Archive
-
Date
Harper move ‘my decision’ – Riley
BASHLEY boss Steve Riley insists it was his decision alone to let assistant Eddie Harper go and that he made it "purely for footballing reasons". Harper, who unexpectedly left the promotion-chasing outfit last Saturday, had told the Echo: "I think Steve
-
Date
Ta-ra Duck(worth)
VERA Duckworth never came to Bournemouth. She may never even have set foot in Dorset. And it's a cinch that no one living here has ever met her because she's a fictional character in the world's longest-running TV soap. But that didn't stop millions
-
Date
Was it a good television ad for Sandbanks?
TELEVISION documentary Piers Morgan on Sandbanks has created a fresh flood of interest in the area, but the show has not been welcomed by everyone. The three-part series, filmed this summer, aired on ITV this week, featured a host of familiar faces from
-
Date
Plan to save troubled garage lies in tatters
A Southbourne man who vowed to turn the fortunes of a troubled petrol station around has quit four months after taking over the premises. The Daily Echo revealed last September how Ken Harris had decided to give up his distribution job in Reading to
-
Date
Time to start getting tough with yobbos?
"I'M a thief and a burglar" said the placard hung round the neck of a teenager in Ireland's tough Shankhill Road. As you've probably guessed, this justice wasn't meted out by any court - unless you count the kangaroo variety, as run by the ex-paramilitaries
-
Date
Bus strike off – but still no agreement
UNION chiefs have suspended further strike action by Wilts & Dorset bus drivers - but no agreement has been reached. Following secret talks yesterday, the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union cancelled the next planned strike day on Wednesday, January
-
Date
Outrage as protest on JobCentre is ignored
SEETHING Christchurch MP Chris Chope has blasted government consultation as a sham after the Department of Work and Pensions ignored widespread local protest to press ahead with closure of the town's JobCentre Plus offices. Mr Chope, who had battled
-
Date
Soaps need to clean up our act
ALL publicity is good publicity. Or so they say. But, when you're running a successful seaside resort, is the kind of publicity currently emanating from two of Britain's favourite soap operas the kind of exposure you could do without? Viewers who switched
-
Date
Stunned post office boss jailed for theft
A shamed sub-postmaster was yesterday jailed for 18 months for stealing more than £55,000 from the Post Office. Ian Kirk, who ran the post office at Sway Newsagents, had claimed he was burgled while he was in the toilet. But jurors at Bournemouth Crown
-
Date
Rights of way bid as island sale firms up
LONG Island's new owner may be looking forward to kicking back and relaxing in a private paradise. But the public may yet be granted the right to continue using the "back garden" of the new landlord. While negotiations to finalise a deal with a mystery
-
Date
School dogged by dangerous parking menace
DANGEROUS parking was described as "a constant problem" by the head teacher of a Poole first school. In the last few weeks two complaints were made, one to the police and one to the council's transportation department, regarding dangerous parking around
-
Date
Simon's say in trophy triumph
Ferndown assistant professional Scott Godfrey was the first to acknowledge the debt he owed to his 12-handicap amateur partner Simon Brouard as they won the opening Bournemouth Alliance meeting of the year. Brouard improved the team score on 10 holes
-
Date
Sophia hopes for peaceful Kenya venture
RINGWOOD schoolgirl Sophia Hughes is hoping the present political unrest in Kenya will have been resolved by the time she visits the East African country next year. Year 10 student Sophia, 14, is among a group of classmates and staff planning to spend
-
Date
Ward through in area finals
PETER Ward is double-booked for the national play-offs of the English Indoor BA Championships at Northampton next month after two devastating displays in the area finals. In the mixed fours the Bournemouth skip combined with Roy Leake, Mary Jones and
-
Date
Missing out Hawks on TV is mystifying
A HUGE groan rang around the sports desk here at the Echo when we stumbled across the awfully one-eyed TV schedule for the FA Cup fourth round. As if failing to screen Havant and Waterlooville's wonderful win over Swansea City on Wednesday night was
-
Date
From Sunseeker spectators to marshals
BOURNEMOUTH and District Car Club is hosting a recruitment event next month designed to convert spectators on Rallye Sunseeker' into marshals and club members. Organised in conjunction with the MSA, the training day takes place at the Elstead Hotel,
-
Date
County’s police join pay protest
MORE than 100 Dorset Police officers will join a protest over pay in London next week. They will travel to Westminster with up to 15,000 of their colleagues from across England and Wales The pay row has escalated to the extent where a Dorset Police
-
