Now that the clocks have gone forward and the lighter evenings are with us, my week has changed a bit as I am now able to sail in the early evenings instead of, and sometimes as well as, the weekend. This, coupled with my newly found sport
FAMILIES can enjoy an Easter treat with the welcome return of free fun and games. Last year the Barnardo’s Parent Support Adviser (PSA) service encouraged hundreds of children to try new activities during the school holidays. This year the team returns
IT WAS a case of yo ho ho and a bottle of pop as a pirate joined Weymouth schoolchildren for a lesson. Historical re-enactment enthusiast Dave Allan, aka Dave the Pirate, joined a group of Year 2 pupils from Holy Trinity School who are looking at the
VITAL STATISTICS Name: John Robertson Date of birth: 11 February 1972 Star sign: Aquarius Place of birth: North Haven, Sunderland Current hometown: Portland John has competed at the last two Olympics, and has
PORTLANDERS are celebrating a step forward in putting the island’s unique identity on the map with the official recognition of its flag. The stone-coloured, green and blue design with a white castle is flying proudly over the town council offices
VITAL STATISTICS Name: Stephen Thomas Date of birth: 05 January 1977 Star sign: Capricorn Place of birth: Bridgend Current hometown: Weymouth Nickname: Steveo First boat you sailed and where? The Sonar on the Tyne What got
VITAL STATISTICS Name: Hannah Stodel Date of birth: 27 August 1985 Star sign: Virgo Place of birth: Colchester Current hometown: Weymouth Nickname: H or Pottamos First boat sailed and where? Mirror, Brightlingsea Who got you
VITAL STATISTICS Name: Megan Pascoe Date of birth: 29 November 1986 Star sign: Sagittarius Place of birth: Shoreham by Sea Current hometown: Portland Nickname: Meg First boat sailed and where? Optimist
GURKHA soldiers serving at Blandford Camp are among those who have been told they could be made redundant. The Government is bidding to shed 150 Gurkha posts among 1,000 redundancies from the Army, and 17,000 across the MOD. Blandford Royal British
MASTERS of sand sculpting have descended on Weymouth to create works of art for a new attraction. Ten of the world’s best sand sculptors have been drafted in to get the new Sandworld tourist attraction ready at Lodmoor Country Park. Sandworld is the
A NEW exhibition has been unveiled allowing the public to witness Afghanistan through the eyes of a soldier. The exhibition at Bovington Tank Museum explores the lives of the troops who have engaged in some of the fiercest fighting since the
BOVINGTON-based soldier Captain Noel Swales, from the Light Dragoons, who lives in Lulworth, said: “I think the exhibition is just brilliant – it’s just really, really good. “It gives soldiers a chance to show their experiences in a positive
THE extent of the damage to a village church which caught fire has been estimated at £250,000. The Rev Graham Perryman, the vicar of St Mary’s Church in Maiden Newton, told of his shock of the catastrophic figure. A dog walker sounded the alarm when
HERE come the gullbusters! Rubbish-strewn streets in Weymouth’s Park District could soon be a thing of the past thanks to trials of a new seagull-busting bin. The area has a serious litter problem in the spring and summer months which is blamed on gulls
A MURDER investigation is underway after a man, believed to be in his twenties, died in hospital last night after a stabbing in Bournemouth. Police were called to Hawkwood Road near the junction of Sea Road in Boscombe just after 11pm last
THE final touches are to be added to the £1million Wey Valley Tennis Centre at Easter. More than 3,000 players have already played at the complex at the Wey Valley School and Sports College since January. The project will reach its completion
STUDENTS across Dorset have been using the forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Gam-es as a catalyst for learning. Weymouth College has embraced the 2012 Sailing events by boosting its students’ skills with a Young Ambassador scheme and Personal
GUESTHOUSES are not the only businesses relying on tourists and passing trade. Gavin Sandrey, owner of Orange Cup Coffee and Regency Properties on The Esplanade, has also experienced problems. He said: “People are not coming into Weymouth
THE traffic misery is set to get worse when a month of electricity works gets underway next week. Major routes will be affected when Southern Electric upgrades cables between the Weymouth and Chickerell substations. Although not linked
DORSET County Council said the worst is now over on The Esplanade. Strategic projects manager Matthew Piles, pictured below, said: “The major works on The Esplanade are now complete with only the signal heads needing installation, which should
THE chairman of Weymouth Hotel and Guesthouse Leaseholders Association has written to the council branding The Esplanade a ‘disgrace’. Dave Price, pictured right, last year warned that bookings would be seriously affected in 2011 as the works
HOLIDAYMAKERS who cancelled their stay in Weymouth said they were ‘horrified’ to see the mess caused by roadworks. Sheila and Brian Layton, from Worcester, had booked seven nights of dinner, bed and breakfast at Hotel Kinley in June for themselves
HOTELIERS are the latest victims of the Weymouth roadworks’ blitz as disrupted guests cancel bookings or cut short their stays. One hotel lost a booking worth almost £2,000 because visitors were put off by the noise and mess from works as part
Emerging from the ashes of Oasis, Beady Eye head to the Southampton Guildhall on April 26. Liam Gallagher and his fellow ex-Oasis mates Andy Bell and Gem Archer, along with drummer Chris Sharrock, make up the new outfit. Although they
HAVING been asked by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to help inspire 20 young children to embrace education in Channel 4’s current Jamie’s Dream School show, alongside famous names such as Tinchy Stryder, Rolf Harris and Michael Vaughan, former Poet Laureate
COMMUNITY leaders in Weymouth are appealing for calm after a TV programme showed a small group of Islamic extremists from London in the town. The programme followed film-maker Robb Leech, originally from Weymouth, as he documented his step-brother
The end of winter, that is: what else could I possibly mean? As I write the sun beams down and the wind playfully ruffles my ears, telling me that spring is well and truly sprung. Now where did I get that from? A celebration of the turning of the celestial
SINCE being aired, the documentary has attracted worldwide attention. It explores the step-brothers normal upbringing in Dorset after their parents married in 1992 and the mystery around Richard’s reasons for turning to the extreme band of religion.
