I REFER to the letter "Let's hope circus returns to the Island" (Echo, June 9) in which G Duncan asked was Paolo's Circus the first circus to visit the Island?'. I would like to add to the many previous replies that in the late 1960s and early 1970s
CLARINETS and flutes were out in force when primary school children from across West Dorset took part in a windy workshop. They came together to rehearse at Bridport Primary School before presenting a concert to parents later in the day. The workshop
ROADWORKS on Portland are causing chaos, claim frustrated motorists and traders. Tempers are being flared further by news that workmen will return next month to replace a gas main in the same area. Shopkeepers claim business is being brought to a standstill
GOOD neighbours and community champions are being sought for an annual award scheme West Dorset District Council is urging people to nominate someone who works hard for their community for a Community Champion Award. The district-council-run-awards
Olympic bronze medal 49er sailors Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks have left the borough to take on the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cascais, Portugal. Draper, 29, of Crossways, and Hiscocks, 34, of Fortuneswell, Portland have been sailing together
DORCHESTER Town's director of football Shaun Brooks has captured the services of ex-Weymouth defender Roy O'Brien. The Irishman was not offered a new contract by the Terras at the end of last season so the Magpies swooped. O'Brien, who is 32, has signed
A FATHER-of-seven who punched a pubgoer in the face in a Weymouth shop has been warned he could face prison. Keith Puckett, 37, grabbed the man and struck him across the cheek in the Spar store in St Edmund Street. He had earlier threatened his victim
PORTLAND Young Off-ender Institution has been blasted in a report which says overcrowding is at the root of its problems. Squalid toilets, unfit buildings, bullying and a negative staff culture have been highlighted in a report by the Chief Inspector
WARTIME Spitfire pilot Peter Graham has welcomed news that war veterans are to go to the top of the queue for digital hearing aids. Mr Graham, 84, of Buckland Newton, recalled his struggle for help to overcome severe hearing loss that began when he
A NEW swimming pool in Dorchester will be built next to the existing one. Members of West Dorset District Council's executive committee yesterday backed the bid - to build a new leisure centre complete with 25-metre pool and learner pool on land next
A SCHEME to convert Weymouth's fire-ravaged Maiden Street Methodist Church into a restaurant and 15 homes came in for some heavy criticism before being agreed by planners. Some councillors said the design looked like an office block', while others thought
A STOP smoking mascot has been stubbed out for good - and his sad demise has been made available online for all to see. People in Dorset have been voting for the last three weeks to choose how to finally get rid of the SmokeStop mascot Big Cig. Voters
WITH just two days to go before England goes smoke free, new research suggests that more than 60,000 of the nation's health professionals have yet to quit. Lloyds pharmacy's figures show that 2,100 GPs, 54,600 nurses and 3,800 pharmacists are still addicted
A DRIVER who had a lucky escape at an accident blackspot today called for urgent action to make the road safer. Dancer Josie Glen escaped through a window when her car crashed into a wall at Hurst Bridges on the B3390 near her Affpuddle home. Her Ford
A PORTLAND man has died following a collision on the A354 in Dorchester. A police spokesman said a green Toyota Corolla was in a low-speed collision with a white Volkwagen Caddy near the roundabout at Dorchester Football Club. The spokesman said the
A SCHEME to knock down a house and build seven flats in its place just 80 metres from eroding cliffs at Bowleaze Coveway has been refused by planners. They felt they could not grant the project without more information about existing land stability and
CHILDREN are preparing to take the stage alongside top opera singers. Pupils from schools in Weymouth, Portland and Bridport are warming up their vocal cords ahead of their opera debut in Abbotsbury. They will be joining London's Garden Opera Company
WEYMOUTH driver Sam Webster's karting career is continuing to blossom. The youngster has broke two lap records and won three first-place trophies in recent times and he continues to lead the Club Championship at his local track at Clay Pigeon, which
