IT'S day four of IMAX Watch, and we've made a plane trip to raise your concerns about the seafront cinema. We've been putting the same question to the bosses of Bournemouth's IMAX cinema every day: Will it ever reopen? This time, our reporter has flown
CHILDREN as young as five are on the receiving end of a rising tide of racist incidents in Dorset's schools, education bosses have been told. The annual rise, although slight, is a surprise to education chiefs who had hoped new race equality polices and
IT must have been like winning the lottery. For years artist and self confessed "old hippy" Josephine Wall has made a reasonable if unspectacular living painting colourfully surreal images of bewitched woods, fairies, castles and moonbeams. Now an encounter
THE rarely seen and ancient sport of Dwyle Flonking made its debut at Lytchett Matravers summer carnival last weekend. Crowds enjoying the sunshine took to the streets to enjoy a carnival parade with colourful floats, majorettes and marching bands. The
WHERE precisely was Bonallie Tower, the house where Robert Louis Stevenson stayed before moving into the home that was bought for him at Westbourne? A booklet by Lawrence Popplewell, who teaches at Bournemouth University, can answer that riddle, but he
THE "meanest, fattest" bike on the Quay was the judges' verdict on the Yamaha Vmax of Simon Burt from Poole who claimed the Bike of the Night award during the Condor ferries Dream machines meeting last week. Simon explained to judge Ian Elliot from Poole
HONDA'S popular heavyweight naked bike, the CB1300, has undergone some major improvements. Prime along them is the addition of ABS to the 1300cc, in-line four-powered bruiser, while extra comfort is provided by a half-fairing which has been designed to
THE wife of a 42-year-old Poole man who is fighting for his life after being beaten up in an unprovoked attack has issued an emotional appeal for witnesses. Her husband suffered life-threatening head injuries when he was punched to the ground and hit
International cup competition in Bridport TENNIS will have an international flavour when Bridport host the d'Avee's Cup on Sunday, June 26. Right in the middle of the Wimbledon fortnight, Bridport Tennis Club will unveil its new competition at Plottingham
AN uncomfortably warm evening had runners sweating as they tackled the third of the summer time trial race series at Upton Country Park near Poole. On the two lap course of approximatly 3.5 miles it was Ceri Rees, of host club Poole Runners, who took
IMAGINE running a business in a country where you or your employees were charged by the government for every mile your vehicles were driven on public roads. A simple journey between Weymouth and Poole, for instance, would be signalled via satellite and
ANTONIO Lindback survived a horror crash relatively unscathed as Pirates lost 49-44 in a last-heat decider at Coventry last night. The young Swede escaped serious injury in a heat eight fall after colliding with Bees rider Martin Smolinski down the back
Naked: Lighthouse, Poole. Cutting edge contemporary dance arrives in Poole this weekend courtesy of former Royal Ballet stars Michael Nunn and William Trevitt aka The Ballet Boyz. Their latest creation Naked is a tale of love betrayal and revenge featuring
POPULAR children's television presenter Chris Jarvis will once again star in and direct this year's Bournemouth pantomime. The CBeebies star has confirmed he will present Aladdin with UK Productions at the Pavilion Theatre. It follows his huge success
A MOTHER spoke out today about her disappointment with the police inquiry into her son's death. Julie Menzies, whose son, Sam McCulloch, was reported to have fallen overboard from a fishing boat four weeks ago, says she is being ignored by the police.
BINGE drinking and teenage boozing in Weymouth is being made worse by ignorant pub and shop staff who are putting profits first, a lecturer warned today. Roger Loiselle says a lack of knowledge and good practice by workers is fuelling problems of anti-social
THE circus came to town for Portland District Guides, Brownies and Rainbows who spent a full day in the Jubilee Hall, Easton, learning the skills of the big top. Tim Pomfret, Matt Wilson and Kisanna Szabo from Bezerkas Circus gave a display of their own
TWO ELDERLY neighbours have lived on the same estate for a total of 107 years. Estate grandees Pearl Copp and Patricia Elliot, who live in Maiden Newton, near Dorchester, were presented with flowers and champagne to celebrate their milestone tenancies
THE powerboat collision at Portland which has left a teenage boy critical in hospital is the first accident in the event since racing started three years ago. Tom Crump, organiser of the International Youth Powerboat Championship, said the highest safety
CHERRIES boss Sean O'Driscoll is hoping to move a step closer to solving his left-sided dilemma after tabling a contract offer to Joe Keith. O'Driscoll confirmed that a proposal had been faxed to the out-of-contract Colchester United midfielder on Monday
JOURNALISTS tend not to do very well in opinion polls. (Isn't it odd, by the way, how my profession sets great store by surveys - apart from those that show we're ranked very near the top of least-liked lists, usually below politicians and traffic wardens
WHERE precisely was Bonallie Tower, the house where Robert Louis Stevenson stayed before moving into the home that was bought for him at Westbourne? A booklet by Lawrence Popplewell, who teaches at Bournemouth University, can answer that riddle, but he
BOURNEMOUTH cabbies say they are terrified of working night shifts due to increasing numbers of vicious attacks on them. Their comments come after the jailing of a security guard and his friend who carried out two violent robberies on taxi drivers within
THE wife of a 42-year-old Poole man who is fighting for his life after being beaten up in an unprovoked attack has issued an emotional appeal for witnesses. Her husband suffered life-threatening head injuries when he was punched to the ground and hit
A WOMAN has been speaking of her lucky escape after a car left the road and ploughed into the front of her house causing substantial damage. Sylvia Leonard was sitting at the back of her Woodside Road house in Pokesdown when she heard a huge bang. "I
