How can you be bored?

RARELY will a day go by without one of my peers saying that there is nothing to do in Dorset. Having lived in Greater London for 14 years, however, I believe this is certainly not a case of warranted boredom. We are lucky to grow up in Dorset - whether you believe it now or not.

When I moved to Dorchester from Romford in 2011, the freedom that I was met with was almost a culture shock for me. I had come from a town where I simply couldn’t go to the park on my own, yet now I was in a place where it seemed children could roam free at any time, without any fear at all. I could go to the skate park in Dorchester well into the evening - all parks were locked at 6 in Romford - and this freedom to do anything without the threat of being mugged (or worse), was something I could never have dreamed of before.

Just last year saw the development of the new sports centre - along with gym and swimming pool. Alongside the 3G AstroTurf, it’s clear that we have some of the best modern sporting facilities in Britain. Before I moved here, both my home and training pitches were nearly half an hour away - in separate locations. That’s why I refuse to take for granted the incredible sporting facilities that we have here. In the local area there’s a rugby club, a dance troupe, a hockey team, a gymnastic group, water polo, the nearby Clay Pigeon Raceway, basketball courts and 12 football pitches.

We are lucky enough to live in immediate proximity to Weymouth, and the opportunities provided by its trademark coast line are countless. We live by a coastline ideal for the sailing, windsurfing and kayaking courses accessible in Portland Harbour, all of which are sporadic opportunities accessible to us. That’s not to mention the cinemas, bowling alley, shopping facilities, and sports clubs in Weymouth. And don’t forget fishing off the stone pier on a drizzly day in March! I don’t know about you, but I’d take the beach over the Thames any day.

If Dorchester isn’t enough for you, then with swift train links to Weymouth, Yeovil and Poole within half an hour, there really is no case for complaint.

It seems that claims of ‘having nothing to do’ are plain nonsense. People are far too obsessed with the world of iPhones and Vines, and as a result are forgetting to look up and see what’s actually going on around them. That’s why spending my teenage years in Dorset isn’t a burden at all.