At last there are glimmerings of common sense in the debate about the Pavilion peninsula re-development. The penny has dropped that the Jurassic Heritage Centre is itself likely to prove a bit of a dinosaur. If the consultants are to be believed it
MIDFIELDER Carl Mutch has left Portland United and joined Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division side Hamworthy United. The former Weymouth man was a key component in the Blues' march to the Dorset Premier League Cup final last season and he admits
CAME Down Golf Club was delighted to host the Dorset Ladies' County Foursomes. The course was in superb condition, but players had to contend with gale force winds on both days. However, there were some good scores in spite of the weather as the ladies
WEYMOUTH will host the fourth World Tour Biathle tomorrow with competitors taking their starting orders on the seafront near Greenhill Gardens at 8am. The run-swim-run event has attracted more than 150 entrants with Germany, Italy, Turkey, Holland and
IT'S the fixture West Dorset fans have all been waiting for. It's the date in the calendar that both club's highlighted when the schedules were announced back in the spring. It's the derby between Dorset Funeral Plan League Division One rivals Beam-inster
HOWZAT for a turnout... Some 120 children from across West Dorset took part in a cricket festival at Dorchester. The children were from Weymouth's Budmouth Technology College, Beaminster School, Sir John Colfox School in Bridport and Lyme Regis's The
PORTLAND will be bidding for their first away win of the season when they visit Shaftesbury in Dorset Funeral Plan League Division Two tomorrow (2pm). The islanders beat Ferndown at Reforne last week and skipper Simon Barrett is confident his men can
A LASER Open is being held at Castle Cove Sailing Club tomorrow. The annual event will see three different types of the single sail, one-crew dinghy racing - the Standard, Radial and 4.7. The Standard is the men's Olympic class, the Radial is the women's
FOUR members of Weymouth Sailing Group took part in the Gibraltar to Morocco Yacht Rally. Andy Harding said: "It's quite a prestigious event and 51 boats participated - both motor and sail. I don't think any other boats from Britain took part. "We had
DORSET Funeral Plan League Division One leaders Dorchester make two changes to their side for their trip to basement boys Wimborne & Colehill Seconds (2pm). Steve Gerety is unavailable while Liam Coward has been dropped to the seconds. Replacing the
WEYMOUTH skipper Dean Janaway is keeping his fingers crossed that the weather does not spoil his side's chances of becoming the first team this season to beat Dorset Funeral Plan League Premier Division leaders Broadstone (1.30pm). The table-toppers
24: DONOVAN Wear Your Love Like Heaven/Oh Gosh (Epic, 1967) THERE can be no youth cult more widely derided than that of the flower children. They tend to be visualised in the public imagination as wetter than Saltcoats Aquarium and more self-obsessed
WEYMOUTH Doonan Wildcats' chairman Phil Bartlett has warned his side's Conference League rivals that there is still more to come from his riders. Bartlett watched his men claim their fourth win on the spin last Saturday with a 57-33 thumping of the
THESE are the weeks I dread, when purely by accident - surely not by design - none of the singles I review either light me up like a Roman candle or fill me with volcanic outrage. Everything on this page is either quite good or quite bad, not toweringly
STRIKER Matt Groves has finally ended speculation concerning his future by penning a new one-year deal with Dorchester Town. Groves thought his career at the Magpies was over at the end of last season under manager Mick Jenkins but since Eddie Mitchell
GOALKEEPER Jason Matthews has agreed a new one-year contract with Blue Square Premier outfit Weymouth. The 32-year-old was voted player-of-the-year last season and the forthcoming campaign will be his sixth at the club. Weymouth chief executive Gary
POLICE are cracking crime in Dorset, latest figures show. Comparing the operational year April 2006 to March 2007 to the previous year, violence involving injury, domestic burglaries and vehicle crime all saw reductions. The only types of crime on the
IT IS a case of festivals a-go-go this weekend as towns across Dorset celebrate the summer. Bridport's annual food and beer festival kicks off today with a hog roast organised by the town's Round Table, a West Country wine tasting and a demonstration
