER to the report ‘New fears over Pavilion scheme’ (Echo, November 25) that uncertainty now surrounds the Howard Holdings redevelopment of the Pavilion site. This may be an opportunity for the council to initiate a radical review of the project.
ADULT social care services provided by Dorset County Council are ‘adequate’, the Government says. The findings for the year to March 2008 were also said to show promising prospects for improvement. The authority believes the comments
INSTALLATION of self-service equipment will see the temporary closure of Weymouth Library. The library will be closed from 4pm tomorrow until 9.30am next Thursday. New self-service units will enable customers to check items in and out for themselves
A MANHOLE cover came loose and punctured a car’s tyre, police said. One lane of traffic was closed on the A354 Ridgeway Road, between Winterbourne Monkton and the top of the Ridgeway, as a result of the accident. A spokesman for Dorset
A TOTAL of £850 was raised at Grassington House’s annual garden party. The money was donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and will be used by them to fund activities. Pictured are members of the MS Society Graham and Sally Hale (fundraisers),
LCOHOL related crime in south west Dorset has shot up 50 per cent in the past five years, according to police figures. The police figures are for the Bridport Section – which covers Bridport, Lyme Regis and Beaminster as well as surrounding villages
A TELEVISION star will join the mayor and carnival queen Jamie Asquith to switch on Weymouth’s Christmas lights. Hollyoaks actress Jennifer Biddall – starring in Beauty And The Beast at the Pavilion – will hit the town for the ceremony on Saturday.
GENEROUS footballers donated toys for the Dorset Echo Toy Appeal. Members of the Galaxy Windows Football Club handed the presents over for the annual appeal. Shown in the photo are Andy Barber, Paul Barber and Claire Barber.
CHILDREN turned back the clock to the days of ancient Egypt at Sunninghill Preparatory School in Dorchester. The Form 4 pupils found out about mummification and made their own clay canopic jars for a burial ceremony. They also learned about Egyptian
CENTENARIAN Dorothy Scadden celebrated her 100th birthday at Batchfoot Country House in Upwey. Mrs Scadden was joined by family and friends, who included her bridesmaid. Mrs Scadden had a telegram from the Queen and a visit from the
A TOTAL of £850 was raised at Grassington House’s annual garden party. The money was donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society and will be used by them to fund activities. Pictured are members of the MS Society Graham and Sally Hale (fundraisers),
KATIE Louise Ward celebrated her 18th birthday in style, dining at Prezzo restaurant and partying the night away at Harry’s nightclub in Weymouth with 120 friends and family.
FAMILY firm Shoetrees of Weymouth and Dorchester are thriving despite the tough economic conditions. The shops are run by husband and wife Malcolm and Jo Holbrook, and are staffed by family and friends. The shop in Trinity Street, Dorchester, has been
TRAINEE Air Engineering Technician Andrew Cross has completed his basic training at HMS Raleigh in Cornwall. Former Royal Manor pupil Andrew, 20, joined the Royal Navy in September and has completed nine weeks of intensive training. He said: “I joined
SHARPSHOOTERS had their work colleagues, family members and friends in their sights when they spent a day with Mega Paintball at Bockhampton, near Dorchester. Dorset Echo employees, friends and family headed for the woods to join in a number of games
LUCKY Clare Jones of Portland won a new door in a competition in aid of the Somerset and Dorset Air Ambulance. Clare had the door fitted after entering the contest at the Dorset County Show in Dorchester. Paul Chaffey, who is managing director of West
CENTENARIAN Dorothy Scadden celebrated her 100th birthday at Batchfoot Country House in Upwey. Mrs Scadden was joined by family and friends, who included her bridesmaid. Mrs Scadden had a telegram from the Queen and a visit from the mayor
VISITORS to Weymouth’s Radipole Lake and Lodmoor nature reserves have been on the lookout for winter residents including marsh harrier and the elusive bittern. The harrier, a beautifully marked female, is frequently seen gliding over the Radipole reedbeds
THE cast of this year’s Osmington Christmas Show promise an extravaganza of mirth, magic, music and illusions in the Osmington village hall on Friday and Saturday, December 5 and 6. The annual show has a reputation for staging fast-moving performances
JUST HOW GREEN HAVE YOU BEEN JOHN HAYES, Senior Ranger with Dorset County Council WE try to be as green as possible at home. Weymouth and Portland are pretty good with their recycling facilities and we put all our paper, milk cartons
THE combination of environmental consciousness and the ease of online shopping may make this Christmas one of the greenest yet. Weymouth businessman Harvey Jones, who founded the shopping portal smartlygreen.com last year, said that trade via his site
FIRE chiefs are calling a summit in Dorchester following a sharp rise in the number of deaths in house fires in Dorset. The county saw 11 deaths in house fires since last December, including one in Weymouth, giving Dorset the worst home fire safety
