REMEMBER it is Village Lunch on Tuesday,28th February – how can it be the end of February already? - never mind, it will be good to meet & catch up with all the news, as well as enjoying a jolly good meal! CHESIL BANK Garden Club meets on Tuesday 28th
I’VE just been sent details of the Abbotsbury and Portesham Royal British Legion Annual lunch for this year which will take place at 12 noon for 12.30 pm on Friday, 30 March at Portesham village hall. The menu sounds delicious with 3 choices in each
DISHWASHER owners who have appliances made by Bosch are being warned to be vigilant following a series of fires. It comes as a faulty dishwasher control panel has been revealed as the cause of a property fire in Dorchester. The blaze
A VOLUNTEER is travelling the length of the country by bike in memory of family members. Teesside resident Andy Fisher will journey 410 miles from Haverton Hill in the north east to Portland Bill in his ‘From the Hill to the Bill’ challenge. He will
ENTRIES have been flooding in for the Dorset Echo’s photo competition. We’ve had hundreds of entries sent in by readers who stand a chance of having their photo printed in the next volume of our book celebrating stunning local scenery.
CHARITY car washers pulled out all the stops to raise more than £1,000 for the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust. Steve Keogh and Mike Coppinger from Class 1 Valeting were joined by friends as they spent the weekend at Spyglass pub in Weymouth washing cars for
Before we get too excited about superfast broadband for Portland (Echo, February 6), I am with Orange who have told me this morning that ‘BT won’t yet let us use the fibre-optic cables’. Orange (and no doubt other providers) ‘have no plans to upgrade
FUNDRAISERS are hoping that a cure for Parkinson’s Disease is a step closer after raising more than £15,000 for research. Weymouth and Dorchester’s branch of Parkinson’s UK decided to support a groundbreaking project looking at the disease. Branch treasurer
DORSET County Hospital was given an equipment boost by Dorchester Rotary Club. Thanks to generous donations by Dorset residents the club was able to present two new endogators, or irrigation pumps, to the endoscopy unit. The pumps will
A DORCHESTER based swimming pool firm has made a splash at an annual industry awards ceremony. Cresta Leisure scooped a double success at the Swimming Pool and Allied Trades Association (SPATA) awards in Brighton. It claimed the Dick Millward Award
THE HIT daytime television show Come Dine With Me is coming to West Dorset. The Channel 4 show is currently filming for a new series and is calling on dinner party enthusiasts in Dorchester, Weymouth and Bridport to put themselves forward for the show
WEST Dorset District Council has appointed its preferred operator for the new £8million Dorchester Sports Centre. Members of the council's executive committee have agreed to award 1610 Ltd, a not-for-profit leisure trust, the position of preferred bidder
WORK is progressing on a £1.2m project that will see Catholics in Wey-mouth worshipping under one roof. In some of the most important changes affecting the church community for decades, St Joseph’s Church in Stavordale Road – whose iconic tower
AN ANIMAL enthusiast plans to be groomed for success with her new business. Cerne Abbas resident Wendy Oakes has set up Barker’s dog grooming salon in Middlemarsh. Wendy, 25, decided to start up her own business after completing an animal
AN inquest was told of Marine James Wright’s last moments. West Dorset coroner Michael Johnston said he wished to acknowledge the sacrifice of Weymouth man Marine Wright who was killed in Afghanistan last year. He recorded a narrative verdict and said
DODGER the cat’s wandering days are over just months after he shot to worldwide fame for his exploits. His distraught owner Fee Jeanes has had to have the moggy put down after he became ill with a tumour. Dodger shot to fame after tales of his antics
A MAN who admitted posing as a charity collector has been given a 12 month community order with a requirement to do 120 hours unpaid work. Daniel John Pearce, aged 22, of Fleet Street in Beaminster, had appeared before Weymouth Magistrates
CHAINS were passed to the new chamber chief. Anna-Maria Geare assumed the role of president of the Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce from outgoing president Andy Cooke. The handover took place at the chamber’s AGM at the Royal Dorset Yacht Club
A FORMER Portland mayor who donned the chains in memory of her husband has died. Nesta Grace Hunt passed away, aged 83, at her daughter Gisela Smith’s home in Easton. The former teacher volunteered hours of her time to tutor others. She was First Citizen
WEST Dorset residents will enjoy a council tax freeze for a third successive year. West Dorset District Council members agreed a budget that included freezing its precept on the council tax at £124.80 for a mid-range Band D property in 2012/13, which
Dorchester’S dedicated band of anti-litter campaigners have been out and about cleaning up the town again. Members of the Stop the Drop group filled twelve bags of rubbish when they carried out litter picks around Great Western Road.