Date
Merton dressed as lame
THERE are two things people should never, ever have to listen to: James Blunt singing and Fern Britten swearing. Sadly I was subjected to both this week. Blunt I can get over, but Fern? Cuddly This Morning's I-can't-speak-for-giggling Fern, not only
-
Date
Subtle touches add to Laguna appeal
RENAULT'S previous generation Laguna was a sound if unspectacular vehicle, so there was plenty of room for improvement when it came time to create the new badge carrier. Initially, I have to say, I thought that visually the new third-generation Laguna
-
Date
Tributes to Steve, the music man
MEMBERS of Dorset's musical community and beyond are mourning the death of drummer, composer and music educator Steve Harris, who has lost a year-long battle against liver cancer. Steve, 58, well-known locally as music development officer, was a founder
-
Date
Go go Niseko
TO help drivers overcome the winter gloom, Mazda has come up with not one but two edition MX-5 Niseko models (roadster coupe and soft top), named after Japan's most prestigious skiing resort. Available from £17,995, the Niseko offers up to £2,000 worth
-
Date
Win Charlie Wilson's War goodies
THANKS to our friends at Empire Poole we've got some specially-branded Charlie Wilson's War merchandise to give away. There are two sets of goodies - each comprising a bath robe, umbrella, notepad, pen, desk clock and wallet. To enter simply tell us
-
Date
Eagle vs Shark (15) Optimum ***
IF you threw 500 or so indie films into a meat grinder and turned the handle for 90 minutes, you'd get something like this New Zealand effort. It's not a bad film but follows such a traditional pattern of low-budget quirk that there's little to elevate
-
Date
Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest (15) Fox Home Entertainment ***
ANYONE with the slightest over-appreciation of Star Wars knows Blue Harvest was the fake name used to disguise production of Return of the Jedi, so what we have here is a spoof undertaken by the generally top-notch Family Guy team. The trouble is that
-
Date
The Sally Lockhart Mysteries (12) BBC/2entertain ****
THE BBC Christmas recipe: take a quartet of novels by renowned children's author Philip Pullman, apply the Beeb's always excellent recreations of Victorian settings, add Billie Piper, fresh from a popular role in Doctor Who, another children's show adults
-
Date
Shoot ’Em Up (18) Entertain In Video ***
REALISM tends to take a back seat in today's blockbusters. Witness Bruce Willis's far-fetched dance with a fighter jet in Die Hard 4.0. In Shoot Em Up, realism doesn't so much take a back seat than is pushed out the rear window and dragged along the
-
Date
Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall (Polydor) ***
WAINWRIGHT'S like Marmite - you either love him or you don't get what he's about at all. When he's doing his own stuff, I love him (although I can't stand that smelly brown stuff), but it's hard to get my head round this. It's a faithful two-CD recreation
-
Date
Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge (Domino) ****
HUGELY appealing first solo outing from Dev Hynes, whose aural hijinks with his previous outfit ill-prepare his fan base for this country-tinged set of angsty acoustica. From chronicling the breakdown of a relationship in a mere 67 seconds, to unravelling
-
Date
Men linked to child sex abuse inquiry found dead
DETECTIVES investigating allegations of child sex abuse have confirmed that two men linked to the inquiry have been found dead. New Forest pensioner Anthony Whitlock died the day before he was due to be interviewed by officers involved in Operation Crossbow
-
Date
Postmaster jailed
A NEW Forest sub-postmoster was jailed on Friday (Jan 18) for 18 months for stealing more than £55,000 from the Post Office. Ian Kirk, 58, who ran the post office inside Sway Newsagents, claimed he had been burgled. Judge John Beashel told him: "There
-
Date
Official Verderer will not seek re-election
ONE of the New Forest's top public figures is leaving office in a move that has dismayed the people he represents. Official Verderer Oliver Crosthwaite Eyre offered to serve a third three-year term - only to be told that Whitehall was looking for a replacement
-
Date
Kim Novak - Luck & Accident (Talitres Records) ***
FORMED in Caen, France in 2005, Kim Novak have burned a slow fuse towards their first album. Appropriately so, as it turns out, for their brand of mildy austere, grand indie pop doesn't exactly fizz with fireworks - imagine Editors on Valium. Actually
-
Date
Cat Power - Jukebox (Matador) ***
WHICHEVER way you slice it, Chan Marshall has a fine set of pipes and she puts them to good use on this, her second album of covers. But where many such projects are merely dim re-assessments of over-familiar songs, Cat Power is a maestro of interpretation
-
Date
No Country For Old Men (15) *****
LOVERS of dark, intelligent humour and gore rejoice, this week sees the release of the latest Coen Brothers picture No Country For Old Men. A brooding thriller based on the 2003 novel by Cormac McCarthy, the prolific siblings transport us to the mesquite