A DORCHESTER businessman is urging his local council to help businesses with recycling their waste. Darren Scott, the managing director of Dorchester-based Deane Computer Solutions, wants West Dorset District Council to provide a polystyrene crusher
THESE three men are wanted in connection with the theft of several hundred pounds from a Bridport amusement arcade, police said. Dorset Police has released images of the men in the hope of encouraging witnesses to identify them. The theft occurred
TWO of the classical music world’s most inventive women performers are appearing at Lighthouse in Poole this week. Tonight, Classic FM’s Artist of the Year, Emma Kirkby, headlines an evening of early music, followed on Saturday by contemporary diva Joanna
WEYMOUTH could receive an ideal Christmas present with the final approval of its long-awaited £84 million relief road. Dorset County Council has been overseeing extensive preparation work ahead of construction on the road, with progress stepping up
DUE TO my injured leg I missed the Sutton Poyntz Victorian Street Fayre back on a beautiful sunny day in the summer, and I am very sorry that I did, because everyone who went told me that it was one of the best yet, and that they had enjoyed themselves
MORE than 100 people packed into a protest meeting to launch a legal campaign aimed at saving Weymouth’s Buxton Road post office from closure. The event at St Nicholas Church, organised by Buxton Road residents Michael and Mary Watson, heard postmaster
THE parents of a two-year-old named the ‘rough and tough girl’ by doctors are launching a charity fund in her memory after she died following a bout of chicken pox. Chris and Gillian Godwin, both 33, of Fry lane, Godmanstone, have been inspired
SEASON’S GREETINGS Bridport Arts Centre by MARION COX IF Christmas is the season to be jolly, nobody told the family and friends who get together to celebrate the festive occasion in this wonderfully observed domestic comedy from the pen of Alan
A MAN drove into a bridge on his first outing in a car that had been adapted for his artificial leg, a coroner heard at an inquest in Dorchester. David Smith had driven his modified Peugeot 106 away from his Lyme Regis home after telling his wife that
WEYMOUTH caretaker-boss Alan Lewer is facing a fight to hold on to his top stars. The loan transfer deadline is set for 5pm today and it is understood that around half of the Terras’ squad could be on the way out in a cost cutting exercise that would
Solent League Division Two DORSET STORM CAVS 63 WEYMOUTH BANDITS 65 WEYMOUTH Bandits avenged their opening day defeat at the hands of Dorset Storm Cavs with a nail-biting two-point triumph in Poole. The Bandits suffered a 30-point loss at
THE POINT-TO-POINT season makes its earliest-ever start on Sunday when meetings take place in Exeter and Cottenham, Cambridgeshire. Five further meetings are programmed in December before the Wessex Area season gets underway on Saturday, January 3, with
ASBESTOS used for brewing equipment triggered the industrial disease that claimed the life of popular Weymouth sailor Bill Ludlow, a coroner said in Dorchester. Deputy West Dorset Coroner Alan Horne heard that Mr Ludlow, who was 74 when he died at Dorset
IT is a case of “so far so good” for injury-hit Ivan Forbes as he continues his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury. The Portuguese forward was electric in pre-season, netting six goals in nine games, but saw the 2008/09 campaign come to an extremely
WEST Dorset Warrior Tiffany Knight is celebrating winning no less than six medals, including two gold, at the Disability Sports Events short course National Championships held at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Knight excelled in the 400m freestyle to capture
BRING on Hampshire! That was the cry from Dorset after they demolished Somerset 120-99 in the second round of the Liberty Trophy at Bournemouth. The result represents a startling improvement by Dorset who had slumped by 27 shots to the same opponents
WITH a new sponsor and kit Team Waikiki, formerly Riviera B, are determined to make their mark on the third division of the South West Dorset Winter League. Having held top spot for several weeks, hopes of securing the winner’s trophy and promotion to
DORSET students have carried out a thorough investigation into what happens to our recycling after it leaves our doorsteps. National media reports suggesting that recycling sometimes gets mixed up, contaminated and sent to landfill prompted the investigation
MORE than a thousand people gathered in Hope Square in Weymouth for the town’s Light up a Life service. The annual Weldmar Hospicecare Trust ceremony saw hundreds of tiny illuminations on a Christmas tree burst into life to remember loved ones
A WOMAN escaped with minor injuries after falling from her scooter in Weymouth. Police said the woman came off her ZX50 scooter on Preston Road and was taken to Dorset County Hospital for a check up. No other vehicles were involved.
EMERGENCY services were called in to rescue a dog that became stuck down a quarry on Portland after chasing a rabbit. Portland Bill coastguard rescue team and firemen managed to retrieve Riley, a collie cross, who was stuck around 15 feet down the quarry
TWO fishermen are lucky to be alive today after their boat capsized off Portland Bill. The men were airlifted to hospital by coastguards after their vessel, called the Aleyna, ‘suddenly’ sank. Crew on the nearby fishing boat Girl Debra plucked the
