WE SEE that Angus Campbell, the Conservative Leader of Dorset, is once again using the Echo to justify levying one of the highest council taxes of any county council in the country by pleading poverty. Yet in the last six years the annual sum provided
AROUND 20 people gathered at Wyke Regis Horticultural Society’s Trading Post headquarters recently for a ‘tips and tasters’ evening. There were lots of recipe ideas to swap and plenty of taste bud tingling samples, including a beetroot
Thank you Mrs Stella Brading, for your sterling letter ‘No point being a drama queen’ (You Say, March 7). Two years doing a BTEC in performing arts, a handful of LAMDA qualifications and an unconditional, though regretfully unaccepted, place at Middlesex
Puddletown THE horticultural association’s spring show was a great success, with many attractive entries on display. There was a particularly good number of children’s entries in the class for a seed packet design. There were so
THE WI held their spring flower and craft show and it proved a popular event – not only for talented competitors in craft, gardening, home baking, painting and photography… even the men’s class had a record 10 entries for the rock cakes. The public were
Langton Herring GREAT Dorset Beach Clean from Rodden Hive to Moonfleet will take place on Sunday, April 26 reports Mike Fielding of Langton Herring. Volunteers should meet at the slipway at the end of Coastguards Lane at 10.30am. Old clothes and
Langton Herring Great Dorset Beach Clean from Rodden Hive to Moonfleet will take place on Sunday, April 26 reports Mike Fielding of Langton Herring. Volunteers should meet at the slipway at the end of Coastguards Lane at 10.30am. Old clothes and tough
THE Friends of Lodmoor Country Park recently took part in the Dorset Wildlife Trust's Community Scarecrow Competition, to support local wildlife and draw attention to both groups’ work. Their Lady Litter scarecrow was built using materials collected
CHARLESTOWN Victory Hall is hosting a free local talk this Wednesday, April 8. The talk is all about hearing dogs and will be given by Derek Williams who will be accompanied by his canine friend Dundee. This promises to be a very interesting and
A CHILDMINDER who tripped and injured herself in Poundbury is calling for brighter street lights to prevent more people from getting hurt. At Prince Charles’s recent visit, the extension to Dorchester was heralded by designers as a pedestrian-friendly
PRISON officer turned budget traveller Jenni Stevenson is continuing to see the world while also beating the credit crunch. Jenni’s latest adventures – described in her amusing blogs posted on the Dorset Echo website – saw her visit Turin in Italy for
IT WAS a riot of neon glow sticks and whistles at Weymouth Pavilion as revellers got together for a 90s music revival night in aid of charity. Organisers are still tallying up the proceeds of the Nostalgia event but hope to have raised up to £2,000 for
YOUNGSTERS and pensioners across the country will be making a splash for free today but those in Weymouth and Portland remain high and dry. Hundreds of local councils are celebrating the launch of free swimming schemes at public pools. But over-60s
SOLDIERS Martin Hall and Adam Robinson will lead a convoy of scooters and motorbikes over 600 miles to raise funds for military charities. The duo – in the Military Provost Guard Service based at Lulworth – are riding from Bovington to Brighton, picking
EVER since Hugh Grant and his floppy fringe bumbled through Four Weddings And A Funeral, screenwriter Richard Curtis hasn’t just been taking the nation’s romantic pulse – he has been encouraging it to race out of control. Wet Wet Wet laid siege to the
MORE than 200 businesses from across Dorset have received top-level advice on how to beat the recession – thanks to a series of free seminars staged by Business Link. Called How To Grow Your Business... Whatever The Market Conditions, the three events
STAFF at a Weymouth cocktail bar were neither shaken nor stirred when an order came in for some exotic drinks with a twist. Healthcare workers were impressed when they heard about bar owner Mark Stratton’s nomination in a prestigious drinks contest known
WEYMOUTH chairman Ian Ridley remains adamant that the club can support Blue Square Premier football following last Sunday’s increased attendance at the Wessex Stadium. A crowd of 1,264 turned out for the televised league clash against Barrow and although
ASSISTANT boss Ashley Vickers insists that Jake Smeeton is “more than sorry” following his court appearance and subsequent fine. Smeeton was issued with a £400 fine for using threatening words and behaviour during a brawl last May in Weymouth town centre
HEADTEACHERS have today called for Government tests for Dorset 11-year-olds to be scrapped following the release of primary school league tables. Education experts say the league tables – created from Standardised Assessment Tests (SATs) – provide too
SOUTHWESTERN, who famously fell two out when clear of his rivals in Punchestown’s Champions’ Hunter Chase last April, heads back to the Irish venue after impressing the huge crowd at Littlewindsor. Southwestern, was initially held up by Neil Harris,
DORSET stand on the brink of bowls history at Nottingham this weekend. With the under-25 double-rink trophy already on the sideboard they will become the first county to win all three major indoor trophies in the same season if they beat Norfolk in the
DORCHESTER rally driver Anthony Willmington and co-driver Andy White stormed their way to a dominant win at the Bovington Rally. The event organised by Bourne-mouth & District Car Club was the first to be held on the Bovington Camp test tracks for seven
Under-16 Girls PARKSTONE HEIGHTS 0 WEYMOUTH 3 WEYMOUTH, with several players still carrying knocks from the previous week, travelled to Sandbanks to meet an improving Parkstone side and came away with three points. The pitch was somewhat smaller than
THE new extension at Dorchester YMCA is not the only good news to come from the county town gmnastics club after 11 of their young women’s artistic gymnasts competed at the Dorset Floor and Vault Championships. This well attended competition, held
‘BETTER to be late than dead on time’ was the hard-hitting message confronting teenagers at a road safety talk. Firefighters and police visited Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester to warn students about dangers on the road. And mum Pauline Hayter
PROUD mums and dads were at Redlands Community Sports Hub to see a demonstration of their children’s gymnastics skills. Coach Katie Wilson praised her class members. She said: ”The children have worked really hard and made fantastic progress. It’s not
WEYMOUTH Warriors line up before their latest match against Longfleet in the Under-11s League. Spokesman Tony Strawbridge said: “The Warriors have now played 17 games and lost 17 but the lads really enjoy playing every week and they are slowly improving
FOLLOWING a highly successful season the participants of the Dorset Young People’s Karting Project received their personal achievement accreditation and trophies. To celebrate in their achievement, the evening, hosted by Dorchester Town Football Club
MORE than 100 Year Three schoolchildren took part in a festival of orienteering and outdoor activities. The event, which took place at St Mary’s Middle School, was organised for the Puddletown family of schools, which includes Broadmayne, Cheselbourne
