Sail for Gold Ball THE RYA Sail for Gold Ball will be taking place tomorrow night in support of Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic sailors in their quest for medals at the 2012 Olympic Games. Held in every Olympic year only, the ball has
LANDOWNERS in Bridport who might want to donated or sell plots at a reduced price could help solve the affordable housing crisis, town councillors were told. Members of the Environment and Social Wellbeing committee heard that plans to set up a Community
THE life and death of one of Dorset’s most famous daughters is played out on stage at Lighthouse in Poole on June 16. AsOne Theatre is visiting the venue with The cabinet maker’s daughter, which retells the life of palaeontologist Mary Anning as she
ONE of the world’s most beautiful prehistoric insects is being celebrated by a partnership between Dorset Wildlife Trust and newly formed local group Dorset Dragonflies. These ancient insects may be found worldwide, but Dorset is home to some very rare
GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S acclaimed Festival Players will celebrate this Olympic and Jubilee summer with their all-male adaptation of Richard III, which arrives in Dorset this month. David Lee-Jones in the title role is believed to be the first British-Chinese
ENJOY a taste of rural life on June 17 at the annual Open Farm Sunday event. Farms across Dorset will be welcoming visitors throughout the day and inviting the public to meet the workers and animals and see how their local food is produced, following
INSIGHTS into a traditional traveller lifestyle were on offer at Dorchester Borough Gardens. Traditional gypsy caravans, crafts and music were on show at the event to mark Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month. The day also included a baptism service for
The Samaritans garden project has been running for six months and to celebrate they are holding a plant sale and garden party on Sunday 1st July between 12.20 and 4.30. Afternoon tea will be available from 2pm until 4pm and you can see what they have
POLICE are appealing for witnesses to come forward after a suspected arson attack on a house in Sherborne. Firefighters tackled the blaze at the property in Knotts Paddock at around 9.40pm on Friday evening. Nobody was injured as a result but Dorset
DIRECTORS and shareholders at Weymouth FC will converge on the Bob Lucas Stadium at high noon on June 30 for the club's Annual General Meeting. It will be the first such meeting since Nigel Biddlecombe took over the Terras from the Rolls family back
AN ARRAY of top speakers have been lined up for an educational event running alongside this year’s Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival. The Radical History School will form part of the festival, celebrating the six Dorset farm workers who fought for workers’
A DORSET man has been found guilty of sexually abusing two young girls in cases more than four decades apart. Basil Burton who is a former gypsy liaison officer for Dorset County Council, was found guilty of three counts of attacking the two girls –
RAIL chiefs are gearing up for the start of a historic £2.7million engineering project that could herald Swanage’s reconnection to the mainline railway network within two years, it has been announced. Dorset County Council and Purbeck District
THOUSANDS of free tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Evening Celebration on Weymouth Beach were snapped up in just over two hours. Applications for the wristbands for the event launched on the borough council's website at 7am yesterday morning
THE findings of the Broadwindsor Group Parish Plan will be unveiled on Thursday at a special meeting in Comrades Hall at 7.30pm. Questionnaires were circulated earlier in the year to every home in the group parish – including Broad-windsor, Drimpton,
DORCHESTER’S historic Shire Hall could be in line for a mult-million pound revamp to create a new visitor centre. West Dorset District Council is preparing a £1million bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to covering half the costs of developing the grade
VETERANS are set to parade through Dorchester to recognise the contribution of those in the armed forces. The county town’s Armed Forces and Veterans Day on Saturday, July 7 will celebrate the efforts of those who have served or are serving their country
THE Secretary of State for Transport defended the government’s decision to axe Portland’s Search and Rescue Helicopter on her visit to the borough. Justine Greening, who arrived yesterday to highlight the Olympic transport plans, also attended a private
TWO Weymouth fish and chip shops have been showing their support the crew of the Purbeck Isle. Donations have been coming from far and wide in support of the Purbeck Isle Memorial Fund, which was set up in the wake of the loss of the Weymouth fishing
THE SAVIOUR of a Dorchester store is starting up a new venture to help other aspiring retailers. Claire Robertson, who attracted national headlines when she led the re-opening of the collapsed Woolworths store under the independent banner Wellworths
COUNCIL leader Mike Goodman is facing calls to “apologise or resign”. The Tory chairman of the borough council’s management committee sparked outrage when he labelled hoteliers ‘scruffy and miserable’. Coun Goodman, who also said the
OTHER hoteliers have blasted Coun Goodman for not making a public apology and are calling for him to ‘consider his position’. Dave Price, chairman of Weymouth and Portland Hoteliers and Leaseholders Association, said he had expected the council