A MOTHER-OF-THREE has backed calls for residents of Dorchester and surrounding areas to clean up their acts. Campaigners from the Stop the Drop anti-litter group addressed members of Dorchester Town Council last month to urge them to recognise
THREE young Dorset men are about to embark on a film-making adventure looking for some of the most ancient trees on earth in the Chilean rainforest. The trio consists of film-maker Zak Bentley, 24, tree climbing expert Waldo Etherington, 23, and Dorset
THE Bridport family of murdered vicar John Suddards, 59, have told how they have been left devastated by his death. His sister Hilary Bosworth, from Bridport, who is known for her work as a visiting teacher for the charity Action Aid, is still
Is the Prime Minister trying to insult the people of South Dorset? (Echo, February 8). ‘Be inspired’, ‘Bring on the games’. Get real Mr. Cameron. Take away these carbon producing dangerous traffic lights and put back the roundabouts, put the fairy lights
Many people are disappointed at the decisions being made by their local council, particularly with regards to new council offices and proposed changes to parking permits. However, few people are aware that they can petition their local council online
Recently I had the very simple task of having to travel into central Weymouth with the intention of buying some new shoes. Or so I thought. To say that I was shocked at the continued decline of central Weymouth is an understatement.
TWO men have admitted carrying out a robbery at a Weymouth post office armed with a shotgun. Stephen James McCourt, 49, and James McMillan-McHendrie, 59, initially denied committing the robbery at Broadmeadow post office within the McColl’s
DORSET residents are being urged to ‘use water wisely’ but have escaped the drought warnings that face millions of people across the country. Wessex Water ‘does not envisage’ water restrictions for the region being introduced over the coming
POLICE have issued a warning to would-be graffiti artists in Dorchester. The force has warned that graffiti is a form of criminal damage and anyone found to be responsible will face action. The message comes after graffiti emerged on a wall on the cut
CAUTION and dignity were tossed in the air as runners took part in the annual Easton Pancake Races on Portland Paramedics and St John Ambulance members competed in the challenge while men, women and children took part in the open races, cheered
THIS month’s headliner at the Bridport Comedy Cafe is heading to the town, having taken the world-renowned Edinburgh Comedy Festival by storm in 2011. Dubbed a ‘fireball of fun’ by Time Out magazine, Jessica Fostekew’s debut solo show at the
BRENDON King and Matt Groves have agreed five-year contracts at Weymouth FC despite huge question marks still hanging over the future of the Rolls family. The club’s owners made the announcement about the management team yesterday, just 24 hours after
UPWEY & BROADWEY 1 KINGSTON LACY 0 CHARLIE Kenderdine’s screamer saw Upwey & Broadwey complete a league double over Kingston Lacy at Redlands. Although clear-cut chances were few and far between the hosts were on top for the majority of the
COLIN Tizzard plans to give Cue Card a racecourse gallop next week as part of his final preparation for Cheltenham after the Arkle Trophy hope missed his intended prep run at Newbury on Friday. The 2010 Champion Bumper winner was pulled out of the Game
SAM Malsom made an instant impact in front of his new supporters – scoring in last night’s friendly with a Portsmouth XI. The Avenue Stadium clash ended 2-2 with Ryan Dovell also on the mark for the hosts and Jack Maloney and Jed Wallace replying for
Chickerell UTD RES 1 WEYMOUTH SPORTS 1 WEYMOUTH Sports’ inconsistency reared its ugly head once more as they stuttered to a 1-1 draw at Chickerell United Reserves. Having defeated title-chasing Upwey & Broadwey for the second time this
BRIDPORT 23 SWANAGE & WAREHAM II 5 MARK Botten labelled the triumph over Swanage & Wareham Seconds as Bridport’s best of the season. The high-flying Swans were put to the sword at Brewery Field as the Blues, without a game for the previous
Coastguards from Portland faced an unusual task when they transferred a gravely ill patient from south Wales to London. The Portland Coastguard Helicopter RESCUE-106 took the patient from Carmarthen Hospital to Kings College Hospital for treatment
SALLY Davis came out on top in the ladies’ section monthly stableford at Weymouth Golf Club. The event was played in perfect conditions and the scores reflected this with Davis winning Division One with a fantastic score of 41 points. There was also
THE Racing Steps Foundation-backed Zip Young Guns kart racing team is joining forces with ART Grand Prix for the 2012 season. The tie-up with the renowned French single-seater squad, which is making its international kart racing debut in the KF, KZ and
WEST Dorset Warriors produced 208 personal best times at their first Steps Gala of the year at the Thomas Hardye Leisure Centre in Dorchester. More than 70 swimmers took part in the event and competition was high with no one winning more than two events
LIAM Legg has hit a crossroads in his quest to become one of Britain’s top taekwondo students. The 11-year-old, who lives in Dorchester, has already shown incredible potential in the discipline but is currently finding it hard to identify the right path
DORSET Pentathletes kicked off the new season with the Dorset Biathlon at the Osprey Leisure Centre on Portland. The club’s members competed for their individual clubs and schools with points being awarded for both the run and the swim. Each competitor
BUDMOUTH College sent three players to compete in this year’s Dorset Schools Individual tournament at Portchester School and came away with a silver medal in the girls’ section, as well as seeing two boys reach the quarter-finals. Fourteen-year-olds
