This time last year actor Orlando Bloom was just happy to be part of an A-list cast in one of the most successful films of all time. One year on, the blue-eyed star, is himself now firmly in the A-list. Thanks to his role as Legolas in the Lord Of The
LIKE MIKE (PG) Pint-sized pop star Lil' Bow Wow makes a solid acting debut in John Schultz's feelgood fairy-tale about young orphan Calvin Cambridge who dreams of becoming a major basketball star. But the odds seem stacked against Calvin who lives in
LIKE MIKE (PG, 100min) DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (15, 97min) THE QUIET AMERICAN (15, 100min) Michael Caine turns in a sterling performance in this espionage thriller set during the Vietnam War. Caine plays the an ageing British journalist, Thomas Fowler, who
FRIDAY Subitango (Corn Exchange, High West Street, The Grove, Dorchester): Tango extraordinaire - see preview opposite. St Agnes Fountain (Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport): Fine folk, featuring Fairport favourite Chris Leslie - see preview
THE 2003 West Dorset Holiday Guide was launched in a ceremony at Charmouth. Some 120,000 copies have been printed and will be distributed around the world via carefully targeted national and international promotional campaigns over the coming months.
PIRATES heat leader Hans Andersen has joined his former captain Gary Havelock as a Peterborough Panther for 2003. A one-year loan deal for the 22-year-old rider was struck with Poole Meridian Lifts' Elite League rivals yesterday. So Andersen will head
TONIGHT sees Bridport Arts Centre move away from the chilling and into warmer territory when St Agnes Fountain performs an evening of traditional festive songs. The ensemble's four members have excellent folk music pedigrees, coming from Fairport Convention
THE delightful ballet Coppelia is being brought to Christchurch next week by Ballet Creations. The story of the toymaker's beautiful doll, which he believes has come to life, is at the Regent Centre from next Wednesday until Sunday, December 22. Performances
TAPAS and tango is on the menu tonight when Subitango bring their fiery Latin dance spectacular to Dorchester Corn Exchange. The cabaret night will include a performance by Tango Siempre, the UK's top Argentinian tango ensemble and from acclaimed dancers
WEEKS of hard work will come to fruition next Wednesday when members of Dorchester's Youth Music Project give a performance of works in the town's Youth and Community Centre. The free performance by youngsters aged between 14 and 17, which starts at 8pm
FRIDAY (13) The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Weymouth College theatre Subitango, Corn Exchange, Dorchester St Agnes Fountain, Bridport Arts Centre Instant Wit, Melbury Osmond Bazeado, Lighthouse Poole Blondie/INXS tribute, BIC SATURDAY (14) PANTO
A DORCHESTER couple have paid tribute to their talented son, who died of meningitis three weeks into his degree course at Cambridge University. Student Ben Vincent, 20, of Edward Road, was rushed to Addenbrooke's Hospital after a pal in a neighbouring
THE people of Weymouth, Portland and Puddletown have been showing their generous side. Schools, youth groups and churches have been taking part in Operation Christmas Child, which asks people to fill a shoebox with gifts for disadvantaged children in
DESPITE the spell of cold weather veterans gathered to share memories, mince pies and good wishes at their Christmas rendezvous. The Veterans' Rendezvous is a chance for old soldiers to get together to reflect on old times and enjoy displays and exhibitions
THE devastated parents of promising Dorchester student Ben Vincent, who died from meningitis, are raising money for two charities researching vaccines for the disease. Following the death of Ben, 20, three weeks into his degree at Cambridge University
DORSET'S Jurassic coastline is on the right track after Wessex Trains unveiled a new look to one of its fleet at Weymouth Station. Images of the world heritage site have been transported onto the carriages of the train, which operates all over the South
THE Dorset Echo Christmas Toy Appeal is gathering pace as WH Smith joins forces with us to help needy children. The company's branch in St Thomas Street, Weymouth, is one of many retailers who are supporting our campaign and it is also proving a popular
A MOTHER says her eight-year-old son will be forced to walk along unlit roads with no pavements to get to school after her appeal for free transport was turned down. Childminder Louise Rees claims that no other parents have been asked to pay for transport
DORSET County Council will not construct a footpath inside the cemetery at Lyme Regis because it says the access onto Charmouth Road would be too dangerous. But the good news is that the county authority will issue compulsory purchase orders on land to
EFFORTS to save one of Lyme's oldest social and sporting venues have failed. The Conservative Club, in Coombe Street, will close on December 31, and the trustees will proceed with the sale of the premises and the disposal of its assets. The decision to
INSPIRATIONAL captain Carl Fletcher is urging his team-mates to put their cup exploits to one side and re-focus their attentions on maintaining Cherries' promotion push. Fletcher has skippered Cherries to five wins in their last six games, a month-long
THE 2003 West Dorset Holiday Guide was launched in a ceremony at Charmouth. Some 120,000 copies have been printed and will be distributed around the world via carefully targeted national and international promotional campaigns over the coming months.
