Dedicated Swanage Railway volunteers have staged a popular evocative Christmas carol steam train with passengers dressing in Victorian costume to make the festive atmosphere complete. Featuring the Harmony Rocks ladies’ choir, there was half-hour carol singing sessions at festively decorated Harman’s Cross and Corfe Castle stations – as well as at Swanage on the train’s…
The Dorset-based Wessex Group raised £1,000 for charity by holding a Christmas Jumper Day. Staff turned up in a variety of peculiar pullovers and donated money for the privilege of appearing in the garish garments. A raffle at the firm’s HQ in Shaftesbury was particularly popular and staff raised almost £750 which was made up…
Former star of The Bill and Celebrity Big Brother star, Christopher Ellison, took time out from playing the dastardly Captain Hook in Lighthouse’s Christmas show Peter Pan to visit staff and patients at Lewis-Manning Hospice in Poole. This isn’t the first time the actor, best remembered for playing Detective Chief Inspector Frank Burnside for 16…
A property being used as a brothel in Bournemouth town centre has been closed down following a successful court order. The occupants of the flat in Old Christchurch Road were ordered to leave on Thursday 17 December 2015 after a temporary closure notice was issued. On 18 December, Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court served a full three-month…
St Aldhelm’s Academy students have discovered a flair for creative writing thanks to members of Parkstone Rotary Club. As part of their school enrichment sessions, six pupils aged 11-17 joined a writing group at the beginning of the autumn term. Six members of the Rotary club joined the class to work with the students, discussing…
Talented pupils at Oakdale Junior School have won a competition run by Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts entitled ‘Designing Neverland’.
If you’ve hesitated over booking your place on the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Coast to Coast cycle challenge, it’s now too late as it’s fully booked for 2016. The event, which is not a race involves cycling through some of Dorset and Somerset’s most beautiful countryside and takes place on Sunday 15 May. With…
Hilton Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of its newest property in the UK, Hilton Bournemouth on 16 December. The new hotel joins 67 hotels within the Hilton portfolio across the country. Classic design and quirky innovation are central to the hotel’s aesthetic, with bespoke interiors and furnishings designed exclusively for Hilton Bournemouth by Ray…
From little beans, delicious bars grew as Bournemouth school children were given a magical insight into the making of chocolate. The Pokesdown Community Primary School children participated in a ‘bean to bar workshop’, run by Bournemouth’s Chocolate Boutique Hotel’s Leoni Wilton. Leoni, who also hosts children’s chocolate parties, was invited to host three workshops for…
Diverse Abilities, Dorset’s disability charity, was pleased to present two lucky raffle winners with a diamond pendant during its 60th anniversary celebrations thanks to Franses Jewellers in Bournemouth. The Diamond Raffle ran throughout the charity’s diamond year and was announced at its Diamond Gala Ball that took place in November. The winning ticket was 27877…
