DANIEL Cleaver is back, so forget floppy-haired bumbling Englishmen, as the bed-hopping cad should finally finish Hugh Grant's reputation as a harmless, foppish toff for good. After the enormous success of the first Bridget Jones film Hugh is returning
RESIDENTS objecting to plans to sell off a Southbourne car park are questioning whether Bournemouth Borough Council has the right to sell the land. Bids are being invited for the Southbourne Crossroads car park which enjoys panoramic views of the Isle
THE misery is almost over. The contraflows that have blighted the lives of drivers on the A338 spur road will be gone by Monday morning's rush hour. Tourism bosses have welcomed the announcement that roadworks on the dual carriageway will finish three
A GANG armed with what is believed to have been a handgun smashed their way into a Bournemouth jeweller's shop and escaped with several boxes of jewellery. The men struck at Charles Fox Jewellers in The Arcade when staff were preparing to open at around
GUNS, drugs and suspected stolen goods were seized by police in a series of dawn raids across Bournemouth and Poole yesterday (November 11). The raids were part of Operation Disrupt, a Dorset police crackdown on burglary and handling stolen goods. Around
TRADERS in Bournemouth town centre face disappointment after their bid to have local authority parking charges halved in the run-up to Christmas was turned down. At a meeting last month, they claimed business had slumped by 15 per cent due to the completion
PACY Hong Kong action flick which borrows heavily from Hollywood but manages to put a new sheen on a popular formula. Professional hitman O finds his lonely but safe world is under threat as he starts to fall for his innocent cleaner, Chin. To make matters
THERE'S been no shortgage of interest in the music of The Beach Boys lately, what with the eventual release of Brian Wilson's magisterial Smile album - a mere 37 years after its original release date was first mooted - and the uncanny live dates he performed
SITUATED in a corner of Poole's great harbour is a small yacht club with a very large heart, a heart that is beating stronger than ever after nearly 40 years. North Haven Yacht Club is 'on' the water opposite Sandbanks car park and is a family-based club
PROSPECTS that interest rates may have peaked were boosted by a Bank of England report that showed inflation was staying under control. Falling house prices and a slowdown in consumer spending were among factors credited by the bank for keeping inflation
LOUTS drinking on the streets of Verwood and committing antisocial behaviour could become a thing of the past as the town considers implementing an alcohol-free zone. Concerned residents are calling for East Dorset District Council to ban drinking outside
A MOVING tale of life in pre-revolution Russia will spring to life on stage at Weymouth Pavilion next week. Fiddler on the Roof, a tale of the struggles facing one Jewish family in the run-out to the pogroms when they were forced off their land, is being
AN EROTICALLY-CHARGED tale of obsession and submission comes to the Lighthouse in Poole next week with the arrival of Dead Hands' The Wrestling School. A disturbing new play by Howard Barker, the script is the tale of how sexual fantasy turns into 'inescapable
A WEALTH of local talent will be on stage tomorrow night when Wey Valley School hosts its final International Series concert of the season. Weymouth's youth choir Vocalis will be sharing the stage with mezzo-soprano Sophie Grech and pianist Ian Garland
TOURISM is set to boom in the New Forest when the National Park comes into being next year. That is the prediction of New Forest District Council leader Cllr Mel Kendal. Speaking at a meeting of the New Forest Tourism Association at Bartley Lodge Hotel
AN OLD soldier has paid tribute to the soldiers of the Black Watch, currently fighting in Iraq. D-Day veteran Percy Matthews played The Last Post in their honour on the solid silver bugle he saved for his own regiment in 1944. Percy, a former sergeant
THE EDGE OF REASON Starring: Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Neil Pearson, Jacinda Barrett GENRE: Comedy/Romance CERTIFICATE: 15 GUIDE: Swearing, sex, violence "Bridget Jones is a love pariah no more!" Thirty-something
SPINSTER sisters Ursula and Janet Widdington (Dames Judi Dench, Maggie Smith) live isolated from the outside world in 30s Cornwall. Then their carefully-plotted routine is thrown into disarray by the arrival of a rather good-looking young man called Andrea
BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON (15): See review. LADIES IN LAVENDER (12A): See review. THE GRUDGE (15): Remake of Takashi Shimizu's cult Japanese horror Ju-On: The Grudge. Set in Japan, Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as an American exchange student who
IT was hard to say whether any of them were wearing their big knickers in honour of the heroine, but 650 people turned up for a charity preview of the new Bridget Jones movie in Bournemouth last night. And although the star, Oscar-winning actress Renee
SOUTH Dorset MP Jim Knight has welcomed moves to change the current legislation on dangerous driving. Earlier this year he presented a bill to Parliament proposing tougher penalties and now the House of Commons' influential transport select committee
SPINSTER sisters Ursula and Janet Widdington (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith) live isolated from the outside world in 30s Cornwall. Their routine is thrown into disarray by the arrival of a young man called Andrea (Daniel Bruhl), who washes up on shore. The
FRENCH director Anne Fontaine's voyeuristic drama looks at the machinations of desire from a female perspective. Worried wife Catherine (Fanny Ardant) hires streetwalking prostitute Marlene (Emmanuelle Beart) to seduce her philandering husband Bernard
Alfie (15) UCI (from Mon), Odeon * Desperately poor remake finds Jude Law smoothing out all the rough and ready edges that made Michael Caine so memorable in the original. Alien vs Predator (15) UCI, Odeon ** Monster movie icons clash, humans get caught
Unless otherwise stated, expect gigs to start at around 8.30pm to 9pm TONIGHT The Two Stooges (Mariner's, Maiden Street, Weymouth): Musical malarkey and mayhem from this duo. Speed Handbag (Bar Banus, The Esplanade, Weymouth): Dance yourself dizzy, just
POOLE-based middleweight Steve Bendall has a simple message for his critics - "don't write me off just yet". The talented southpaw, who turns 31 on December 1, lost his perfect 100 per cent record of 21 successive professional victories when he lost against
TWO Bournemouth Dolphins members came away with 'top swimmer' awards after producing a string of medal-winning performances at the Frome open meet. Claire Humphreys and Dominic Macdonald were among seven gold medallists as Dolphins's 23-strong squad scooped
THE origins of love will be brought vividly to life tomorrow when highly-regarded dance company Momentum stages Tmesis at Dorchester's Corn Exchange. Striking visuals, acrobatics, movement and music will combine to retell the ancient Greek tale of how
WEYMOUTH-BASED artist Debbie Vetch opens her first-ever exhibition at the Mulberry gallery in Weymouth Library next week. Debbie, who has lived in the town for most of her life, has always had an interest in art and recently completed a degree in fashion
THURSDAY (11) BSO's My Kind of Magic, Weymouth Pavilion Rolf Harris exhibition, Picturehouse Gallery, Poundbury, Dorchester The Titfield Thunderbolt, Puddletown village hall Lunchtime recital, Lighthouse, Poole (1.05pm) Pere Ubu: It Came From Outer Space
ONE of the biggest names in dance music, Judge Jules, brings his distinctive brand of house to Slinky's home-town bash at the Opera House on Friday November 12. Known as one of the biggest pulls on the circuit, Jules plays most of the UK's top nights
Amajuba: Like Doves We Rise: Lighthouse, Poole. Powerful and moving drama to mark the 10 years of freedom in post-apartheid South Africa. A collaborative piece based on the real life experience of the actors, it opened on Wednesday and runs until Saturday
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 11 The Bowie Experience - Mr Kyps; Apache Country Band - Kinson Conservative Club; Hot Rod Jesus - The Plough Inn, Tiptoe; Quadrophonia + Black Top Phoenix - The Gander; The Thieves + Cold Earth; Dutch Husband + support - Mister Smiths
WADE Elliott believes Cherries' inspired run of away form this season is merely symptomatic of the side's burgeoning confidence. In Coca-Cola League One, no other side can match Sean O'Driscoll's men's record on the road. And in the entire Football League
HIS high-flying career which spanned the globe from wartime pilot training in South Africa to serving as British air attach in Japan before retiring to Christchurch has been chronicled by former RAF officer Group Captain Robert Dixon in his newly-published