-
Date
Aliens Vs Predator – Requiem (15) **
IN space, no-one can hear you scream. So, in Aliens Vs Predator - Requiem, two of the big screen's most feared extra-terrestrial killing machines descend on American suburbia, where the blood-curdling cries can be heard for miles. The flimsy logic begins
-
Date
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (15) ***
DRUG addiction, physical disability, poverty and infidelity are the lifeblood of any compelling music biopic, from Sissy Spacek's portrayal of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter to Jamie Foxx and Joaquin Phoenix's turns as Ray Charles and Johnny Cash
-
Date
ARREST IN SEX ABUSE CASE
THE brother of a former Olympic diving star, who has appeared in court on child sex abuse charges, has also been arrested. A former Poole gym owner, John Phelps, 55, was quizzed by detectives investigating "historical" sex abuse allegations. He has
-
Date
Problem sweeping society
ALCOHOL-related health problems and crime are sweeping through society, a conference heard on Thursday. Delegates at the Bournemouth and Poole Alcohol Harm Reduction Conference heard it was not just a problem for the young but is a "silent epidemic"
-
Date
Bush not planning Cherries bid
MEL Bush has poured cold water on rumours he could be considering a bid for Cherries, should the club fall into the hands of the administrator. The Wimborne-based music promoter purchased Cherries' Dorset neighbours Weymouth from businessman Martyn Harrison
-
Date
Bradbury knows Southend strength
CHERRIES target man Lee Bradbury is eager to get one over on his old pals tomorrow - but has warned of Southend's goalscoring threat from midfield. Bradbury, who had mixed fortunes in his season-and-a-half at Roots Hall, went through promotion and relegation
-
Date
Gillespie back in Bash frame
BASHLEY striker Richard Gillespie came through a full-scale practice game on Wednes-day and is included in their squad for a home clash against Clevedon tomorrow (3pm). Gillespie has been sidelined with an ankle injury while the New Foresters have won
-
Date
Dunn lifted by team's progress
BOURNEMOUTH Lions head into tomorrow's match with Oxford Harlequins at Chapel Gate looking to extend their impressive recent form and climb the South West One table. Lions are still languishing four places above the foot of the table, and will have to
-
Date
Alcohol and a wave of violence
"All Amy sees in her mind is the picture of her Daddy being beaten to death and lying on the ground, lifeless." Those are the extraordinarily moving words of Garry Newlove's widow after the trial of three drunken yobs, convicted of kicking him to death
-
Date
Town JobCentre to shut in spring
THE JOBCENTRE Plus office in Christchurch is to be made redundant in the spring and its work transferred to the new benefits complex in the centre of Bournemouth. Despite widespread local protest, petitions and even a deputation to parliament, Employment
-
Date
WE MUST BE STRONG
CHERRIES boss Kevin Bond has admitted the club would be left "needing snookers" to dodge the League One drop if they went into administration and received a 10-point deduction. With the club's off-field difficulties dominating the agenda this week, football
-
Date
Taffy laying down Vase gauntlet
TALISMANIC midfielder Taffy Richardson is urging his Poole Town team-mates to want it enough'' when they battle for a place in the last 16 of the FA Vase tomorrow. Wessex League duty takes a back seat as the Dolphins, who are only a tantalising four
-
Date
Wood: Poppies pushing for title
JAMES Wood has admitted publicly for the first time that his fifth-placed Poppies side are genuine Wessex Premier title challengers. But Wood, as coy as ever on the subject, only conceded the fact after Poole Town manager Tommy Killick stressed the Victoria
-
Date
Corsham cup proposal refused
CORSHAM'S bid to stage tomorrow's Southern Counties South clash with Oakmeadians as a league and County vase double-header in their own back-yard has been refused by the Dorset club. The Wiltshire outfit will now have to travel to Meyrick Park for the
-
Date
Sharp Blunt
James Blunt, Windsor Hall, BIC THE man the nation loves to utterly and inexplicably despise managed to pack out the Windsor Hall last night, so he can't be all bad. In fact, he's not bad in the slightest, but first his support, The Bishops. Fronted
-
Date
Alcohol abuse is a killer
Civic leaders are getting together to thrash out measures to prevent Bournemouth becoming "one big boozer." The "full and frank debate" will come after a local health expert yesterday warned that thousands of people are drinking "hazardous and harmful
-
Date
Judge jails two ‘outlaws’ after burglary spree
TWO crooks whose long-running contempt for the law made a judge brand them "outlaws" have been jailed. Phillip Bright and Vernon Davies burgled homes in Poole and clocked up hundreds of previous convictions between them. Bright, 32, from Fraser Road