The epic JRR Tolkien trilogy The Lord Of The Rings may be an elaborate fantasy laced with lurid creatures and bloody battles, but for Liv Tyler it's also a heart-tugging love story. The 24-year-old plushed-lipped American actress plays elf princess Arwen
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (15) In this thriller about illegal immigrants Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Senay (Amelie star Audrey Tautou) are scratching a living in the more downbeat areas of London, and in constant fear of deportation. The characters hold on
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (PG, 160mins) A mysterious force is stalking the corridors of Hogwarts School and several students are discovered in a petrified state. Boy wizard Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and best friend Ron (Rupert Grint) investigate
IF 2002 is remembered as the year Lord of the Rings was surprisingly overlooked at the Oscars, 2003 should be the year The Two Towers makes up for lost time. Director Peter Jackson has succeeded in surpassing all expectations and produced a true epic
IF YOU, like me, have been labouring under the misapprehension that 'tapas' referred to a condition remarkably similar to dysentry or Montezuma's Revenge, then you'd best be advised to point yourselves in the direction of Subitango (Dorchester Corn Exchange
EAST DORSET romped into the last 16 of the Denny Cup with an impressive 91-63 triumph over Victory - a result that confirmed the Christchurch team as the leading club side in Hampshire. Their next opponents on Saturday, December 21, are Middlesex side
COMPUTER whiz-village Burton Bradstock has scooped a prestigious first prize win in the Calor Gas Village of the Year awards, for its use of Information Technology. The village came first in the IT category for the Southern and South East region, one
Bridport Magistrates Court is facing a death sentence, certainly in its present form. The under-used and outdated building looks set to be one of five courts county wide that are axed under new plans to streamline the judiciary in Dorset. Cost saving
WORK started and stopped again last week on Bridport's troubled old police station after the developer began demolishing the building without permission. David Evans, West Dorset District Council Director of Planning and Environment, said: "It came to
WITH the festive season well under way and less than a fortnight to go until the main event, venues across Dorset are helping us get into the swing of things with a selection of Christmas-themed concerts. Traditional festive sounds are being provided
A FAST-PACED version of Handel's Messiah will be performed at the Lighthouse, Poole next Wednesday. Florilegum, described as 'the bright young things of early music' will be recreating the work of art exactly as its composer heard it the first time it
A MAN who had gone for an evening swim in the sea sparked a coastguard investigation. Patrolling coastguards saw a 4x4 vehicle on a remote track leading from Abbotsbury to West Bexington, last night. After an investigation, West Bay Coastguards discovered
FIREFIGHTERS rescued two people after a blaze broke out in flats on Portland. The fire started last night at the rear of the old Jammies caf in Fortuneswell just before 11pm. A fire brigade spokesman said smoke was billowing from the four-storey building
FAMILIES sparked Christmas celebrations into life in Dorchester when they lit up the Borough Gardens at a candlelit carol service yesterday. More than 100 people raised their voices at the popular event with the Encore singers, the Durnovaria Silver Band
EIGHT families in Weymouth are demanding to be moved from their homes because of noisy neighbours. They claim their neighbours are making their lives a misery and they also want chiefs at Magna Housing Association to take action against them. The families
STAFF and pupils of Thomas Hardye School handed over the reins of a rocking horse to children with special needs after a year-long fundraising campaign. School finance officer Pat Curtis organised a Christmas dance for staff to mark the Dorchester school's
A STOWAWAY with spots on his skin sparked an infectious disease alert on a ship which docked at Portland. The RMS St Helena carries supplies and passengers to the island of St Helena in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and Africa. Weymouth
GIRLS will be boys and boys will be girls as the curtain goes up on panto season once again. First onto the boards is that perennial favourite Cinderella, which begins its run in Bournemouth at the Pavilion Theatre tomorrow (Dec 14). The time-honoured
BUSINESS is booming in two Hampshire towns, named among the top five most profitable business communities in Britain, despite commercial enterprises in many other parts of the country seeing a fall in profits. The accolades go to the neighbouring south
DORSET County Council's highways department has been condemned for not meeting promises to undertake road repairs in Lyme Regis. The authority was on the end of a verbal lashing from Coun Stan Williams at Wednesday's meeting of the town council at which
THIS is the sight that people in Christchurch have either dreaded or welcomed with open arms - the demolition of the dilapidated, but historical, former nurses' home in Jumpers. For six years the building, which was also the town's workhouse, was left
LYME Regis Regatta and Carnival Committeee is in hot water for failing to paint over the seafront mural on time. The council, which has consistently refused requests for the mural, painted in the summer to raise regatta funds, to be left all year. But