A SCHOOL in Poole has banned skirts to "maintain girls' modesty" in lessons such as music and drama. Broadstone Middle School will impose a strict rule that all pupils wear trousers only from January next year. Girls will not be able to wear skirts -
According to police statistics there are at least 60 premises in Bournemouth where sex is sold. They're described as sleazy and seedy, but Faith Eckersall was invited to meet one of them and discovered that most prostitutes are fed up with the way they
IT may have been Father's Day but Sunday very much belonged to the sisterhood as 8,000 women sweated their way through a blisteringly hot Race For Life. This year's entry was so large that organisers had to create two separate races from Bournemouth Pier
YAMAHA has reintroduced its Why model to its 2005 scooter line up complete with its chrome and retro styling. With larger 16-inch wheels (most other 50cc scooters have 10-inch wheels) the Why offers great comfort, stability and manoeuvrability, which
LOW cost bike maker KYMCO has launched two brand-new Vitality scooters. The Vitality 50 comes in two liveries; with the 2 stroke Vitality 2 available in a bold metallic blue, and the 4 stroke Vitality 4 in a cool ice blue. Available for £1,399 on the
THE Ducatti 900S of Simon Chaffer from Blandford was named Bike of the Night on April 5 on the return of Poole's Dream Machines gathering on Poole Quay. With Condor Ferries the new title sponsors for 2005, it was down marketing manager Chris Merrell,
FIGHTER Station 454, the new official dealer for the American-built Victory custom bikes, opens at Hybris Business Park, Crossways, near Dorchester, on Sunday April 10. As well as new and used Victory bikes to see and test ride, the opening will feature
FORMER skipper Sean Walbridge capped an unexpected comeback by pouching a sharp chance as Dorset battled back on the second day of their Minor Counties Championship clash against Wiltshire on Monday. Walbridge, now team manager, was forced to call a premature
LUKE JOY, who is fast becoming Dorset's most exciting young golfing talent, has been chosen to represent the South West Counties in the annual match against the Midlands at Royal North Devon. The 16-year-old Corfe Hills sixth form pupil from Broadstone
ISUZU is offering a Prodrive Performance Pack (PPP) for its award-winning Rodeo Denver 3.0 litre pickup plus a selection of new accessories. Costing £760 (including VAT and fitting), the PPP boosts power from 131BHP at 3,800 rpm to 155bhp at the same
A SCHOOL in Poole has banned skirts to "maintain girls' modesty" in lessons such as music and drama. Broadstone Middle School will impose a strict rule that all pupils wear trousers only from January next year. Girls will not be able to wear skirts -
A PUB landlord is calling for the government to show common sense as it moves closer to introducing nationwide no smoking bans in certain public places. One option would be for smoking in pubs to be outlawed within one metre of the bar area to protect
VAUXHALL'S hottest Astra to date - the blistering 152-mile-an hour VXR - has stunned the GTI fraternity with its sub-£19,000 price tag. At the heart of the Astra VXR is a four- cylinder 2.0-litre turbocharged engine delivering 240bhp which is channelled
GLEN Dawson has fired a warning shot to Weymouth's Dorset Premier Division championship rivals ahead of his return to action this weekend - "I'm back and I want to win the title." The Kiwi pace bowler is due to line up against reigning champions after
DESPITE soaring house prices, it is still £37,000 cheaper to buy a property over 25 years than it is to rent one, latest research confirms. Buying an average property over a 25-year period now costs £326,849, while renting one would cost people 11.5 per
ANTONIO Lindback survived a horror crash relatively unscathed as Pirates lost 49-44 in a last-heat decider at Coventry on June 20. The young Swede escaped serious injury in a heat eight fall after colliding with Bees rider Martin Smolinski down the back
CONTROVERSIAL plans for speed humps along a busy East Dorset road are likely to be put on hold. County highways chiefs proposed to put 23 humps along a mile-and-a-quarter stretch of Golf Links Road in Ferndown. In the last three years there have been
PIRATES team manager Neil Middleditch declared himself "relatively happy" with this five-point loss after the Elite League table-toppers had pushed Coventry all the way at Brandon. (June 20) Poole RIAS - 10 points adrift after heat 11 - forced a last-heat
'SCUMBAG' thieves who stole cash wedding gifts belonging to a Portland couple may have been one of the newlyweds' guests, it was revealed. And police are keeping an 'open mind' on whether the crime is linked to the theft of wedding presents from a marquee
A KEY council meeting to choose a preferred developer for Weymouth's Pavilion and ferry terminal ended with a "ridiculous" 8-7 vote against both choices. Fifteen councillors then passed on the task of making a decision to management committee colleagues
A PRISON governor from Dorchester will be representing the country at an international sporting tournament in Canada. Tim Ellis, who is head of residence and operations at Dorchester Prison, will be rowing 2,000m and running a half-marathon as part of
WEYMOUTH'S reputation as a family-friendly resort could suffer when a television show featuring rowdy revellers is broadcast, warns the borough's mayor. The town is set to star in an episode of Booze Britain, a show featuring alcohol-fuelled antics. Campaigners
THE mother of a 15-year old boy is so delighted with his educational progress that she wanted to nominate Ringwood School for an award. But Vivien Walker was disappointed to discover that only individual teachers not schools can be put forward for awards
OBJECTORS to a wind farm have won a temporary reprieve after Your Energy failed to lodge a planning appeal in time. The Planning Inspectorate has dismissed an application to appeal against North Dorset District Council's decision to reject an application
X-FACTOR hopeful 16-year-old Adam Grose was left wondering why when the reality TV show's kingpin Simon Cowell said "See you later". The teenage sensation, who is sitting his GCSEs, queued for hours with thousands of other pop-star hopefuls for his chance
IF EVER proof were needed that the dumbing-down of British society was damn near complete, then look no further than Always Alex, the autobiography of an air stewardess who married a famous drunk. Alex is now a 30-something D-lister who married George