ONE of Dorset’s leading community ensembles, the Quangle Wangle Choir, gives its first concert of 2011 tomorrow night. The Weymouth-based group, which is known for its fabulous singing and rather zany brand of humour, will be performing everything from
In a summer filled with testosterone-fuelled films like Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and Green Lantern, it’s about time girls had some fun. And they certainly do in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, one of the highly hyped movies of the year.
John is undertaking a 12 week Prince’s Trust course in which he has helped build a sensory garden at Wyvern School in Weymouth and learned gardening skills. He is looking for more placements, paid or unpaid, so he can pick up some more work skills.
Nicholas completed a five year apprenticeship at Sunseeker in Poole in which he learned skills in woodwork, boat-building and boat designing. He achieved an NVQ level 3 City and Guilds qualification in boat building. Nicholas also worked in sales and
Salvatore is fluent in Italian and worked as a staff manager at a leather factory in Rome for eight years. He was the assistant manager of Auchan, a French supermarket in Italy, for three years.
WEST Dorset MP Oliver Letwin has laughed off a second gaffe in less than a week. Mr Letwin, pictured right, has been blasted over reports that he told Conservative MPs the economic, health and education reforms were going so well they could put their
THOUSANDS of people have signed petitions to save children’s heart surgery in Southampton. Petitions are available to sign at the British Heart Foundation shop and Boots chemist, both in St Mary Street, Weymouth, at various wards in Dorset
PARENTS have spoken out to support a heart unit that saved the life of their newborn baby but now faces its own fight for survival. Little Alfie Lampard, of Weymouth, was rushed to the paediatric cardiology ward at Southampton General Hospital
WE would like to thank the Prince’s Trust for the fantastic effort they put into transforming our gardens and building a football area. It has been very much appreciated by the students, staff and visitors. We would also like to say a big thank you
After reading the article featuring landlord Shelly Stevens, I felt I had to write to say please don’t tar all us council tenants with the same brush. However, I feel for Miss Stevens as I have had a family member who was in a similar situation a couple
Those who are against the relocation of the WDDC offices consider that the decision to move is undemocratic. I would suggest that asking the residents of Dorchester to vote in a poll on this matter was undemocratic. The entire West Dorset District
I read with interest the article (Echo, March 30) regarding the consultation on the future of the county’s library service. Our councillors state that they wish to “recognise that every local community is unique and that one size does not fit all”.
May I, through your page say how sad it is that John and Sheila Scott have decided to close their newsagents on Lodmoor Hill after many years of loyal service to the community. What a pity that as a result of being burgled they feel they no longer want
MANY thanks to the Wessex Royale Hotel in High West Street, Dorchester who kindly stepped in and provided their facilities, at very short notice, for a ‘leaving function’. Five members of staff of local charity, Dorset Community Action, were leaving
WORLD and Olympic champions Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson extended their lead at the top of the Star fleet on another day dominated by light sea breeze conditions at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma on Thursday. It was a three-race day
A WAR of words has broken out between Dorchester Town and Weymouth over failed plans to groundshare at the Avenue Stadium. Echosport understands the proposal was given serious consideration by both clubs, only for it to break down after a disagreement
WEYMOUTH RESERVES 2 WESTLAND SPORTS 0 CARL Foster and Ollie Tribe both found the net as Weymouth Reserves kept their title hopes alive with a fine victory over Westland Sports in a fractious encounter at the Bob Lucas Stadium. And with frontrunners
TREVOR Senior is expecting mid-table Melksham to be a very different proposition tomorrow (3pm) to the side that recently made an unsuccessful trip to St Mary’s Field. The promotion-chasing Bees beat Town 1-0 on March 26 but their wary boss is expecting
STUART Heath has called for one final push from his Port-land United charges as they attempt to secure a third-place finish. The Blues, who currently occupy third spot, host fifth-placed Westland Sports tomorrow (3pm) in a clash that could go a long
WEYMOUTH SPORTS 2 UPWEY & BROADWEY 2 STEVE Reynolds is still baffled by how his side let Weymouth Sports off the ropes in a thrilling local derby at Cranford Avenue. The Upwey boss watched his men take a two-goal lead in the Dorset Senior League
AFTER a week’s rest, Chickerell United resume their top-half challenge with tomorrow’s visit of Hamworthy United Res-erves (3pm). The 13th-placed Chickens are five points adrift of Blandford United in ninth but do hold games in hand. And they will be
WEYMOUTH entertain Ivel Barbarians in their final home match of the season tomorrow (2.30pm), knowing that victory could effectively seal a top-three finish. The Seasiders currently lie third in Dorset & Wilts One South, and despite sitting just two
FORMER Premier League referee Paul Durkin has teamed up with Echosport and Ladbrokes to place a £50 charity bet on tomorrow’s John Smith’s Grand National. The former whistle-blower has plumped for 14-1 shot Silver By Nature for the big race at Aintree
DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist sailor Sarah Ayton tried out a new sport in Portland Harbour and got hooked. The former Yngling star was taken out of her comfort zone with Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) but soon mastered the challenge with a little