GIVE and take is the secret to one Weymouth’s couple’s 60 happy years together. Don and Sylvia Ramsey, of Weymouth, were married on June 14, 1952, and lived most of their lives in the South Norwood area of London, before falling in love with Weymouth
LAST week’s photographs of the Queen – when she was still Princess Elizabeth – visiting Weymouth with her sister and parents generated quite a bit of interest. Helen Lambie of Lodmoor, Weymouth remembered seeing the royal family during their time in
THIS coming weekend will see Dorchester go carnival crazy as the county town celebrates with its annual summertime fiesta. Over the years, as these photos show, Dorchester people have shown that they really know how to get into the carnival
REGULAR Looking Back contributor Jenny Farwell dropped by with this atmospheric image of three men setting out off Chesil Beach. She thinks the photograph shows Arth Warren going mackerel fishing. Jenny also lent us the picture, taken in 1943, of Weymouth
GOULDS department store in Dorchester is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year and here are a selection of images taken through the years. As you can see, the shop has moved with the times, but it is lovely to see the old fashions – both
A BRIDPORT couple chose Devon as their perfect honeymoon destination. The wedding of Tom Coggins and Lisa Heal took place at Lakeside, Roadford Lake, in Devon. The bridegroom is the only son of Mr and Mrs P Coggins of Bridport and the bride is one
A LADY who ‘lives and breathes the National Trust’ celebrated her 90th birthday by planting four trees. Rosemary Hunter, the president of the Dorset National Trust, celebrated her 90th birthday in style with not one but three parties. Trees were planted
A CARGO ship detained at Portland Port for more than eight months set sail yesterday. The Westwind II passed the safety inspection after months spent under arrest by the Admiralty Marshall. It was detained due to a damages claim after it ran aground
WEYMOUTH is set to get balloon crazy as giant inflatable sculptures pop up across the town this summer. Balloonatic Kevin Hart, who is behind the sculptures, will create a six-foot tall gorilla, a dinosaur and a giant octopus among other colourful characters
Technology is a wonderful thing until it goes terribly wrong as highlighted in your Friday, June 1 edition re: emails. Coun Goodman is classified as a ‘public servant’ and obviously needs reminding that his insulting comments have badly let down many
It is always demeaning when a councillor makes derogatory and non-factual remarks. To use the word scruffy against the hoteliers from Councillor Goodman, who at best has a rather unkempt appearance, is unworthy of him. Perhaps he should be reminded
I was very disgusted to read in the Dorset Echo (Friday, June 1) Cllr Goodman’s email sent to many council officers and some other councillors bringing them into his own argument with the hoteliers. I would remind Coun Goodman that he was elected to
While Michael Goodman’s email may have been inappropriate for a councillor to send, I commend him for saying what many Weymouth residents have thought for years. I was born here, and all my life I have heard various whinges and complaints from hotel
There is only one word to describe Coun Goodman – arrogant. I find him overbearing with his pomposity and the borough council and the town would be better off without him. This is not the first time, and I doubt it will be the last, that I have been
The sister of tragic teenager Lewis Monks has thanked everyone for their support. Mel Monks, said: “Everyone has been so kind. There’s so much love for him – it’s amazing.” Meanwhile, hundreds of people will attend an event to make sure that Lewis is
Like many other residents, I am utterly appalled and dismayed at the content of Councillor Mike Goodman’s email to various officers and councillors. It is just unforgiveable that an elected member should so publicly make such scurrilous personal remarks
A THREE-VEHICLE collision just outside Dorchester caused the closure of the A35 this morning. The collision occurred just west of the Monkey’s Jump roundabout shortly after 8am this morning. One person was taken to hospital following
FERN Grimshaw overcame atrocious conditions to collect her first WPGA One-Day Series victory of the year at Chestfield Golf Club in Kent. The Wessex Golf Centre professional remained calm in the adverse weather to take the honours to remain
BRENDON King is still pursuing his top summer transfer target but is not 100 per cent sure he will get his man. The Weymouth boss has set his sights on a commanding centre-half and is currently trying to broker a deal with the player’s current club
WEYMOUTH SECONDS 152-9 (6pts) lost to WIMBORNE & COLEHILL 156-5 (19pts) by five wickets MATT Batchelor produced an unbeaten half-century for Weymouth Seconds but it still was not enough to end their barren start in Dorset League Division Two. The
DORSET student Josh Barnett continued his impressive start to the Formula Ford season with his second victory in three races. After retiring from an encouraging third place last time out on his first visit to Oulton Park in Cheshire, Barnett was raring
WEYMOUTH Ladies have signed five more players for their South West League Premier Division squad as they look to improve on a successful 2011/12 campaign. First to put pen to paper was Ella Walmsley who established herself as a valued member last season
Division One BELLE CONSTRUCTION 37 WATERSIDE 34 BELLE Construction dug deep to secure a long-awaited victory over fellow top-flight heavyweights Waterside at Budmouth. The game was nip and tuck from start to finish with both teams producing some
